Particulars are individual entities, objects, events, or instances considered as distinct from the general qualities or categories they may share with others. In metaphysics, discussion of particulars asks what makes one individual thing numerically distinct from another and how particulars relate to universals, properties, identity, substance, and essence. For example, two objects may both possess the property of redness, but each object remains a separate particular. Debates about particulars help clarify how individual things are understood within broader classifications and structures of reality.