What do ye3 也 and ye2 耶 mean in Classical Chinese? Are they particles?

[Xi'Er Dun]

I know that ye3 也 in Modern Mandarin 普通话 means "also", but what meaning does it have in Classical Chinese 古文, some sources say that it is a Classical Chinese Particle 古文助词 of some meaning, one Japanese source even said that it has a Classical meaning of "to be"...? I've also found from some sources that ye2 耶 is a Classical Chinese Final Particle, and in Classical Japanese it is said to be a question particle with an On Reading 音読みof "ya" (ヤ) and an Kun Reading 訓読みof "ka" (か) which is the question particle in Modern Japanese.

So my question is what do the Characters 汉字 (漢字) ye3 [也] and ye2 [耶] mean in Classical Chinese 古文? Are they particles 助词 of some meanings?

Cheers from 澳洲 Australia from 希尔顿 Xi'Er Dun

[bredmond812陈秉劲]

i know 也 has many meanings in classical chinese but i remember two of them:

1. forms a noun sentence, and as i am told, there is no copula in chinese. example: 狮子猫也--a lion (belongs to the catetory of ) cat, where the words in parentheses(sp.) can be substituted for 也.

2. provides some kind of explanation. 吴累也--[i went to sleep] (because) i was tired. the words in braces are there to indicate an unstated clause at the beginning.

Disclaimer: i only took one quarter of 古文, and that was after 2 years of mandarin, so i could be wrong. Just take it as one persons fuzzy memories.