'Das Erdbeben war ja so schrecklich' ('war', nicht 'wart'). You're definitely right. However, the 'sad and resigned' connotation is not always the case with 'ja'. Consider this statement: 'Obwohl ich in China war, kenne ich das Land nicht gut. China ist ja so groß!' The speaker is not sad about the fact that China is big. He's just reffering to something commonly known. -- And expresses this by using the word particle. Or: 'Obwohl deutsche Fußballmannschaften oft schlechter spielen als ihre Gegner, gewinnen sie. Es ist ja bekannt, dass sie nie aufgeben.' (Not sure if this is right, but it's a widespread assumption and I'll just use it as an example here ;-) ) In this case, if the speaker is German, he'd even ve proud when saying this. Again, 'ja' is a hint for the listener that the speaker means to tell something totally obvious and a well known fact.

I think I get the meaning... but not quite sure. Here is more of the context. -Ich war Verkäuferin. Meine Eltern hatten ein Lebensmittelgeschäft, hier in Hamburg. Das Geschäft war klein, aber ich hatte viel Arbeit. Heute sind die Supermärkte ja oft so groß! -Ist das nicht gut? -Doch, aber füher gab es dort immer Zeit für Gespräche, Kunden und Verkäuferinnen hatten Kontakt. Das war schön. The Verkäuferin's tone seems to be sad, so "ja" probably shows her sadness against it, however she could do nothing with it. Here I make another sentence: Das Erdbeben wart ja so ...(still searching the right word in my little brain :S) Does it make sense?

You're right. 'Ja' is used here as a 'Modalpartikel' (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modalpartikel). I think the tranlations you propose can all be used. However, it's not the exact meaning of 'ja' here, I think. 'ja' gives the statement ('supermarkets are often that big nowadays) a connotation -- like you'd be saying: 'I'm telling you no news here when I say that supermarkets...' - or - 'obviously, supermarkets...' - or - 'as you certainly know, supermarkets...' Using 'ja' here shows that the speaker is of the opinion that he's saying something that's totally obvious and selfevident. He's certain that the listener will agree. 'Das Wetter ist ja wieder schlecht heute'. 'Die Benzinpreise sind ja schon wieder gestiegen'. 'In Grammatik bin ich ja nicht besonders gut'. (That's why I need to look it up in wikipedia, hehe). Concerning the position of modal particles in sentences, I'd say that you' be right most of the time when you use them after the predicate and before other attributes, but I'm not sure if that's a good rule of thumb and I'd be glad if someone else can put some more certainty into this issue.

I would say the word "ja" has a meaning that cannot be translated properly into English. Certainly I would not translate it as "indeed", "surely" or "certainly". The word "ja" emphasizes the meaning of the sentence in a certain sense. Occasionally it also has a connotation of sorrow or unconsciousness (just imagine the person is sighing): Ich kann nichts dagegen tun. Ich bin ja nur ein kleiner Angestellter. I cannot do anything against it. I am only a minor employee. It is maybe the best not to use "ja" yourself in writing yourself at this stage but to pay attention to how Germans use it. The word "ja" can in principle also be omitted in your sentence, though it slightly changes the meaning: Heute sind die Supermärkte oft so groß. -> a pure statement Heute sind die Supermärkte ja oft so groß. -> involves some sort of contrast to the previously said or expresses some feeling (e.g. astonishment or sorrow) [It's maybe best to wait for more answers to your question in order to get a better understanding...]