1--f '1 {" . ,.A.

-' (;rr-1
THE TEACH YOURSELF BOOKS
EDITED BY LEONARD CUTTS /vtr+c_
D-36
MODERN PERSIAN

A
-/

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 TEACH YOURSELF

MODERN PERSIAN

By
JOHN MACE

@
r-;,ISCARDED BY j
I THE us AIR FORCE .

THE ENGLISH UNIVERSITIES PRESS LIMITED

102 NEWGATE STREET
LONDON, E.C.l
 First printed 1962

Copyright© 1962

The English Universities Press Ltd

Printed in Great Britain for The English Universities Press, Limited

by Stephen Austin and Sons, Ltd., Heriford
 PREFACE
PERSIAN is an Indo-European language, that is, it is related
to the tongues spoken in Western Europe. As a result of
the spread of Islam after th~ death of the Prophet, many
Arabic words were introduced into Persian, which came to
be written with the Arabic alphabet; yet in its grammatical
structure and its basic vocabulary Persian remains Indo-
European, hence quite unlike Arabic.
Persian is therefore an easy language for us to learn to
speak; at first the writing and reading of it seem difficult,
but with the right approach we can learn even this quickly.
This book attempts to teach the basis of the reading and
writing, with the minimum of grammar, in the first dozen
lessons ; thereafter the grammar and idiom of the language
can be explored more fully. A transliteration in Latin
characters is given for the first few appearances of every
word, phrase or sentence, but you should try as soon as you
can to pick out the words direct from the Persian script,
reading them several times over to accustom your eye to
the forms. Plenty of practice is given in this, in the early
lessons of the book. The book is in three main parts-
Alphabet, Grammar, and Vocabulary-building, and in
addition it has a Key to the exercises, an Index, and
vocabularies each way.
The book is called Teach Yourself Persian; this is im-
portantt, Arabic forms of speech and orthography do appear
in everyday Persian talking and writing, and where they
do we have mentioned them ; but there is no more need
V
vi PREFACE

for the student of Modern Persian to learn Arabic than

there is for the person learning, say, French to know Latin
first. I do not speak, understand, read, or write Arabic
beyond the half-dozen or so examples of it which appear
in this book.
You ought to enjoy learning Persian-Iran is a fascinating
country, unique in her long history of civilisation and art.
Now that she is becoming a more and more progressive and
important Middle East country, Iran is being re-discovered
by thousands of English-speaking people-British and
American-and it is their need to understand and be under-
stood among this friendly and hospitable people that has
-prompted the writing of this book.
I should like to take this opportunity of thanking
Professor Savory, of the University of Toronto, and
Mr. Leonard Cutts, the Editor-in-Chief, for their many
helpful suggestions on the text, and my wife who made the
drawings.
I am also_ indebted to Messrs. Bruno Cassirer, of Oxford,
for their kind permission to reproduce the miniatures on
pp. 93 and 117, and to the Trustees of the British Museum
for allowing me to reproduce drawings of the archaeological
fragments on pp. 39, 79, and 201.
JOHN MACE.

NOTE: Iran is the country; Iranian the nationality; Persi'an

-the national language, originally the tongue of Fars in the south
,of Iran. In English Persia is used to mean Iran, but this is, really,
inaccurate.
 CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface V

PART ONE.-Alphabet 3-
LESSON
I. a, b,n 3,
2. s, sh 6
3. m, d 9·
4· 1, 12
5. r, Dummy alef, t 15
6. u, v, eh, z, Ezdfe IS·
7. h, Final -e, p 22
8. k, g, l 25
9. kh, kha, f. Glottal Stop. j . 28,
10. gh. Numbers I-IO 32
II. Arabic letters, z, s, t, and h. Persian zh 34
PART Two.-Grammai 43.
12. Personal Pronouns. Past Tense 43
1za. Text-..i ..u.~ 47
13. Negatives. Definite Direct Object. Object Pronouns 50,
13a. Questions. Positive and Negative Answers. Text . 55
14. Plurals. Pronunciation. These, Those 60,
14a. Text. Present of to be. Past and Present of to have 68-
15. Indefinite Suffix. Hamze 74
15a. Possessive Pronoun Suffixes. Khod. Text-
~ c.S1.,..:,4l:,:- So·
16. Ezdje: Revision 85
16a. Present Tense. Pronunciation. Suffix to be. Text . 90-
17. Prepositions 97
17a. Prefix mi-. Verbs in -kh-._ Text-(\.il.....;) J..,.....; IOI
18. Verbs in -d- and -u-. Verbs in -udan. Expressions . rn5
18a. Numbers 1-10, Cardinal and Ordinal 109'
vii
viii CONTENTS
LESSON PAGE

19. Subjunctive. Imperative. Pronoun Suffixes u2

19a. Questions. Indirect Speech. Verbs in -stan. Text . us
20. Can and want to 125
20a. To ask. Verbs in -dan. Compound Verbs. Text 128
21. Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs. Numbers
II-20, Cardinal and Ordinal 134
2Ia. Relative. Verbs in -f-. Expressions. Polite Speech.
Text-.:rill .J~ ~ 139
22. Compound Verbs. Subjunctive of to be. Relative
22a. -ing translated, Imperfect, Present Participle. Verbs
in -ordan 152
23. Relative. Polite Speech. Text-cl\_,,_\ .J~ cl~..f" ..::..)L... . 1 55
23a. Perfect Tenses. Verbs followed by the Subjunctive.
Conjunctions and Prepositions. 161
24. Khod. Past Participle. Must and may. Colloquial
Pronunciation 168
Conjunctions followed by the Subjunctive. Passive.
Numbers over 20, Cardinal and Ordinal. Text-
cl ~ I ., .;.,,.Jf S.,.,, 175
25. Short and Long Infinitives, Impersonal Expressions,
Future Tense. Thou. Colloquial Pronunciation.
Verbs in -ash-. Test Paper-Verbs 183
PART THREE.-Words 197
26. Wordbuilding, Suffixes. Colloquial Pronunciation . 197
26a. Wordbuilding, Causative Verbs. Time. Calendar.
Text-3.J.JJj "':" 201
27. Wordbuilding, Suffixes. Arabic Adverbs. Com-
pound Nouns and Adjectives. ham, all. Time.
Arabic Plurals. Writing of Short Vowels 208
Key to Exercises 216
Vocabularies: Persian-English 239
English-Persian 252
Index 264
I.'

PART ONE
Alphabet'
l, ~ \
 LESSON 1
Persian is written with the Arabic alphabet, slightly
modified. We write Persian in the opposite direction to
English, that is, not from left to right but from right to
left. Persian books begin at what to us would be the back
of the book.
laT
The Persian d, long a, is a long open sound, halfway
between the a in bar, calm, dark, and the a in wall, talk,
ball. It is an a with a touch of o in it.
At the beginning of a word it is written
T
with the long sign over it.
In the middle or at the end of a word it is written without
the long sign : I.
y ~ b :
The Persian b is pronounced exactly as is b in English.
When it begins a word, it is written

(to the+- left) and is joined from there to the next letter,
thus:
(up t,) 4 bd = with
Remember that the line of writing starts here ~ .
on the ext~eme right of the page. The d \ must be struck
upwards immediately from the : b thus :
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 (Begin here)
meaning " with " in Persian.
3
 4 MODERN PERSIAN

Practise a whole line of it :

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
d, or I alej as it is called, does not join to its left on to
the letter following it ; in this it is irregular. If we wish
to write db, therefore, which means " water "' we write the
initial long d T and the b y separately. A separate b y
has a longer and fuller form than the joined { b, which is
about one-third of the length. Practise:
(from here)
-,-,T yT -,-,T -,-,T -,-,T (water) db -,-,T
-,-,T 4 yT 4 (with water) bd db -,-,T 4
.:, n j
Like y b, the Persian n has a short form used at the
beginning or in the middle of a word, j, and a full form.:,
(deeper, rounder than the flat y b), used at the end of a
word.
A few more words :
(from here)
.:,T .:,T .:,T .:,T .:,T .:,T (that) an .:,T
.:ili .:ili .:ili .:ili (bread) nan .:il..i
(You will recall that the initial long alef is always written
with the long sign over it, thus T, and that it cannot be joined
to the letter following it. This is why, in the last two words,
the final .:, n appears separate, and in the first word the
alej has its long sign.)
More practice. Follow the arrows:
(from here)
that an .:,T .:,T .:,T .:,T · .:,T .:,T {J 7 f'
water db yT -,-,T yT yT -,-,T ~ 7 I'
I
I

II
 LESSON ONE 5

Now a whole phrase:

yT .:iT 4 yT .:iT 4 (with that water) yT .:iT li
A useful word at this stage is
(a carpenter) banna ~
I because it shows us that the short forms of b i and n j are
identical except for the position of the dot, and also it
shows us that short vowels (in this case a, like the a in hat,
bat, cat in English) are not written. We only write long
vowels in Persian.
Practise:
(from here) f
a carpenter (banna) ~ I.:., ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
You must be careful to pronounce double letters as in

' . Italian, so : ~ ban-na (the nn is held before being released).

Pronounce as you write, holding the nn and stressing the -a
at the end: That carpenter an banna ~ .:iT
• VOCABULARY
that .).i an carpenter l:; banna
water ..,..i ab bread .:., \j nan
with\; ba father, " Daddy " \; \; baba

EXERCISES
I. Write, pronouncing as you write:
.:i '--' T .:i y T .:i -n y -b Ta-
yT yT yT yT yT yT ab yT
.:iT .:iT .:iT .:iT .:iT .:iT .:iT an .:iT
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ba 4
44 44 44 44 44 44 baba 44
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ banna ~
.:iu .:iu .:iu .:iu .:iu .:iu nan .:iu
6 MODERN PERSIAN

II. Translate and write out a line of each of these, pro-

nouncing as you write :
(a) that bread, (b) that water, (c) that carpenter,
(d) with bread, (e) with water.
III. Read your Persian for Ex. II aloud.
IV. Read aloud (without translating) :
.:iu .:iT 4 yT .:iT (b) yT .:iT 4 ~ .:iT (a)
(there is no word for "the" in Persian) ~ 4 (c)
.:iu 4 yT (d)
V. Translate Ex. IV into English.

LESSON 2
Persian s has a long and a short form, used in the same
way as the long and short band n:
s "' tJ"
and s with • three dots over it gives us sh :
sh :. J,
Practise:
(from here)
tJ" tJ" tJ" write it fast tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ"
:, :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :.
tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ" tJ"
\... l;. \... l;. l;.l;. l;. l;. L;, \... \... \... \... \...
.;.T .;.T .;.T .;.T .;.T .;.T (stew) ash J,T
" stew with bread" : .:iu 4 .;.T .:iu 4 J,T
s-n looks like one letter : it is two. The n-dot tells us
that:
(age) senn if' if' if' if' ,:y, if'
The short vowel e is of course not written.
 LESSON Two 7

Practise:
ash _;T _;T _;T
senn ,y, ,y, ,:;,-,
(short vowel a not written) " enough " bas ~ ~

The double "' of s and sh are tedious to write, so most

Persian people leave out the " teeth ", as they are called,
and write for s not "' and <..Y" but .., and ._,.,. This is a long
sweeping letter, quite easy to make and easy to read.
Practise writing, pronouncing as you go:
dsh _;T Ji ..;T ..;T ..;T
senn ,:;-- ,:;-- ,:;--
,:;-- ,:;-- ,:;-- ,:;--
(the~ is there : look cafefully) bas ~ ~ ~

The syllable ..; -esh forms a very valuable suffix, meaning

his, her, or its ; it is added to nouns ending in a consonant.
We have already had the nouns (read them aloud) :
· ..,..•T ....,T
..r . .:.,u
which all end in consonants. Thus we make of them
(his, her, or its bread) ndnesh Jj\.i
( water) abesh .P.T
"
( stew) dshesh .;.:,T
( age) sennesh ,;:.;..,
Similarly, the suffix .:it!. -eshan gives us the possessive
their : ' it is also added to nouns ending in a consonant.
Read, copy, and pronounce :
.:.il!.i\.i (their bread) ndneshan .:.il!.i\.i
0
Do a whole line of this word, pronouncing as you write :
.:.il!.i\.i .:.,l!.,i\j .:.,wu .:.,l!.,i\j .:.,wu
8 MODERN PERSIAN

Now more words :

(meaning?) abeshan .:.,~T
0\.:./ get the dots right .:.,~T
(their stew) asheshan 01.!.!-T 0\.!..!.T
(their age) senneshan .:.,w.., 0\.!.L.
Make your s's and sh's long sweeps:
.:., L!;.T .:., \.!.L. .:., L!;.T· .:., \.!.L.

VOCABULARY
stew J'-i or ..,:.i ash his/her/its (suffix) J, or ..,:. -esh
age ;.;~ or ~ senn their (suffix) .:,\...!. or .:,\..:. -eshtln
enough ..,~ or ~ bas

EXERCISES
I. Write, pronouncing as you write:
bas er. er. (a)
bas <)-: (b)
,:r ,:r ,:r u"' senn ,:r ,:_;.. (c)
cr:T cr!T cr:T er!T abesh cr:T cr!T (d)
fi JT crT JT ash fi JT (e)
II. Translate and write, pronouncing as you write :
(a) his bread. (b) their bread. (c) stew with bread.
(d) her age.
III. Read aloud your Persian for Ex. II.
IV. Read aloud (without translating) :
••T
u-" • •T
er"' ••T
u-" • •T.
er"' ••T
u-" ,. •T
er"'<" (a)
0\.!..i\.i 0\.!.i\.i 0\.!..il.i 0\.!.i\.i 0l!J\j .:,\.!.it.;' (b)
cr:T cr:T cr!T cr!T yT yT yT (c)
.;Jli 4 ..,.,T .;Jli 4 yT JJli 4. ..,.,T (d)
V. Translate Ex. IV into English.
 LESSON THREE 9

LESSON 3
m m Persian has two forms, a short and a full one :
long m i i i i i i i short m .. .. .. .. MO
As in the case of y b, .:in, and s-sh <.Y' ,.}, the shortened
form is used when a letter follows the m .. , the long form
when m i is the final letter of the word.
Practise short m :
l.. l.. " we " ma l..
l.. l.. l.. l..
Don't make a long sweep between the m .. and the a l, or
it will be read as an s (L. m-s-a). Keep the joining short
in Persian.
Again, saying it as you write :
l.. l.. l.. l.. l.. l.. l.. l.. l.. ma l..
I;. ~ I;. \...!, "you" shoma (written anti-clockwise) µ
You will notice two things about m ... in the middle of
a word:
(a) It is written anti-clockwise~ . 'if'
(b) We approach the m from the top: 'if \...!,. Get into
the habit of writing the bead of the .. or i in this fashion ;
do not write it clockwise, as certain other letters, which we
shall deal with later, are always written clockwise, and
confusion will arise if you do not write m carefully and
correctly.
Now write slioma with a sweeping sh: I;. (the short o is
unwritten) I;.·· I;. I;..
Now write the word for " I " :
if if 0-- 0-- (I) man .y
" I with you ".
I;. 4 0-- I;. 4 0-- I;. 4 0--
10 MODERN PERSIAN

Now long, final m:

it;. ii.;. it;. (dinner) sham ii.;.
"dinner with stew".
fi 4 it;. _;T 4 it;. fi 4 it;.
il.i il.i il.i il.i il.i (name) ndm il.i
A very useful suffix is -am i- (short a unwritten),
meaning " my " :
(as the is anti-clockwise, r.T db-am
A

the i is turned round ,:) (my water).

Practise:
r
.?.T abesh .?.T r
dbam
(~ (~ (rr_:eaning ?) ndnam (Li_
fl fl fl (my stew) dsham fl
Just as _;- "his/her/its" became .:i\!.- "their", so
i- -am " my " becom_~s plural .:it.. - -emdn " our " :

Practise:
r
abeman .:iLc_T abam

.:ilc'l.i .:iLc·u " our bread " ndnemdn .:iLc'l.i

{l;.. /l;.. " my dinner " shdmam {~
r r r (meaning ?) sennam * r
* Remember to hold on to the double letter : sen-nam.
D. Persian d has only one form; it is not joined to the
left, i.e. to the letter following it. In this respect it is like
alef \.
~ d

Practise it. Make the hoq_k fairly sharp, and the whole
letter resting on the line of writing :
(from here)
 LESSON THREE 11

.i...T .i...T (short a not written) " he came" am~d .i...T

-½ -½ -½ (meaning "bad" in English) bad -½
i~ i~ (o like oo in foot) " tail " dom i~
.;..~ -,_;..~ " its tail " domesh .;..~

VOCABULARY
we, US \A ma he came ..I.Ai amad
you\......:, shoma my (suffix) r -am
I, me (JA man our ·(suffix) .)\A -eman
bad-'! bad name r\; nam ..
tail r~ dom dinner rW sham

EXERCISES

I. Write, pronouncing as you write:

.i...T ~ .i...T~ • .i...T~ .i...T .i...T .i...T (a)
.:, l:-- .:il:-, r- r- er'--' J.-i.-, er'--' (b)
,_;..~ ·, ,_;..~ ,_;..~ i~ i~ i~ (c)
-½ -½ -½ -½ -½ -½ (d)
II. Translate and write out, pronouncing as you write:
(a) its tail. (b) her name. (c) our dinner. (d) their
bread. (e) my dinner. (!) our water.
III. Read aloud ypm Persian for Ex. II.
IV. Read aloud (without translating) :
.i...T yT .:,T 4~ .i...T yT .:iT 4 ~ (a)
.:, \.:.L. .:, l:-- er'--' . (b)
- - -
.:i~.1 J.:I .P,I .P,I r,I r,I r,I (c)- - - r:
.:it.:..li .:it.:..li c):.l.i ,_;..l.i J.-l.i (d)
.:, L:.. L;. .:, lk .;.. L;. { L;. (e)
V. Translate into English Ex. IV.
12 MODERN PERSIAN

LESSON 4
The long £ or ee sound heard in bean, lean, is written in
Persian:
:'. short (i.e. not at the end of a word)
~ long (i.e. at the end of a word)

There is a rule which forbids the letter :'. £ or ee to begin

a word in writing : therefore if a word begins with the
sound ee the letter :'. is introduced, preceded by I alef.
This I alef is mute. It serves merely as a " prop ", to
announce that the word is beginning with a vowel.
That is why, when alef is actually sounded, d, at the
beginning of a word we take care to mark it long : T. This
tells us that the alef is not merely an introducing letter
for another vowel, but a long vowel in its own right.
Compare:
dsh ji dn cJT db yT
where the d T is sounded, with
Y-1 " this" £n ..:,1.\
where the £ or ee is the actual vowel sounded, the alef being
a mere dummy, an orthographic convention.
Practise, saying it as you write it :
THAT THIS
cJT cJT cJT cJT c)T cJT Y-1 Y-1 Y-1 Y-1 Y-1
Do not confuse :'. ee with i b. B has one dot beneath it,
ee has two. Note that the long form of ee ~ has no dots
at all.
:'. ~ ee is also used for the sound of the English consonant
y, as in year, yoke, you, and your. When 1.· is used in this
 LESSON FOUR 13

manner, as a consonant, it needs no ale/ to introduce it at

the beginning of a word : it is only the vocalic :: which
must be so introduced.
Practise:
4 4 ~- 4 4 4 " or " ya
Look now at the Persian word for "he comes ", m£-ayad :
~l::--
d y a£ m (reading from the m leftwards)

The m we know from the last lesson. The first =is ee.
A

The ale/ in the middle of the word is a, a long open sound

halfway between the a in bar, calm, dark and the a in
walk, talk, ball.
The second ~ is a consonant, y. After it is pronounced
a short a, not written, and lastly a d.
Similarly :. (.½:-- m£-ayam " I come ".
Practise " the carpenter came ".
(n?- :A) ..1.oT ~
and "the carpenter comes." :
(no- ..~) ~l::-- ~
The letter i b gives us a useful preposition-prefix. It
means " to ".
Practise:
~ " to you " be-shoma
'.r. " to me " be-man
Le " to us " be-ma
¼ " to the carpenter " be-banna
14 MODERN PERSIAN

When the ~ be-prefix is attached to a word beginning

with long alef T, the resulting combination is still read as
two syllables.
Pronounce:
y'4 be-db (two syllables) = to the water
Write:
..,.,T cJ°4 y°4 yT cJ°4 cJ°4 y°4 cJ°4 yT~
When the i be- is prefixed to a word beginning with
another vowel introduced by a dummy alef \ (in words like
.:r-1 tn, for example) the i is written straight on to the alef,
and the whole word is read with be- as quite a distinct
syllable.
Pronounce : .:r.4
be-fn (two syllables) = to this

VOCABULARY
this .:r.1 £n to, towards (prefix) , be-
or~ ya I come r,.1::-- m£-/J,yam
he/she/it comes -'!_l::,o m£-/J,yad
Practise:
.l.T ~ -½.l:-- :r. ~ .:r-4 ~ .:i'4 yT .:r-4 yT .:,4
EXERCISES
I. Write, pronouncing as you write:
.i...T .l.T .i...T .i...T (b) -1;.l:,o ..L,l.. -½.l:-- (a)
t:l:-- .r t:l:-- .r (d) -1;.l:,o ~ -1;.l:,o ~ (c)
t:l:-- t:l:-- (e)
II. Translate and write, pronouncing as you write:
(a) I am coming(= I come). (b) he is coming
III. Read aloud your Persian for Ex. II.
 LESSON FIVE 15
IV. Read, without translating :
r.l::-- ._,.,T ~i4 · r.l::-- ._,.,T.:,4 (a)
-½l::-- ._,.,T .:,,.4 -½l::-- ._,.,T .:,,.4 (b)
<YT .:,;.I 4 ._,.,T <YT .:,;.I 4 ._,.,T (c)
-1.,T 1.:.., .:iT
' . -½½:-4 ~ c:r..1 (d)
V. Translate Ex. IV.

LESSON 5
Persian r is written _;. In writing it is similar to I ale/
and~ d because it is not joined to the letter following it.
It is pronounced with a strong roll of the tongue, like a
Scots r.
Practise, following the arrow :
_; _; _; _; _; _; _; _; _; _; _; (down) ,1 _;
' VOCABULARY
(1) door d I have 1";1:l daram
{2) in J:l ar head .J'-' sar
roan ;) .r mard cold ;).J'-' sard (adjective)
has, he has :l;l:l darad Iranian, Persian ~1.Y..1 £rant
Iran, Persia .:,1.Y..1 £ran
Alef at the beginning of a word is ·written:
(i) T to signify d, long a.
(ii) I as a mute letter introducing any vowel.
You will remember how in the word .:,;.I tn, the ale/ was
a pure orthographic convention. In the same way the word
<-:-'I asb or asp " a horse "
begins with an unwritten short vowel a. The ale/ is there
to introduce this initial vowel. Do not read the ale/ itself
as a:----the a is not written, but introduced by the dummy
I alef.
1111

!'

16 MODERN PERSIAN
Practise:
'-:""I '-:""I . '-:""I " horse " asb ..,...,.1
This man has a horse :
in mard asb ddrad .:._;b ~I .:..r c:,;.I
(the VERB is usually last word in a Persian sentence).
That man is coming on horseback (" with a horse ") :
an mard ba asb mzayad -1:l:-- ...,.....1 4 -?r .:iT
..::., t :;
..::., ; t is written exactly like y ~ b in all respects except
that it has two dots above the letter instead of one below it.
The short and long form are used just as you have learned
to use long and short forms of :
b '-:'
n .:,
mi
so: t ..::., j

Practise:
i.:, j y ..::., y ..::., b '-:'
VOCABULARY
as far as, until \; ta is, he/she/it is .;:,.,..,I ast
he/she/it is not, isn't ~ nist
Practise:
~I ..,...,.1 ~I horse
\j \:i \:i \:i until
This is.a horse:
zn asb ast ~I ..,...,.1 .:r-.1
That isn't a horse :
an asb n2st ~ ~I .:iT
(the verb comes last)
 LESSON FIVE 17

; na-. The prefix ; na- (short a not written), joined to

a verb beginning with a consonant, makes the verb
negative:
i~~ dzdam I saw
i~-Li nadidam I did not see
(.½:-- miayam I am coming
r.~· namUyam I am not coming
Before a verb beginning with a vowel, the prefix is written
; nay- and pronounced like " nigh " in English :
J..T amad he came
..i...y
nayamad he did not come
Notice that the - long sign over the alef is dropped here.
Before going any further, make sure now that you know
all the vocabulary we have had to date, by looking back
i; at all the previous lessons. Then check that you know the
use of the prefixes
, be- to (check its use before alef)
it
; na- + consonant} makes verbs negative :
!1 ; nay- + vowel " do not, does not, did not "
il1, and of the suffixes
J, J, -esh his, her, its
ij
1·

0\..:.. ,jl.;, -eshan their added to nouns which

i -am my end in a consonant
,jl., -eman our ,,

i EXERCISES
L
,, I. Write, pronouncing:
i_;I~ ~...,\ .:.,.- man asb daram i.Jb ~I .:.,.- (a)
i~~ ~I .:.,.- man asb dJdam i~~ ~I .:.,.- (b)
~ Ji.;;_\ <-:-'I 01.I £n asb £ran£ nist .:..~ Jl..;;_I ~I cr..1 (c)
18 MODERN PERSIAN

,:,T dn dar ast .::.-I .J:, ,:,T (d)

.::.,...\ .J:,

.::.,..I -½ 01.i ()!.I tn nan bad ast .::.-I -½ 01.i .j,!.1 (e)
(.½:-- .):, \j µ 4 u-- (.½:-- .):, t; l-=- 4 u-- (f)
man bd shomd td dar mtdyam
.::.,...\ :,f' yT db sard ast .::.-I :,.r yT (g)
II. Translate, and write, pronouncing as you write:
(a) My dinner is cold. (b) This bread is bad. (c) That
man isn't Iranian. (d) There is no water (= water
isn't).
III. Translate into English Ex. I.
IV. Read aloud your Persian for Ex. II.

LESSON 6
.J· The Persian l~tter .J has two values :
(i) long vowel : .J u like oo in boot.
6 like o in pole, but a pure vowel.
(ii) consonant : .J v as in every.
When .J is a long vowel u or 6 and begins a word, of
course it must be introduced with a dummy I alef. When
a consonant it can be written as first letter of a word.
There is one exception to this general rule : the word .J
" and" is pronounced either va or 6, and is always spelt
without alef. Of the two pronunciations va is far more
common than 6.
u, 6, v is not joined to the letter following it. It has no
short form.
Practise:
(from here)
.J .J .J .J .J .J .J .J .J .J .J .J
 LESSON SIX 19
Distinguish between _; r, .) d, and .J u-o-v.
Practise:

VOCABULARY
va two .J.:i d6
nd
a { .J 6 I run r.J..1.:" mtdavam
face .JJ ru he/she/it runs .:i.J-l,:;A mtdavad
he, she .J1 u friend ~.J.:i dust
:;;- 1£. Persian eh is pronounced like our eh in church. It
has a long and a short form.
Practise, following the _arrows :
start it here
why? chera I,.:;;- ~
1/Vz'
If we put a dot over _; r we get j z like our z in zoo :
woman \'.Jj zan; from _;I az (short a) ; thief .)_j.) dozd. c
A very useful feature in Persian is one called the ezafe.
This is originally an Arabic word meaning " addition ",
and it is a short vowel pronounced like e in the French
" cafe ". we shall transcribe the ezafe as e: this is to show
that it is short, clipped, like e in French. T~e ezafe is NEVER
stressed.
This ezafe has three possible meanings :
(a) It can mean "belonging to" :
asb-e-mard .)_r ..,......1
the horse of the man (i.e. the man's horse)
(b) It can join a noun to an adjective qualifying that
noun (the noun always comes first, as in French) :
mard-e-frant Jl-..i:.1 .)_r
an Iranian man, the Iranian man
 20 MODERN PERSIAN

(c) It can show that the words before and after the ezdfe
are in apposition to one another :
mard-e-dustam ;--.J:, :,__,.
the man, my friend ...
! If the word before the ezdje ends in a consonant, as in
:,.i the examples (a), (b), and (c) above, the ezdfe is not written;
it has to be read into the text.
If the word before the ezdje ends in one of the long
vowels I d or .J u-6, the ezdfe is written (> t and is pro-
nounced -ye :
(Si a-ye or (SJ u-ye

e.g. (a) possession : ru-ye-mard :,__,. (SJ.)

the face of the man, the man's face
(b) adjective: bannd-ye-frdn£ Jl.,:_1 (Sl:.;
the/an Iranian carpenter
(c) apposition : bannd-ye-dustam f"".J:, (>~
the carpenter, my friend ...
If the noun before the ezdje ends in the long vowel
(S £-ee
the ezdje is not written, but is pronounced with the same
y-glide as in the case of d-ye and u-ye above : £-ye.
Thus: frdn£-ye-dustam f"".J:, J[;,_I
the Persian, my friend ...
Practise (i) unwritten ezdfe, pronounced e, after con-
sonantal nouns :
..\! :>r -½ :,__,.. (meaning ?) mard-e-bad -½ :,__,..
Ji.,:_1 '-:""'I Jl.,:.I '-:-""I a Persian horse asb-e-frdn£ Jl.,:_I '-:""'I
 LESSON Srx 21
~ ,:,_; ~ ,:,_; the carpenter's wife zan-e-banna ~ ,:,_;
,:,1_::..,_,.., ...,.....1 our friend's horse asb-e-dusteman ,:,1_::..,_,.., ...,.....1
(ii) ezaje written <-> after I and ..,, and pronounced a-ye
and u-ye <->I and <->-' :
..,_,... c.>JJ the man's face ru-ye-mard

Jl.;:,I <->~ the Iranian carpenter banna-ye-fran£

(iii) ezafe unwritten after <-> itself, and pronounced £-ye :
;-_,_., JL:_I the Persian, my friend ... £ran£-ye-dustam
Notice the difference between :
(i) The Persian, my friend, came} - • , .
SAS 'dA Ad .L. 1 _ 11
_,..,__..J'
irani-ye- ustam ama 1 •

and
(ii) The Persian is my friend} • • .
£ran£ dustam ast '--'1 r-';:,, --'--':.
11

In (i) the two nouns Jl.;:,I and ;-_,..,, £ran£ and dustam,
are linked together by the ezafe, as they agree, or are
(grammatically speaking) in apposition.
In (ii), although the two words Jl.;:,I £ran£ and r'-'_., dustam
are written asin (i), there is no ezafe.
Again, distinguish in reading between
(i) I have cold water ab-e-sard daram i );:, . ,__,. . yT
and (ii) the water is cold ab sard ast .:..-,I ..,__,... yT
where in (i) and (ii) yT and . ,__,. . show no distinction, yet
) · .in (i) we have a noun-adjective combination (cold water)
linked with an ezafe, and in (ii) we have the verb to be
separating the two words in English: the water is cold.
The ezafe is a most important and useful particle in
Persian.
22 MODERN PERSIAN

VOCABULARY
va two .J:, do
and { .J
0 woman.:,.; zan
he, she JI it from j1 az
face .JJ rit gold J.; zar
why ? 1f t chera thief :,j:, dozd
I run r.J-½" mtdavam mother J:,lo madar
friend .;;,...,,.J:, ditst he/she runs :,.J-½" mtdavad

EXERCISES

I. Write, pronouncing as you write:

i.):, :,r yT ab-e-sard ddram i_;b :,r yT (a)
~ ~ .._I .:.iT an asb bad nfst ~ ~ ..,......1 .:.iT (b)
~ ..loT ~ cherd dmad? ~ ..loT ~ (c)
.:-,I {"'.J ..,......1 ..:r..l ili .:-,I {"'.J .._I ..:r..l i\.i (d)
ndm-e-fn asb Rustam ast
dust-e-fn mard amad ....T :,_}"' ..:r..l .:..,..,_,:, (e)
II. Translate and write :
(a) This man is a thief. (b) I came with my friend's
horse. (c) I saw the face of that man. (d) This man's
wife is not Iranian. (e) I am coming to Iran.
III. Translate Ex. I.
IV. Read aloud your Persian for Ex. II.

LESSON 7
H. Persian}hhas several possible forms:
(i) At the beginning of a word it is written
;. Vl tz ~· ;.
Practise:
.r' .r' .r' .r' r " every " har .r'
 LESSON SEVEN 23
(ii) In the middle of words it is written either
(a rare form) -«- ~ 1 ·~ -«-
or
(a far more frequent form) 1- }/ f, ,(, 1-

Practise:
(t~e b, after the vowel is sounded,} ·:city:· shab,~
1.e. breathed upon) , .Yr-- A-' J~

· (iii) At the end of a word, h (which as a consonant is

always sounded) appears as :
(a rare form in handwriting, -. -. -. -.
but common in print)
or
(in handwriting but never ,.
in print)

Practise writing both ways:

" the bottom, the end " tab, ,:; or .;

(iv) Standing alone, h is written ¥ or • :

(1) moon, ·(2) month mdb, .t.. ~t..
A final or lone h, -. ,. or • is used also to indicate a short
vowel, e, or occasionally a, at the end of a word. This is
the only case of a short vowel being written in ,Persian :
" three " se ,._, ' ,.__ . . . . -
" having come " dmade • ..:r
This h-vowel is not used to indicate the ezdfe. We shall,
however, use the same e letter to transliterate it, as it is
exactly the same sound as the ezdfe.
 24 MODERN PERSIAN

VOCABULARY
nine} . . {nob, thing j".;": chtz
no " ' ,lj
na fish ._.,.L. mdht
three~;,....._, se glass ~1~ shtshe
everything j",;'I: J"' har chtz ten•-> dah
four,;~ chahar moon, month olA mal:!,
every J"' har I give I""-½-- m£deham

After a short vowel-h the ezafe sounds like eye. It is not

written:
sMsheye dar .).:, ~
the glass (i.e. window) of the door
Pin Persian is written; (short) and'.' (long). It belongs
to the b-family, of which we now know
yb
:; .::., t
0 n (written deep -tJ in its full form)
; ',;' p
As you see, it is important to get the dots right. P has
three dots below it ; '.' p. Do not confuse it wi.th ~ [. eh.

VOCABULARY
screw~ ptch eye~ cheshm
hand.;:..,..,.> dast father ,;-'? pedar
on the right ;h.and right-hand .::-,1,; rilst
.::,.~1,; .;:..,..,.> dast-e-rilst left-hand ~ chap
on the left hand foot~ pa
~ .;:..,..,.> dast-e-chap what ? j".;": "'t° eke cMz
then <J-?Pas wool i"~ pashm
the right foot brother ,;->1.r. barildar
.::.,...,1,; ..slt pil-ye-rilst Tehran wl_w' tel:!,riln
the left foot ~ ... ~ pil-ye-chap
 LESSON EIGHT 25
Practise:
this thing is a screw 2n chtz p2ch ast .::..,..,\ ~ ~,;- .:,..I
.::.,...I ~-; ~ .:,..I get the dots right .::.,...I [:~ ~,;- .:,..I
this month is cold 2n mah sard ast .::..,..,\ .:._;- ol.. .:,..I
.::...... 1 .:>_;- ol.. .:,..I .::.,...I .:>_;- ol.. .:,..I
.::..,..,\ .:>_;- ol.. .:,..I
in this town everything is bad.::..,..,\ -½ ~ .r" ..rr-=, .:,..I .J.:>
dar tn shahr har chtz bad ast .::..,..,\ -½ ~ .r' J,r-:, .:,..I .J.:,

EXERCISES
I. Write, pronouncing as you write:
.::.,...I i .J~ .::..,..,G .::..,..,.:, .J.:> .J i .J.:>l.. <-:;-:;- .::..,..,.:, .J.:, (a)
dar dast-e-chap madaram va dar dast-e-rast pedaram ast
be-shoma har chtz m2deham !'""-½:-- ~ .r" ~ (b)
~I.:-- J~ ol.. .r' 0l...J.:,\-': (c)
baradaremdn har mah be-shahr mzayad
II. Translate and write out :
(a) I saw all three of (JI) you in town.
(b) The door is on the left.
(c) In my glass there is no water(= water isn't).
(d) Every glass has water (in it).
III. Translate Ex. I.
IV. Read aloud your Persian for ~x. II.

LESSON 8
Persian k has a short form 5" and a full form .S (hand-
~ritten) or 6 (printed).
It is written ~ (' k
and ,; .....,, ..f'k
B
 26 MODERN PERSIAN

Hard Persian g (as in English gun) is written like k but

with a double headstroke "" instead of a single one :

(short) f ~ J• J f g

(full) s -1(' ._,, f s g

(The full form is often § in print. The • is not important

and is never written in handwriting.)

Practise:
somebody, kast (write the headstroke last) ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
butter, kare ~ °-1) ~ ~
plaster, gach -£ -£ -£ -£ -£
''
'I
warm, garm i f i f i f i f if
I:
,,I '
L. Persian l is similar to f S k :
(short) J
(full) J
Two differences : (i) there is no headstroke ,... ; (ii) J full-
form l is deeper than full-form k S.

Practise:
k s s s
l J J J
"-4 "-4 "-4 "-4 "-4 " yes " bale
J; J; J; J; J; " bridge " pol
 LESSON EIGHT 27
Special joinings for these new letters:
(i) k-a and g-a are thus :
WRITTEN PRINTED
kd l( ~ t:, I

ga If ~ t,•
(ii) l-a is thus:
la ~ ~ ~~ } J• ':>I or '1
(iii) k-l and g-l :
kl
/I x 1J 1J.>
fJ ': ~
$
'
gl

(iv) k-l-a and g-l-a:

kla
'½ ~ f ~-' I
gla y{ \,
3 'f J,.- -£
I a is easily distinguishable from J short l because short l
joins to the next letter, whereas I a does not, and from J
long l because long l has the -tJfinal flourish to it, which
I a has not.
Practise:
(i) "work " kar _;LS' _;LS' _;LS' .) LS' _;LS' _;LS' _;LS'
"place "gab, .ts" .ts" .lf .lf .lf .ts" .ts"
(ii) " good-morning " salam i')I,.,, i')\.... i')\,.,, i')\.... i')\,.,,
(iii) " chief, supreme " koll JS' JS' JS' JS' JS'
" ro,se, flower " gal Jf Jf Jf Jf $ $
(iv) " class " kelas t.Y-:J.S' .;,-:J.S' t.Y-:J.S' cr-:J.S' t.Y-:J.S'
" pear " golab£ i.J.-£ <.Jo£ <.Jo£ i.J-£
28 . MODERN PERSIAN

VOCABULARY
somebody ..s.S kas£ everybody ._,.S ~ harkas
never :f ~ hargez did, he did :,.f kard
butter • .f kare plaster rJ! gach
warm rJ' garm yes <l-½ bale
bridge ~ pol money JY. p,az
work ;If kar place .If ga!J,
pear ~ -:Jt golaM flower, rose J!" gol
no, not a, none ~ htch class ..r "}S kelas
principal, head, supreme nothing :r.,,; ~ htch chtz
(adjective) Jf koll nobody..,~~ or ..,.S ~ htchkas

EXERCISES

I. Write, pronouncing as you write:

.i...T _;~ 3\ u be-kar amad .i...T _;~ 3\ (a)
.;:.....,I yT _;:, ,§ .:,.i.1 in gol dar ab ast .;:.....,\ yT .;:. ,§ .:,.i.1 (b)
harkas ba asb be-shab,r mtayad ..1/.l.:-- .1~ '-:'-"'I 4 ~.I" (c)
i _;\..li Jy~ pul nadaram i _;\..li JY. (d)
II. Translate :
(a) What am I giving him ?
(b) I am giving him bread and butter.
(c) Is he coming to work? Yes, he is coming.
(d) Has he money? No, but he has work.
III. Translate Ex. I.
IV. Read aloud your answers to Ex. II.

LESSON 9
t kh ,;.. Persian kh, like the sound of eh in the Scots
word loch or the German ach, has a short form ,;. and a
full form t· It is one of the [.eh- family. Be careful not
to confuse ,;.. t kh with =; [. eh.
 LESSON NINE 29

Practise:
y _,,:. y _,,:. y _,,:. " good " khub y _,,:.
y _,,:. .:..r
, y _,,:. .!>_,r a good man mard-e-khub y _,,:. .!>_,r
J:> "very" kheiU (ei as in weight) J:>
This is very good ln kheiU khub ast .:.,..,I y_,,:. J:> ..:r..1
.:.,..,I ___,• '.J>-· ,y.;-- • I
1 -'- er. ..:..-1 ___,. '.J>-· ,y.;-- •.., I
1 ~ V-•

In the written combination !,,,:- kh-v-a the .J v is silent in

modern Persian, hence we pronounce only kha :
!,,,:-=kha
Write, pronouncing as you write:
y!,,,:- y!,,,:- y!,,,:- y!,,,:- (sleep) khab y!,,,:-
(.~ r,1~ (I sleep) mlkhabam r,1~
J,;>!,,,:- · J,;>!,,,:- (a request) khahesh J,;>!,,,:-
.:.,..,!,,,:- ..:..-!,,,:- (he wanted) khast .:.,..,!,,,:-
Don't confuse y!_,,,:. khab, sleep (where the .J is silent and
the following I is sounded, a) and y_,,:. khub, good, where
the u .J is sounded.
khab y!J,,:.
khub y_,,:.
...:, ; f. Persian f is written ...:, in full and ; jn short form.
Full ...:, is long and flat like y b but it has a ring at its
beginning, which i b has not.
Practise:

(the dot is always over the ring : ...:, ;)

seven.::....... .::....... .::....... .::....... haft .:,..._.,
took, he took ,::.jf ,::_jf ,::_jf gereft ,::_jf
tomorrow b) b) b) b) farda I.:,)
30 MODERN PERSIAN

The letter " 'ain '.' t..

This letter is used in Persian to mark a break in the
flow of speech, or, technically speaking, a glottal stop. If
we pronounce " bottle " as it is pronounced in the Cockney
dialect, we say" bo'l ". The " ' " represents here a glottal
stop, a catch in the breath. Practise first the Cockney
phrase "what a lot of little bottles", to hear the glottal
stop in action :
wo' a lo' o' li'l bo'ls
Those who speak German need only to think of their
Kehlkopjverschlusslaut in such expressions as die Arbeit,
geeignet, and der Beamte.
(i) In the middle of a word, 'ain is written ,. (a triangle) :
" afterwards " ba' ad ~
" meaning " ma' ani c.S""

(ii) Alone, it is written t

(iii) At the beginning of a word, it is written .. (the .. is a
consonant) :
" holiday " 'eid .J.,:..
(ei as in weight)
(iv) At the end of a word it is written C..
Practise:
J.,:.. J.,:.. J.,:.. J.,:.. 'eid .J.,:..
.;...,I..., .;...,I..., an hour sa'at .;...,I...,
. ' ..
c.S"" maani c.S""
..w ba'ad ~
 LESSON NINE 31
~ ::-- Another member of the [. t ch-kh family is ::- ~ j,
pronounced like our j in jewel.
[. ";" eh
t >- kh
~ ::- j
Do not confuse ~ j with t kh. The place of the dot is the
only difference in writing.
Do not confuse the sound of ~ j with .S g. ~ j is soft,
.S g is hard.
, VOCABULARY
etook, he took ~ .J' gerejt seven .::,1,. haft
good ..,., y- khilb I sleep ~1_,:½o m£khabam
request ._,::.,. 1.,> khahesh (he) wanted .::..-1_,> khast
tomorrow 1.l~ farda very J::> kheil£
sleep ..,.,1y- khab afterwards ~ ba' ad
holiday..>.~ 'eid Friday~ or~ jom'e
total, sum c-!" jam' place L:- ja
meaning .r"" ma' an£

EXERCISES

I. Write, pronouncing as you write:

i ).) c?!,,:- er man khahesh daram i .;b .r-"'!,,:- er (a)
.:.-1 ,..,..a-; I.)_) farda jam' east .::....-1 ,..,..a-; bJ; (b)
tn mard kheiU khub ast ..::-1 yy:.. J.:,;. .).r .:r-1 (c)
tn ja-ye-khub ast .:.-1 yy:.. <.S\::- .:r-1 (d)
jam'-e-se o chahar haft ast .:.-1 ~ _;~ ., ,.,,, e, (e)
II. Translate :
(a) I sleep well (= good). (b) That place is bad.
(c) What (thing) has he in his (omit) hand ? (d) The
water is not warm.
32 MODERN PERSIAN

III. Translate Ex. I.

IV. Read aloud your answers to Ex. II.

LESSON 10
GH. In Persian there is a guttural gh-sound, like a very
heavily and thickly pronounced French r. It is the voiced
equivalent of the letter t, kh which we had in the last
lesson.
This gh-sound is spelt in one of two ways:
(i) J ; gh like .j ; f but with two dots, and t) deeper
in the full form :
J ; J ; J ; J ; J ; J ; gh J ;
(ii) t_ ;,. gh like t. ~ 'ain with a dot :
i:__;,, t i l. ;, t ~ gh t &,

Practise:
_;I J:; _;I J:; _;I J:; before ghabl az _;\ J:;
_;\ yf _;\ yf other than gheir az _;\ yf
Y;::fS Y;::fS change taghyfr Y;::fS
t_4 t_4 t_4 garden bagh t_4
remainder, rest bagMye ~
red ghermez _;..J;
Learn carefully which'. words have t_ and which words
have Jin them, to avoid errors of spelling later.
Numerals in Persian are written -+ left to right, i.e. in
the opposite direction to words. The reason for this is
that the Arabic (from which both letters and numerals
were taken into Persian) numerals are spoken in order of
 LESSON TEN 33

increasing size, i.e. smallest first. An Arab reads 1959 as

nine and fifty and nine hundred and one tliousand ; a
Persian reads them as one thousand and nine hundred and
fifty and nine, as we do in English.

Here are the numerals 1-10, with their names in Persian:

yek 1 6-.:. f or' '\ shesh 6 ,;:.:,

-
I' do 2 _;:, V haft 7 ~

I" seI
3 A hasht 8 ~

'f'or t chahar 4 _;4';- "I nob, 9 ,.J

o or ~ panj 5
~
\ "I o"I
'.
= 1959
dab, 10 o:,

When the numbers are used with a noun or an under-

stood noun, in conversation we use the word
~ nafar following the.number, to indicate people,
and •
\; ta following the number, to indicate things or animals.
~ nafar and t; ta are not used if the noun denotes an
abstract idea or a measure of time :
~\... _;:. two hours j_;_; ""' three days (ruz = day)
The noun itself is always used in the singular form after
a number:
two friends do nafar dust ,.;...,.,,_;:, .).ii .J:,
three requests se khahesh _;.,,I_,,;- ,.._,.
two horses do ta asb ..,......1 t; .J:,
four carpenters chahar nafar banna ~ ~ _;4';-
I have five (of them) panj ta daram i):. t; ~
I saw six thieves shesh nafar dozd did am i~:, :._j:. ~ ..;,;.
34 MODERN PERSIAN

VOCABULARY
before .)I J-:-9 ghabl az other than .)I .ff gheir az
garden t ½ bagh change ~ taghy£r
red jA _,ii ghermez rest, remainder ~ bagMye
{The numerals 1 to 10, given earlier this lesson, should
also be learned.)
EXERCISES
I. Write, pronouncing as you write:
i.Jb Jf t;....., ..:,.- 'I' .:...,I .~ .)~ 4 .µ, \
.::....,1,,:- i .J' '-l .JI t .i.J ~.r' r
II. Translate :
1. He didn't want money.
2. Three glasses have (= has) warm water (in them),
and two have (= has) cold water.
3. I gave (to-) him bread and butter.
4. In his (omit) hand he has three loaves of bread (se
ta nan).
III. Translate Ex. I.
IV. Read your Persian for Ex. II.

LESSON 11
Arabic letters. The Arabic alphabet contains letters which
have distinct and differ~nt sound-values in Arabic, but
which, when used in Persian, have the same sound as each
other.
For example, Arabic has four letters z:
_; (which we have had already)
'.) like ~ d with a dot
~ .;,
 LESSON ELEVEN 35
and J; which only has a full form but which joins to its
left, nevertheless .
.i, .:., </', and l. have different sounds in Arabic. They all
have one and the same sound in Persian-z.
woman zan .:,_; some ba' az£ ~
paper kaghaz ~lS' noon, midday zo"!lr ~

A native Persian word is usually spelt with j for z, though

not always. Most words containing .:., ,</', and l; are foreign
words, usually Arabic.

There are in Arabic three letters s :

'-"' "' (we know already)
~ ~ like </' z undotted
c.:., :; like '-a;' p but dotted above

half nesf ~ cause, reason ba' es u4

dirty kas£J 4
Two letters t :
u ; (see lesson 5)
.1 undotted

direction taraf ....:,), electric battery batr£ '->),4

and two letters h :
-& "- ,. 1- • (see lesson 7)
36 MODERN PERSIAN

C. .,.. like [., t, <'.:.. but undotted :

morning sob!J, ~ letter (of the alphabet) harf .._;_,,,,..

To summarize the new letters :

j=J; ,..? ~

i..r'=~ er'
.::.,=J.
• = (.
The last letter we have to learn is not in the Arabic
alphabet-it has been added by the Persians to represent
a sound never found in Arabic, and not often found in
Persian. It is:
j zh
This is an _; r with three dots, and gives the sound of s in
our word pleasure, or of French j in je, jour.
lampshade (French abat-jour) abdzhur .J.J.;4T
agency (French agence) azhens ..,..J§
Zhale (a Persian girl's name) JI;
This completes the alphabet, with the exception of a few
orthographic signs (not letters), which we shall deal with
later in the book.
Here now is the whole alphabet, in the order used in
Persian dictionaries, and with their Persian names:
alej a .::., te t
y be b ~ se s
'-;' pe p <'.:..
jim j
fY LESSON ELEVEN 37

[. cMm eh ~ za z
[_ he hot£ h l 'ain
t khe kh t ghain gh
.:, aat d ...:, Je f
~ zal z J ghaf gh
.J re r ..s kaf k
j ze z s gaf g
j zhe zh J lam l

.
<.)"

<.)"
s£n
sh£n
s
sh
i
<.)
m£m
nun
m
n
if sad s .J vav v, U, 0
<Y"' zad z he havaz h, e
ta .1, t (> ye y, £
T is called alef madde. - the long sign is called madde.
Of the above, you must remember that :

~ .:, are not joined to the letter following them,

j _j .J i.e. they have no short form.
.J
1 is a consonant.
l
I is used to introduce vowels beginning words,
whether the vowel is short or long.
.J
} are both consonants and long vowels .
(>

at the end of a word is either b, or a short

vowel, e, or a.
{
anywhere else : is b,.
38 MODERN PERSIAN

Of the sounds for which there is more than one letter,

,.r s is far more common than .::.., and </
_; z .:i, ~. andJ.;
.::., t .1,

h [_
The two letters t._ ghain and J ghdf: both are found
very frequently, t._ in native Persian words and J in
Arabic loan-words.

VOCABULARY
some ..,.,.., ba' az£ half...;.,.,.; nesf
noon, midday ~ zob,r cause, reason .!,.J:½ bd'es
paper .U\f kaghaz dirty ~ kastf
direction J), taraf dirt .:.J\.S kesdfat
morning ~ sob!J, electric battery ..s)o\~ bdtrt
agency ._,...;3i dzhens lampshade ;J.il, i dbdzh11r

EXERCISES

I. Copy out the alphabet, without any explanation or

names of any letters ; arrange the letters in families,
thus:
..s ,_j
t. .1, </ ,y .) .:,
(.. y
.s ..; t J.; ~ J, _; .:,
[. y
j .::.,
[_
.::..,
t
,.; J<JiJ
II. (a) Which letters are never joined to their left, i.e.
have no short form ?
(b) List the letters for z, s, t, and h which are mostly
used for foreign words.
 LESSON ELEVEN 39

(c) What is the commonest way of writing (i) s, (ii) z,

(iii) t, (iv) h ?
(d) A word beginning with a vowel other than alef
madde must be introduced by ... ?
(e) Is 'ain a vowel or a consonant ?
(f) What is the short form of i.$ ye ?
III. Translate :
1. My friend came to the bridge.
2. I am coming before you.
3. What did I give him? Nothing.
4. He has bread and water.
IV. Read:
yT cJT .., i:.b cJU \j ......, er.I ~ .j-o
-1.oT cJ!,; jl .::...,,_,:, ~ "1" i )-li er.I jl .Jf- -r
-½:~ J_..,; 4 ~ b.) ..,1 o ~ Y.J> yT ~ <JI.I .):. t
V. Read your Persian for Ex. III.
VI. Translate Ex. IV.
l
 l!I'
'
>'I

PART TWO
Grammar
 LESSON 12
The personal pronouns in Persian ate :
1st (J"' man I L. ma we
2nd l-,;, shoma you l-,;, shoma you
Srd{ ..,1 u he or she .:,~I zshdn they (people)
.:,T an it ~T anhd they (things)
rµ
You will notice that (1) shoma "you", like its English
equivalent, is 'used for one person or several ; (2) there is
no " gender " whatsoever in Persian words. Hence we use
_,\ u for both " he " and " she ". The plural of _,I u is
.:,~\ zshan "they", only used when speaking of people;
(3) things are designated by .:,T an " it " (literally " that ")
whose plural is ~T anha "they" (literally" trose things").
When speaking of animals, we can use either ..,1 u and
.:,~\ zshdn or an and anha ~T .:,T, though v.e usually use
strictly .:,Tan and ~T anha for the lower animals.
The Persian verb is a very simple thing to master : there
are "a mere handful of irregulars, and even they follow a
clear pattern. Those students who have studied French or
German or Russian will find the Persian verb refreshingly
simple.
The infinitive of Persian verbs always ends in either .'.,:,-
-dan or ,:}- -tan :
to get or take .ftf gereftan
to eat or drink .'.,:;J_r khordan
to see c)-½_:; dzdan
to give .'.,:,\:, dadan
43
 44 MODERN PERSIAN tt

If we take the 0- -an off these verbs we have :

-~.J gereft~ -::,_;r khord-
--½.::, dtd- -::,\::, dad-
which is the Past Stem.
To the Past Stem we add the personal endings, and this
gives us the Past Tense :
1st r- -am r.- -tm
2nd -\;,- -td -½,- -td
..1;- -and
3rd{ (no ending)
(no ending) (no ending)
The conjugation in the past tense of the verb :;.~
gereftan to take or to get, is therefore :

(1) I took ?Jf' C:r-) (man) gereftam]

(2) you toc 1{ ~f (I_-.;,) (shoma) gerefttd . ul

l
I
3 {
he took ~f (_,I) (u) gereft smg ar
!,
': ( ) it took ~f (0T) (an) gereft
(1) we took r,?f (L.) (ma) gerefttm
(2) you took ~f (l--=,) (shoma) gereft£d
1 1
( ) {they(people)tookti_;f' (0~1) (tshan) gereftand pura
3
they (things) took .:.~f' (L;T) (anha) gereft
You will notice here that (a) the you-person (2nd) ending
is the same for singular and plural, as in English; (b) the
3rd person singular has no ending-the past stem itself is
used, with no further ending; (c) in the 3rd person plural,
if the subject is inanimate (i.e. if we use t;T dnha) the verb
is used in the 3rd person singular form. We only use the
f 0 LESSON TWELVE 45

plural 3rd person ending J.j_ -and with .:i~I £shan, i.e. in
referring to people or higher animals.
The -=- vowel in r.- and -'-!- is long : -£m, £d.
The unwritten vowel in i- and J.j_ is a short a : -am,
-and.·
Here are the past tenses of the other three verbs, cJ-'-!.:> to
see, 0.:.I.:. to give, and cJ.:.Jy- to eat ofdrink:
dfdan .:i~.:. to see, past stem -~.:. dfd-
(1) I saw i~.:. (..:,-,) we saw r.~.:. (L.)
(man) d£dam (ma) d2dzn1,
(2) you saw ~~.:. (I_;.) you saw ~~.:. (I_;.)
(shoma) dzdzd (shoma) d£d£d
·rhe/she saw ~.:, (..,1) they (people) saw J.j~.:, (0~1)
(3) ~u) dzd _ (zshan) d£dand
1t saw -'-!.:> (0I) they (things) saw -1,>,.:. (L;T)
(an) dzd (anha) d£d
dadan 0.:.I.:, to give, past stem -.:.b dad-
(1) (man) dadam i.:.b (.:r-) (ma) dad£m r..:,b (L.)
(2) (shoma) dadzd ~.:,\.:, (I_;,) (shoma) dad£d -'-!.:,I.:, (I_;,)
(3) { (u) dad .:,b (..,I) (£shan) dadand J.j.:,\.:, (0~1)
(an) dad .:.b (0T) (anha) dad .:,b (t.;T)
khordan cJ.:,Jy- to eat or drink, past stem -.:,Jy- khord-
(1) (man) khordam i.:,Jy- (.:r-) (ma) khord£m r..:.Jy- (L.)
(2) (shoma) khord£d ~.:.Jy- (I_;.) (shoma) khord£d -'-!.:,Jy- (I_;.)
(3) { (u) khord .)J.J> (..,IL (£shan) khordand ..\.i.:.Jy- (0~1)
(an) khord .)Jy- (01) (anha) khord .:.Jy- (t.;T)
46 MODERN PERSIAN

If the subject of the verb is emphasized, then we use the

verb together with the personal pronoun (which we have
bracketed in the tables above)-otherwise, the ending of
the verb itself indicates who the subject is :
?§' I got J..i:ib they gave r,::i.;_,.,,:. we ate
For the next few lessons, until we deal with the Present
Tense in Lesson 14a, we shall give verbs in the Vocabularies
first in the Infinitive, then the Past Stem, thus :
'
to see --½_:i 0-½_:i d£dan, did-
The Past Stem is not given in dictionaries written for
Persians, as it is always regularly formed. Note that the
verb usually stands last in its clause.

VOCABULARY
I ;;A man to take/get :?.J' gereftan, past
you I..,..:, shoma stem -~ .J' gereft-
he/she.,, a to eat/drink .:,:i;_,,;. khordan, past
it .:,Tan stem -:i;y- khord-
we lo ma to see.:, ..~:, dtdan, past stem--<~:,
they .:,~1 ishan (people) dfd-
\_.; T an ha (things) to give .:,:ii:, dadan, past stem
-:i,:i dad-

EXERCISES

I. Translate orally into Persian:

(1) You gave bread to that man.
(2) We saw a friend with his horse in town.
(3) He got bread and water.
(4) They ate bread with butter.
(5) I gave (to-) h1m everything.
 tv ,)LESSON TWELVE A 47
II. Write out Ex. I.
III. Read Ex. II.
IV. Read aloud :
r..:.J.r .:.J' .J .:,t; .J yT 4 <..S"'t.. t.. r i-1/..:>~l~J.:>'
..u.:.J.r .:,t; .J yT .:,T .:,~I t ~f ~ ~.:. ~I \J ......, .:..r .:,T I"
(.-½..:. ~If ~f JY. ~ ~
.:.Jy- yT ~I .:r..l /\ i.:.I.:. JY. Y. V
..u-1/..:. ~ .J.:> .:,~I\• i-1/..:> ~ ..r' .:,~ J.!> ..
V. Translate Ex. IV.
VI. Copy Ex. IV.

LESSON 12a
~j farhang, VOCABULARY
then ..rl pas to go~;-;._;; raftan, raft-
bus ..,NY._,;1 ot(}bas to be.:, ... _,( -.>Y. badan, bad-
late .r...> dtr to come .;.Lo T-.Lo Tdmadan, dmad-
office _,::J.> daftar early, quickly .,_.,:; zad
bath t"~ hammdm cause, reason ':"-:-'"" sabab
yesterday J.J.r...> dtraz air, weather 1_,... havd
coffee·~ gha1Jve (~t) night, . }.......:. shab
for this reason ":"-:---" .:r.,4 (m the) evenmg ·
be-£n sabab

Using this vocabulary, read aloud the following text :

.:uJ...:.
·i.:>Jy- .:.J' .J .:,t; .J ~ .J ?f it..,. .:>Jj ,:r -~ i f J:>- _I_,,. jn_.:.
fl-½ ,:r ~ .:r..~ .J .t.T J'...:. v-Y.YI ,?J v-Y.YI 4 -?J ~ .r?
·i.:.J.r iLl .J i.t.T J..:,;..c_ ,:r ~ ·i.t.T J'...:.
48 MODERN PERSIAN H,

Take each sentence again slowly, practising its pronuncia-

tion:
dtruz hava kheilf- garm bud. ~ if J:,:.. !,-II J ..u:,:i '
i:,.J.J>" •.J'.J .:ili .J ~ .J ?.)f' il..- :,.Jj ,:r .,.
man zud hammam gereftam va ghab,ve va nan va kare khordam.
pas oe-sha!:J,r rajtam. ?.) ~ L,)-~ f
ba ot6bus rajtam. ?.J c.r'Y._,.;·\ 4t
i.w _;:,:i fl-½ ,:r ~ Y-4 .J .w y::i c.r'Y.Jj\ b
otobus dtr amad va be-tn sabab man be-dajtar dtr amadam.
i:,.J_J>" i\;. .J i.w J;.c_ ,:r ~ f

shab man be-manzel amadam va sham khordam.

In this lesson we have three new verbs :
to go .;:~. to come .:.i.w to be .:.i~
These verbs all form their past tenses regularly, by first
taking .:.i- -an off their infinitives to get the past stem :
_,:;.) -..1,..T
and adding the regular endings.
All Persian verbs, without a single exception, form their
past tenses regularly in this way.
to come .:.i.w amadan to be .:.i~ budan
past stem -J,..T amad- past stem -~ bud-
(1) i.w r..w i~! r.~
(2) -l/...1,..T ~.w ~~ ~~
..1,..T ..u..1,..T ~ ,.\j~
(3}{ .w ..1,..T ~ ~
f °' LESSON TWELVE A 49

to go .:,:;~ raftan
past stem -::!_; raft-
(1) -
~.) ~.)

(2) ~.) ~.)

ci_; ..l:.::!_;
(3) {
ci_; ci_;

<.)!J-' tamr£n, EXERCISES

I. Conjugate (fl.J' and (fl_; in the past tense.
II. Fill in the blank spaces irr these past tenses:
(a) to come: 0-l.T amadan to be: 0~ budan
past stem -..l.T dmad- past stem - -
(1) i.W- r..w- i~lu-4 - L.
(2) - I_;; -1/...l.T- - I_;; -1/.~ -
- ..,I ..li..l.T- - ..,1 - 0~1
(3) {
-0T -t.;T ·-0T ~-
III. Answer orally, in complete Persian sentences, these
questions on the text :
~~!if~~ ..i.J..,:_~ '
~ ?.}' ~..,_; ~ u-4 'I'
~ i~.JJ> .:.f" J 0\.i J ~ (how ? = che-tour) .).Jl,, ~ ..:,.. I"

~ ?.) .fa-½ ..:,.. .).Jl,, ~ J t

~ .w ~..,_; 4 ..l.T J.~ ._,,,..,i..,; 1 _;.., ..;:~ /)
IV. Write out your answers to Ex. III.
V. Translate into Persian:
Yesterday I went late to the office. The weather in
Teheran was very warm, and the bus was (came) late.
In the evening I went home and had (ate) supper.·
50 MODERN PERSIAN I),

LESSON 13
Negative verbs. Any verb, irrespective of tense, is made
negative by prefixing to it _j na-. The prefix _j na- is
always stressed in pronunciation.
you didn't get -½:=9fa µ shoma nagere/Ud
I didn't see i-½..G nad£dam
he/she/it wasn't ~~ nabud
(Occasionally during this book a gr'!-ve ' accent will be
put over the stressed syllable, to remind you that the stress
falls there.)
Pronounce:
(1) man pul nagerejtam I didn't get any money. /;fa J.>; .:,..- \
(2) shoma sham nakhordfd -'-;-l.J_,;i i\..;:, I_;; Y
You didn't eat supper.
(3) fshan be-man pul nadadand .u°.)IJJ J.>; or. .:i~I f, ·
They didn't give me money.
Before a verb beginning with a vowel, -j na- becomes
-~ nay- (pronounced like English " nigh ") :
He didn't come J..o~ ..,I u nayamad
In Persian we use double negatives, for example:
.::..;..1~ ~ ~ ..,I u Mch cMz nagerejt
literally : he didn't take nothing ( ~ [:-:"').
Here are some more negative expressions. They all
require the verb prefixed with _j na- or -,,j nay- :
l,:- ~ nowhere (" no place ") l,:- place ja
.:.,_;.., ~ never (" no time ") .:.,_;.., time vaght
~ ~ nobody (" no person ") ~ person kas
 LESSON THIRTEEN 51
ii£ '(-!:!' none (of them) (" no which") ii£ which? kodam
'(-!:!' no, not a single
~ ~ nothing (" no thing ") ~ thing ch£z
In all these cases the ~ h£ch may be written on as one
word with its successor, but the separate forms are more
common:
l,:-~or~ .::..,;_,~or ..:..!J':;"-::1'
~':;"-:!' or .i;:=;- '(-!:!' ~-~or~
Practise:
i-'-!.-li l,:- '(-!:!' Jn_:, µ ._:,.
(1) I didn't see you anywhere ("nowhere") yesterday...
• • • •• I
i~~, ~J':;"-::1' ..;fl:, .;:, "

(2) I was (" wasn't ") never in his office. ··

..Lo~ J;.._ ~':;"-:!' jJJ_:, f
(3) Nobody came (" didn't come") home yesterday.
ci; ii.AS'"" ~ f ci.; :,.,..- ii.AS'"" t
(4) Which man went? None of them went(" didn't go").
j_,J..:, ?.1~
JJ; ~ l)
(5) I didn't get any (" no ") money yesterday.
(?.J~ ~ ~ f
(6) We ate (" didn't eat") nothing.
The Definite Direct Object. If we use a verb with a direct
object in Persian, and that direct object is a definite known
one, we usually suffix G-ra to the object. This G -ra can
be written on to the word, or written separately. Gis not
a word, it is a particle, a suffix. But because it indicates
something definite, we can often translate it into English
as "the", using the definite article. There is of course no
definite article as such in Persian.
52 MODERN PERSIAN

Compare:
I got money man pul gereftam rif
J.J; ._:,.
(i.e. some money-any money-an unknown quantity) with
I got the money man pul-rd gereftam ?.f
GJY. ._:,.. r
(i.e. a particular, knoWIJ. sum which we have already men-
tioned).
In sentence r above we could write GJY. as ~Y. one
word, if we wished. It is usually a matter of personal
choice.
Similarly, in the negative, compare :
I didn't get the money ?.1~
~.J; ._:,.. f
man pul-rd nagerejtam
with
I didn't get (any) money ;.;__;~ JY. ._:,.. f
man pul nagereftam
G -rd can never be suffixed to [:"::-" Mch or its compounds :
I didn't get any money at all ?.1~ JY. l;i'._-:" ._:,..
man Mch pul nagereftam
G-rd is also suffixed to the personal pronou11s :
mard ~.. (the 0 is omitted) me
shomdrd Gl_-.;; you (object)
ura G..il him, her
dnrd 1;T it (object)
mdrd GL. (note: two long d's) us
£shdnra G0l..:./.I them (people)
dnhdrd Gt.;T them (things)
,H' LESSON THIRTEEN 53
Note: (a) ,.:,.- +
L = G.,. Then 0 is always dropped and
the result is always written as one word.
(b) In Ll.. us, both d's are long.
In G., me, the first a is short, the second long.
Pronounce : (a as in " hand ") mard G., me.
(d as in " father ") mdrd Ll.. us.
These pronouns denote the direct oby'ect of the verb. Don't
use them for the indirect oby'ect. Compare :
The man saw us -½_.:i Ll.. .:i.r

with
The man gave us(= to us) money .:il.:i JY. Le_ .:i..1A

The indirect oby'ect (= to me, to us, etc.) is of course

expressed with the -, be prefix :
to me .r. be-man to us le be-ma
to you ~ be-shomd to you µ~ be-shomd
to him} .; I., b,e-u
A
0~4 be-£shdn (people)
t o th em { 1 · - b , h
to her · -r 4 e-dn a things) A (

to it <,)~ be-an
In English the "to" in "The man gave (to) us money"
is usually omitted. In Persian we must use -, be- "to".
mard be-ma put dad The man gave us money .:,1.:, J.J; Le_ .:,..IA
and
mard put-ra be-ma dad .:il.:i Le_ LJY. .:i.r

The man gave us the money (LJ.>; money is here the

definite direct object, with L -rd suffixed, and Le_ (to) us is
an indirect object, with , be- prefixed). The direct object
normally precedes the indirect one in Persian. •
 ~t
.I
54 MODERN PERSIAN

~ } farhang
no, not a r. hich nowhere ~ r. hich ja
place~ ja none of them rl..1.S- r. hich kodam
which ? rl..1.) kodam never .::.,JJ ~,. htch vaght
time .::.,J J vaght father J..I.? pedar
mother J~lo madar brother J~I.J\ baradar
sister .J,.,.,,~.
khahar (v silent) daughter, girl _;:;.~ dokhtar
boy, son ..r-? pesar
Note: (a) Do not confuse .J-1; father with .J"'"; son. (b) .J-1;,
J~I.J'., .J~\.., and ~~ are historically the same words as their
English counterparts, of course.

(J..J-' tamr£n
I. Translate into Persian :
(1) My father didn't give me any money.
(2) He didn't give me the money.
(3) My brother didn't go anywhere yesterday.
(4) I gave him nothing.
(5) My mother gave my sister nothing (G or~ ?).
(6) His daughter never came to the office.
(7) Nobody went.
(8) His father came to the office late yesterday.
(9) That bus never comes early.
(10) I saw the bus. We saw a bus.
II. Translate into English :
~ ~.1..T .r.JiY 1 4 µ " i~\.,\j )::;- ~ ..,4 '
i~ ~ ..:r..1 .J~ 0':';"'::" r ~if J.:.,,:-1,.,, 'I"
i-'-1-.,\j ~ J-r-! .)~ .:r- t _::.;.) .:,\.I'.. 4 ~
~.r~ • ~ I!J ._;:.J.J;
·: e': .::,...J •I
A ..1./.~.J_,;i il;. I_.!- V
.,\j~.,\j'l.:- ~ G)::;- ..:r..l , • .,\j~ J-r-; .)~ _;_,.1_~ cr.J~ 1.;: _, er~~ "
 LESSON THIRTEEN A 55
III. Read aloud your answers to Ex. I and Ex. II.
IV. Complete these conjugations in the past tense:
not to take .;;fa not to eat 0~.J_;.:
past stem -::.ifa past stem -~.J_;.:
?J~ U" ~fa - i~.);.: - - l,.
-l-! ~fa- -'-1.~.J.J;i_ -I_-;
-- _,\ - ,j~\ - .:,t - ,j~\
-.:ii .:...ifa- -0T -t;T
V. Put an appropriate negative with <:It' in these
sentences: (e.g. ~; µ ---+ .J.:.Jj l=:- <:It' l-!) li
I!:,,
..u~..Li - - ~-Li~~ !J~.r it£\ ii
{.~ .x-! .)~ - l,. "l'
!I·
Ii!
J:..::.ij - - ,j~\ jJJ.~ I" !ii
:,,
?fa-- ~~.J' "'; t
I
i
I.
i~..Li--ei

LESSON 13a
The word 1£.~ and its compounds answer questions. These
questions are usually introduced by special question words.
t'- itself, with a noun, answers the question --=;- eke
(colloquially eh£) what ?
Similarly,
.:...b~ answers the question ,S Mi when?
l=:- <:It" l.:S koja where ?
~~ J kt who?
ii£ t'- ii£ kodam which?
.i::-'; t'- .i::-'; --=; eke eh£z what
(thing) ?
 56 MODERN PERSIAN

Note: S kei when? and S ki who? are written alike.

In all of these cases t', and its compounds give a negative
answer: where? nowhere; who? nobody; when? never.
When we make a question in Persian, we do not alter
the order of the words. All we need to do is to raise the
voice towards the end of the question.
In print, we sometimes find a European question mark
used in reverse ~. But this is by no means compulsory :
in fact we should get accustomed to reading Persian without
any punctuation at all, or at most the full stop . , question
mark ~' and parentheses ( ).
As well as t', h£ch, which is a negative answer, we have
several positive answer words, some of which can be pre-
fixed, like t',, to the answer. We shall deal for the moment
with just a few :

.Y' har any, every .:.iT an that .:r..l in this

Negative
Question Answer Positive Answers
- what? ~ no, none .J"' every .:,i that .:r._l this
v' when? .:;,J~ never .::.,:;_,_,,., every .:;,J_,_;i then 'j\,-. now*·
time
~where? l:-~ nowhere l:-.J~ every- \~;i there ~I here
where
J who? ..,rS' ~ nobody ,_,.S .J~ every- ,_,,,.,;....:. .:,,.1 this person
body ,_,..,.....:, .:, i that person
rl-'f' which? rl..ll ~ none of ~-"" each one J.:. .:,i that one
them ~ .:r.. I this one
~ - w h a t ? ~ ~ nothing ~-""everything~ .:,i that thing
~ .:r._ I this thing
t:,V LESSON THIRTEEN A 57

Note: (a) * "now" is a special word, . ':I'~ hald.

(b) ~ I this person and ~ T that person do not form
with ,:yS' a person; they form with the Arabic word ~
shakhs, written separately or as one word. (c) ~- .;i;,1
in yeki this one and S,,. .:iT dn yeki that one do not form
with ii£, but with S.,. " a one ".
In addition to the above list, we can add an entirely
new word:
JJl,, "'; che tour? or JJk'; chetour ? how ? in what way ?
negative answer: J_,l,, ~ in no way, in no manner, by
no means.
positive answers : JJl,, _r in any way, in every way.
JJl,, Y-1 or J_,k:;,1 in this way, like this, thus, so.
JJl,, .:iT or J_,k.;T in that way, like that, thus, so.
J~ or J_,l,,,.'; has also another meaning: as an adjective it
means what sort of ?, what kind of ? It takes no ezdfe.
What sort of house is it ? ~ -:.,...,I Jj;,. J_,l,, "';°
che toitr manzel ast ?
and the answer: This kind J_,l,, Y-1 intour.
Also : of another kind J~.:, J_,1,, tour-e-digar (ezdfe here)
of every kind Jyb .r har tour

(of) that kind J_,l,, .:iT dn tour

Two other expressions meaning " what kind of ? " :
...;_,~ chegune (one word) } "what kind of? "
JY," "-'; che jur (two words) (no ezdfe) 1,
,1

We do not usually employ the answer forms corresponding i

to these expressions; instead we use the constructions with

J_,l,, above.
C
58 MODERN PERSIAN

G. The particle G, used for the definite direct object,

comes after the whole group of words denoting the object.
For example :
i~.) G.).r .:iT ..:,.- I saw that man
.u~.) G ;.-.P
.).r .:iT They saw that man, my friend
It is not necessary, as you see, to use Gafter every word :
Gis a particle which appears only once after the last word-
unit of the definite direct object. Even if we have a com-
plicated direct object such as.a string of words connected
with the ezafe (see Lessons 6 and 16), we merely put one G,
written either as a separate word or on to the last consonant
of the last word :
..;~.) G~I -'-I?,:;-,-
hasan-e-pedar-e-ab,mad-ra dtdand
They saw Hassan, the father of Ahmad
or if the objects are several, linked together with and, the
same rule applies :
i~..; G_,.)1-". .J .r¥ .J _,.)L. .J -'-I?
pedar O madar O khahar O baradar ra nadtdam
I didn't see (my) father, mother, brother and sister.

now':/6- here ~ I
then .;,.jJ .:,i there ~i
every time} everywhere ~ .J4>
whenever .;,.jJ.J4" nowhere~ r-
always that one~ .:,i
never .;,.j J r- where?~
this time .;,.jJ .:r._l that person~ .:,i anshakhs
this person ~ .:r._ I tnshakhs nobody,.;~
everybody ,.;.S J4> this one~ .:r._l
 LESSON THIRTEEN A 59
none~ each one <J~J"'
that one~ .:,i morning ~ sob[J
afternoon~ jl ~ ba' ad az zo[Jr noon~ zo[Jr
motor car ~Lo mtishtn tea.;~ chtii
lunch _;\,,,\; ntihtir no ,.; na, .J:.;.. kheir, .J:.;.; ndkheir
taxi ..s..f\; ttikst
Text
Note: In this text, and throughout most of the book,
an unwritten ezdfe (e, eye, or £ye) will be shown with an *
asterisk. This is merely as an aid to accurate reading-it is
of course never there in a Persian text.
-~! J;. ,:;.-- ,:;j__ j ~ <:i'.t .JJJ,,:, ,:;.- f.;J.) 4S' j.JJ,,:, ,:;.-
v-S' <£t f ~ J;_ ,:;.-Li ,S . ,:;j__j 0~ .;:.;.J <£t f ,:;j.J 0~ ,S ,:;.-
.u-\ *.J-1; ·i~J..i . .,; f ~~:, u.JI - ~ ~I f ~i l.;S ..u--1 C:" -~
.~ _,...._!,a;. .J .J:,l.. 4 ~I .u-1 .~ .ft:, .J:, .JI .Ji~:,

<J..r
I. Answer orally these questions on the text :
f ~! l.:S ,:;.- j .J J..:, \
f ~ l.;S .u-1 jJJ..:, r
f~~:, G.u-1 jJJ..:, r
f ,:_j.) <) ~ s ,:;.- t
f~ J..;.. ,:;.-4 S c)
II. Write out your answers to Ex. I.
III. Read aloud the questions in Ex. I, reading the
appropriate answer from Ex. II after each question.
IV. Write in Persian:
(1) Did nobody come yesterday?
(2) I saw where he went. Where did he go? He went
there.
 60 MODERN PERSIAN

(3) How did they go home ? They went home this

way: by bus and by taxi.
(4) I have never been (= I wasn't never) in Tehran.
Were you there ?
(5) Which bus did you take? This one or that one?
(6) I never saw this person at the office. I never saw
anybody (= didn't never see nobody) there.
(7) Where was his brother at that time? His brother
was at that time in Tehran.
. V. Read aloud your Persian for Ex. IV.

LESSON 14
Plurals. In classical Persian, the rule for forming plurals
of nouns was :
(a) add .:,\_ -an to animate nouns (people or higher
animals).
(b) add \.,,- -ha to inanimate nouns (lower animals or
things).
But in modern Persian we can use 1..,,_ or 0\- for most
animate nouns. We always use\.,,- for inanimate ones .
a friend
.;;,.,,,.J~
.:,\;:...,.J~ or ~.J~ friends
cJj woman
0Uj or t;j women
:r::; thing
\., :r::; things
.:,fl.. car (mdsMn)
l..,..:,fl.. cars
f' LESSON FOURTEEN 61

01- after a long I a becomes 0\,.- -yan for reasons of

euphony:
t;T gentleman ~ carpenter
041.;T gentlemen 04_~ carpenters
and in· nouns ending in a vowel •- -e, the •- -e is dropped
and we add 0lf -egan :
•.Y slave, bande o..li.r. bird, paran_de
0lf ~ slaves, bandegan 0lf ..li.r. birds, parandegan
Some animate nouns have retained exclusively 01- -an as
their proper plural suffix, and never take t.,,_ -ha, even in
modern Persian. Among these few are most animates
ending in I -a and •- -e, such as those above.
The easiest way to learn Persian plurals is to study these
few rules:
(a) All inanimates take t.,,_ -ha.
(b) A few animates take exclusively 01- or 0\,.- or 0lf- :
these can be learnt as they occur.
(c) Most animates can take either 01- or t.,,_ indiscrimin-
ately.
(d) A certain number of words borrowed from Arabic
form their plurals as in Arabic, but these nearly always have
in addition a 01- or t.,,_ Persian plural, which is universally
accepted by educated Iranians. Thus :
J;. manzel, house, is an Arabic word borrowed into
Persian.
Its Arabic plural is Jjl:.. manazel (a medial a is inserted).
Its Persian plural is u.;. or L,,J_;. manzelha.
Both the native and the Arabic plurals are acceptable.
62 MODERN PERSIAN

Do not attempt yet to learn Arabic plurals as such :

they will be dealt with later.
The ending .:.,\_ is always, if possible, joined to its word.
The ending \...- can be written either joined or disjoined.
After a vowel •- -e it must be disjoined, to avoid the
confusion of having two letters • together.
For example:
woman cJ_j zan
women (animate plural) .:.il.i_j zandn
\...0_j zan-hd
women (illanimate plum!) { o,
l.;_j zanhd
but
child ~ bachche
children \...,..~ bachche-hd

~ talajfoz PRONUNCIATION
The plural endings 01- and \...- are always stressed.
Pronounce dghdyd'n 04t.;T The grave ' accent
zandn 0\.i_j shows where the heavy
zanhd l.;_j stress falls. Stress is
Hold the double}bachche-hd 1..,,......, very important in
chch •· Persian.
chtz-hd\...~
The plural noun can take the usual prefixes and suffixes :
in the case of suffixes, the plural ending is added before any
other suffix :
 LESSON FOURTEEN 63

child ,.~ gentleman t;T

to the child ~~ to the gentleman \;½
to the children t..~~ to the gentlemen ,:.,~t;T;
a house J_;.. my house ( _;..
my houses (jl:... or r.Llj~
our house 0Uj~ our houses 0Ujl:... or ,:.,~_U,_;.~
(after .r and 1- -am and -eman become -yam and -yeman
(., 0~.)
his friend ,_;;.,,,.J~ their friend 0~.....J~
his friends ._;;l::...,.J~ or cfa.L;.....J~
their friends 0 L!.i l::...,.J~ or 0 ~ L;.....J~
(after .J- and 1- -esh and -eshan become -cfa. -yesh and
0~ -yeshan).
In the case of a definite direct object in the plural, the
usual suffix L-, coming right at the end of the whole object
expression, is used:
i-½~ 1;...,.J~ :;..
I saw the friend
i-½~ L ,.;:;.. ..J~ :;.. r
I saw his friend
i-½~ L t...::......,.J~:;.. '"
I saw the friends
iJ.p L cP. t.;...,.J~ :;.. t
I saw his friends
i-½~ L 0Wb.J~ :;.. l)
I saw their friends
i-½~ L ,:.,~.J~ :;.. t
I saw their friend
64 MODERN PERSIAN ft

You will notice that the combination in no. l:l :

G0\.!.jt::.....J~
dustdneshanrd
has as its first element .:;....,,.J~ friend ; the first -;\_ is the
plural, friends ; -.!.- -esh is his, which is itself made plural
0\..:.- eshdn, their; and Gis the suffix of the definite direct
object. There are two separate syllables _;\_ -dn- in the
word. The first is a plural sign transforming " friend "
into " friends " ; the second makes the possessive " his "
in to " their ".
After 01-, 04_-, and 0lf- the izdfe is unwritten and pro-
nounced i. After ~- it is written c$- and pronounced -ye.
good boys (animate pl.) Y.r 01_,-; pesardn-i-khub
good boys (inanimate pl.) Y..J,;,.. c.>~.r.,pesarhd-yi-khub
little children ~ § c.>~~ bachchihd-yi-kuchek
big birds DJ j_ 0\f..10; parandigdn-i-bozorg
<Y-1 this and 0T that do not change to mean these and
those when used before plural nouns :
.:,fL. ,:,T .:,fL. u-/. I
that car this car
~.:,fl..0T ~.:,f l.. <Y-1
those cars these cars
but when these and those have no noun after them, or i.
'I
when the noun is understood but not expressed, then they I

take the plural inanimate ending ~, invariably :

Which women did you see? -½.-½.~ 0li_; ii£
I saw these (ones) i-1/.~ Gt.;1.I
I saw those (ones) i-1/.~ Gt.;T
 LESSON FOURTEEN 65
Do not confuse t;T those ones (animate or inanimate) I, I

with the subject-pronoun t;T they (inanimate only), which

we had in Lesson 12.
In Lesson 12 we learned that t;T, referring to inanimate
subjects (i.e. lower animals and things) takes the verb in
the 3rd person singular form. This rule applies when the
subject of the verb is an inanimate plural noun. Compare
The women came JJ-1.oT cJLlj They came JJ-1.oT .:,~\
with
These things were ( = was) bad ~ -½ l.,,.J'.:'; ..r..1
They were,(= was) bad ~ -½ t; T

child ~ bachche cat ,.,,__}' gorbe

bird • ..; .x parande to read (-;1_,;.) .:,..;1_,;. khdndan,
to pull.:,~(--'-~) kashtdan, khdnd-
kashid- tail r~ dom
book '":"'\;S ketdb to write(-::.;._,;)~.:;,_,; neveshtan,
dog .L... sag nevesht-
pen I'"" ghalam leaf ..!" Ji barg
tree ~ J ~ derakht letter ,_.\j name
i
small 4 _,f kachek paper ..u:lf kdghaz
I
line, writing ..b. khatt take, carry (-~~) .:,~~ bordan I I
pencil ~1.,_,. meddd

I. Put into the plural :

t;T - yl::S"" - Jj,. - ~1-1.o - p- t,4 - .::,.,;._;~ - &:.,,, - .JJ..:; - .:,j I''
''

"-';_;f' .:,T - &:.,,, ..r..1 - ._,,....,I - ""f - .b:. - 0:?l.. - <Y.J,_,;I - 4~ -

.:,T - ..::;.I -
66 MODERN PERSIAN

II. Put into the plural :

.1.oT ~I uT er.I
.::..!-y ..::....,)-4 .,,\.; JI -r..fJ ,.A\.; ~ ...; ~ ~y .,,\.; µ r
.:,b J~ yl::S°" '\"
~, i J.:.I.;: J_;.. J.:,

.::...!,Jj M \_; I.T. J .;:_.jJ iJ ~;:, r).:, {)

~ -4 J:.:- $.,,. J., I f

.::,.!.~• ..u• ,yr

I-' .r-,
.-J V

~ .;..,;.J.:, ~4 J.:> A

~, 4§ J:.:- J;.. -~ ~.i: J:.:- t4 °'

r..u¥ ~M1.; ,.j \'-4...;1y-1;Tµ·i..u!.,;i -~, -4 J:.:- M1.; 0T* .1..> , •
III. Translate :
1. Did you read the letters ? Which letters ? These.
2. My books were not very big.
3. He took pens, papers, and pencils (singular) to the
office.
4. Yesterday I wrote a letter. Which letter ? This
one.
5. These children came late. How did they come, by
bus or by car ?
6. These houses were big, but those were small.
7. I saw the birds in the trees.
8. These bad boys pulled that dog's tail.
9. He drew a* line with a big pencil. (0~ to pull.
also means to draw, in all senses.)
10. His dog and our cat went in(to) our garden.
fV LESSON FOURTEEN 67

IV. Read aloud your answers to Ex. II.

V. Read aloud your answers to Ex. III.
VI. In the spaces ir:i: the sentences on the right, put the
correct form of the past tense of the verb on the left :

.:i~i -6'.J..i: (>L,,._:..,,:..).:, t.4 .).:>

.:i.;,.T -J;. .).:, L,,"-l_}' r

.;~ - '-:'.r L,,.:,fl.. .:iT 'I"
<J'~ _j '-:'.r L,,f .r-1 t
cl~ -6'.J..i: t._4 .:iT .).:. li,.lf l)
.;;.) fl-½ .:,_,_; J.,.:- .).J.J'._.:>(r>- .J ..u--1 f

cl~ -j ~T L,,J;_ .;.;_.,.ff V

- .:.I.;,. 4 .:i~
.;:,..,j

... - -½ t;T.., ~ '-:'.r Li,..J; .r-1

"'I
'-"""'--"
.:i.;,.T J_.:, L,,<.Y'Y.YI ~ f - J;..c_ --"...:, L,,..r"'; .).J.J'._.:,
'.
VII. How is the ezaje pronounced in the following, eor ye?
.:ip..,.:. * (>L,,J_:;.. r r'-'.:. * J;.. ,
.:..r * .:i~ t . .:..r .:iT * ~ 'I"
'-:'.r * Ji--"..I t>

VIII. How is the ezafe expressed in the following, unwritten

or t$?
.:..r .:iT- t;. ...,.:. r .:..r .:iT- .:it:..._,.:. I
(r>--Ll;.. t ,)-<- -J;.. 'I"
.:i_; .r-1- 4~ l)

* Use ..!S..;. yek here for" a".

68 MODERN PERSIAN

LESSON 14a
~)
how old is he/she? ~ ,rL big .5"; .r. bozorg
sennesh chand ast? ~ ..::,......,1 is ..::,......,1 ast
I haven't r;l..u nadaram I have r;l.l daram
twenty -----~ btst how much ? } q • h d ;,
but JJ vat£ how many ? · ~ c an ·
you have ~;1.l dartd we have r,.Jl.l dartm

TEXT
·i.)b _).)l.. ,.is::u.J..l-; 6.,. ,:r- ,.;;.....,I i.).)l.. cJ_j cJT •.;;.....,I i.)-1? .)J~ .r,.1
,_;:,;.,., _, ·i.Jb J"'¥ 6-,_ J_, i)..u .).) I-". ,:r- ~-1/..Jb ?¥ _, .J.) I-".~
~-½_).) J"'¥ _, _).)\-". ~ i.:. ..;;.....,I ~ ,:r- * ?¥ *,:;,,, ~.;;.....,I~
J;.. -f..Jb cJL,;° .).) J;.. 6.,. t.. ·i.)b _).)1-". ..,.) J.., r)..u Y'¥ ,:r-
• .;;......,1 8.Jj_ J.:.:- cJU;_. "'4 ~.;;.....,I 8.Jj_ µ * J_:r;.. . .;;.....,I 8.Jj_
Take each sentence individually, and read it slowly,
making sure (use the vocabulary where necessary) that you
understand it:
£n mard pedaram ast .;;......,\ i .J-1? .)y .r.-1
This man is my father
dn zan mddaram {!,St .;;......,\ i _).)l.. cJ_j cJT I'
That woman is my mother
man yek pedar va yek mddar ddram i .Jb .J.)l.. ~ .J.J~ ~ ,:r- 'I"
I have one father and one mother
chand barddar o khdhar ddr£d? ~-1/..Jb y>¥ .., _).)\-". ~ t
How many brothers and sisters have you ?
i.)b ?¥ 6.,. J_, i )..u _).)\-". ,f 0
man barddar naddram vali yek khdhar ddram
I have no brother (I don't have a brother) but I have
one sister
 LESSON FOURTEEN A 69
va sennesh chand ast ? ~ .;:.....,\ ~ er'..., .J f

And what (how much) is her age?

•.::......1 (r•) ~ ,y * .r>¥ * ,:;.... V
senn-e-khahar-e-man Mst ast
My sister's age is twenty
~ -½).) .r>¥ _; _;.)I.;: ~ I_;, A
shoma chand baradar O khahar dar£d ?
How many brothers and sisters have you got ?
·i_;b _;.)I.;: _;.) J_; i)J..i .r>¥ ,:;., °'
man khahar nadaram vali do baradar daram
I have no sister, but I have two brothers
ma yek manzel dar teb,ran dartm (..Jb 01,.; _;.) J;.. 6:. l.. , ,
We have a house in Tehran
manzel bozorg ast . .::......\ 8_;-% Jj~ \ \
The house is big
manzel-e-shoma bozorg ast ? ~ .::......\ 8_; j µ * J;.. \r
Is your house (the house of you) big?
.::....I 8_;): J::-> 0U;,. "--4 \ I'
bale manzeleman kheiU bozorg ast
Yes, our house is very big
Practise reading the text till you can do it fluently,
before continuing with this lesson.
cl~
The verb 0~ budan to be is itself very rarely used in the
Present Tense. Instead we use this Present Tense:
(for I am, you are, he is, etc.)
1 (man) hastam r" (,:;.,) (ma) hasMm r-:.J, (L.)
2 (shoma) hasMd .J.i-1> (I_.;.) (shoma) hast£d .J.i-1> ( µ)
70 MODERN PERSIAN V•

(u) ast .:...-1 (_;I) (£shan) hastand .J.:..::..J> (0~1)

3{
(an) ast .:...-1 (0T) (anha) ast .:...-1 (t.;T)
You will notice (a) the endings for the 1st and 2nd
persons singular and plural, and the 3rd plural animate
(0~1) are those we have already met in the Past tense;
(b) the 1st and 2nd persons singular and plural and the
3rd plural animate (0~1) begin with /l:, h. The ..,I, 0T, and
t.; T forms have no /l:, h.
There is a 3rd singular and plural (_,I, 0T, and t.;T pers~ms)
which goes with an h : ..:,._Jl:, hast. This form means there is,
there are (it is an emphatic form). Compare:
It is a house manzel ast .:...-1 J_;.
with
There is a house manzel hast ..:,._J):, J_;.
The negative of all these forms is :
1 n£stam r-o; n£st£m
2 n£st£d ~ n£st£d
n£st ~ nfstand ~
3{ A A
nist ~ nist ~
~ is used as the negative of ..:,._Jl:, as well :

It isn't a horse } . b ,
. ..::......-, ........- 1 as nist
There ISn't a horse · ·
.:,::_.,;1.:, dashtan, to have
The verb .;:,1.:, dashtan means to have. In the Past Tense
it is regular, i.e. we take off the 0-an, leaving .::.;,I.:, dasht-
as the Past Stem.
To the Past Stem we add the regular past endings to
get the Past Tense:
1 dashtam ?I.:, dashUm rl.:,
V\ LESSON FOURTEEN A 71

2 ddshttd ~b ddshttd ~I.:,

ddsht .;...;I.:, ddshtand ~I.:,
3{
ddsht .;...;I.:, ddsht .;...;I.:,
= I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they had
The present tense endings for all verbs except .:i~, which
we have just learned, are the same except in one person
(3rd singular, and hence also 3rd inanimate plural) as the
past tense endings. The difference lies not in the endings
but in the stem to which those endings are added.
Of .;_.;.1.:,, -::;,I.:. is the Past Stem and - )~ the Present
Stem.
The present tense of .;_.;,1.:, to have is:
stem - )~ ddr-
1 ddram i .Ji.:, ddrtm (..Ji.:,
2 ddrtd -½.)~ ddrtd -½.)~
ddrad ~)~ ddrand ..u)~
ddrad ~)~ ddrad ~)~
3{

You will notice that (a) the 1st singular and plural, 2nd
singular and plural, and the 3rd. animate plural (..:,.,, L.,
µ, and .:i~I forms) have the same personal endings as has
the past tense, but (b) for the 3rd singular and 3rd inanimate
plural (_;I, .:iT, and t;T) the ending is ~- -ad; (c) the stem
vowel of this verb is pronounced long, d ; the i- -am,
~- -ad, and ..u- -and endings are pronounced with a short a,
while, as in the past tense, the £ of -½.- -£d and r.-
-£m is
long.
. The endings given above are the same in spelling and
pronunciation for all verbs in the present tense except
.:i~, to be.
72 MODERN PERSIAN VY
na- is added to the present tense to negate it just as it
is to the past tense :
~\-Li nadashtan, not to have
past stem -~I-Li -)-Li present stem
past tense: present tense:
• • \-Li
1
r
2 ~\-Li
r-~\..\j
~\-Li
r)..\.i
..\J.J \-Li
r.)..\.i
..\J.J \-Li

3{ .;..;:.\-Li ~\-Li ~)-Li ..\.i)..\j

.;..;:.\-Li .;..;:.\-Li ~)-Li ~)-Li
The present tense of all verbs is normally used to indicate
the future also. This is especially the case when the context
of the verb tells us that the future is intended.
I am (I shall be) here tomorrow ~ ~\ b_)
We shan't have (haven't) a lesson tomorrow r.)..\.i cr.P b_)

cJ.~
I. Read again the text and the vocabulary, to refresh
your mind on the words and constructions, and then
answer orally the following questions, with reference
to yourself :
~ -½.)~ 0G,-1_,,:. 4 0G~I..;: µ '
~-½.)~ J~ .J J~l.. y
.;_....,\.c.:;-µ*,:_, .... .,.
~.;...I 8Jj_ 4 6..;,~ 1.-! * J.:,:_. t
~-½.)~ t.4 ~
II. Write out your answers to Ex. I.
III. Put in each space the correct past tense form of 0~i :
. - t_:.:.. J~ J_,..1..~ 04t;T LJ'!.I ,
 11

VY' LESSON FOURTEEN A 73

f- ;.;:i .):i J_;_,_:i µ r

. - 8.)): yl::S' 01.I y-
f - J;,A .):, µ * .):,I.J'. .J y»_I,> t
. - ~T i.):il.. J_; oJ /)

IV. Translate and write out :

1. Tomorrow I shall be at the office early.
2·. Yesterday I had two gentlemen at the house.
3. I didn't have the money-did you have (it) ?
4. This room has four windows b~ panjere) and one
door. The windows have six panes ( ~ shfshe)
each (one).
5. These aren't my books. Where are they ? I didn't
see them anywhere.

V. Write the negative of these sentences:

•.:,....,I '-:'..J> * .):il.. 0J .:iT r
f..::,.....,. yT t
•-½:=-'> JI_,_ I o

§ " I have been here ... " literally in Persian, " I am

here a long time "-the present, not the perfect or past, is
used when the action continues from the past into the
present. Cf. exactly the same construction in three major
European languages :
Je suis ici depuis longtemps } b I
. h. . Z . ecause am
I ch b m 1er se1t 1anger e1t 'll h
sti ere
JI ;n;aBHO s;n;ec1,
74 MODERN PERSIAN Vt
LESSON 15
The indefinite suffix <.S- -:£
When we wish to use a noun and to make clear that it
is indefinite, we add to it the suffix <.S- -:£ :
mard man, the man
.:,..r"

<>.:,.J~ mard:£ a man, some man or other, any man

The suffix ca:i;i be added to a compound, i.e. to a noun

followed by a qualifying adjective:
,..,u~ * .:,.)~
mard-e-khub:£ some good man or other
J.J j_ * .J~ shalJ,r-e-bozorg:£ any big city
It can be attached to certain pronouns, and to the word
~ yek one, a one :

S; yek:£ someone
~
shakhs:£ somebody
<.SS kas:£ somebody, anybody
<.$~ htcht none, nothing (at all)

If we wish, we can add it to the noun and not to the

adjective:
mard:£ khub any good man
y __,,;. <>~~

in which case the ezaje is dropped. It is most important

to remember that if <.S- -:£ is added in the middle of an
ezaje compound, such as Y.»- * .:>y mard-e-khub, then that
interrupted ezaje is dropped. We have thus several good
ways of expressing, for example, "some good man or
other" :

i
v.o LESSON FIFTEEN 75
IS' y * .:._., .
y_,,;..:._.,,..6-.;. In each of these combinations,
'-"_,,;. * .:._., . 6..,. the ,.;- -1 is added to a differ-
Y.»- ,.;.:._., . ent word. They all mean
y _,,;. ,.;.:._.,,.. 6-.;. much the same thing, but
'-"_,,;. ,.;.:._.,,.._ the one we dealt with first,
<r-Y ,.;.:._.,,.. 6-.;.

is by far the most common.

If the noun ends in ,.;- -1 already, we cannot add a
further ,.;- to it :
J..c...,., sandal£ chair, or any chair, or the chair
~ kasht£ boat, any boat, the boat
If the noun or adjective ends in .r -u
or 1- -a we
pronounce a glottal stop (see Lesson 9) between this final
vowel and the 1. We have already had, in Lesson 9, the
letter t. 'ain. But t. 'ain is only found in Arabic loan '·:,',
words, and this -1 suffix is purely Persian. Instead of 'ain "I
in this case we use the sign ·, called hamze. Hamze is not 1

,,i1
a letter, it is a sign. It is written over what we call a bearer,
which looks like a ~ b without its dot, thus :
! or!

Thus t;T agha with ,.;- -1 indefinite added looks like

Jt;T "some gentleman or other"
and is pronounced agha'1. Do not, in pronouncing ' this
word and others like it, run the I into the ,.;. The r is
76 MODERN PERSIAN Vt
there expressly to prevent this tendency. Pronounce a
clear stop, a catch of the breath, between the I and the
~ : Jt;T agha't.
Exactly the same thing happens with a word ending in
.J -u:
..,, bu smell
-½ ~Y. bu-ye bad the bad smell
JY. bu'£ some smell
-½ J_,,bu'£ bad }
or some bad smell or other
~-½ ~..,, bu-ye bad£

Similarly:
~ banna the carpenter
J~ banna'£ any carpenter
ja place
~

J~ ja'£ some place, somewhere

An indefinite-£ added to a word ending in • -e (vocalic h)
is written either with a hamze over the • and nothing else :
.;l,:.. khane house
tl,:.. khane'i a house
or the hamze can be left off, giving a form identical with
the definite form:
.;l,:.. khane house, or khane'£ a house
or the syllable -£ is written ~I :
~\.,;l,:.. khane'i a house
It goes without saying that as ~ is an indefinite suffix,

II
1:

\I
vv LESSON FIFTEEN 77

one very seldom finds G the definite direct object suffix

connected to it. Compare :
i~.) ~ I saw a carpenter
i~.) G~ I saw the carpenter
i~.) J~ I saw some carpenter (or other)
Nor can .s be found in conjunction with such definite words
as er.I this and .:,T that and .f' every. There are one or two
exceptions to this :
means this one
that one
every one or everyone
.s- is often found. with negatives, and especially with [.-:-"
no, none, not a. In this case the .s- is best expressed in
English by " any ", with the verb in the negative :
~ ~~.) ~
Did you see anybody ?
i~-li ~ ~ ,J No, I didn't see anyone (at all)
which could also be (without [.-:-") :
i~-li ~ ,J No, I didn't see anyone
When the word immediately before the verb .:...,I "is"
ends in .s-, the I of .:...,I is not pronounced. The I may be
dropped in writing, or it can be retained, but in pronuncia-
tion it must be dropped. If the I is dropped in writing,
then we run the .:....,- -st straight on to the .s- -t, which is "
shortened from .s- to -=- :
~.:...-,1~"-=;-J.I
~.:...,I .s~ "-=;- er.I
tn chi chtz ast ?l
A h , hA , , What is this ?
or in c e c izist r
}
~~"-=;-er.I
78 MODERN PERSIAN VI\

After a word ending in long a 1-, the I of .:..,..,I is dropped,

both in speech and in writing.
~ .:..,..,l::S kojast ? Where is it ?
.:..,..,ts"'.:..., ~ yT ~ I £n ab n£st, vodkast
This isn't water, it's vodka
After the question S k£ who ?, the verb ~ you are
is joined on in the same way. These two words are almost
invariably written as one when they occur together :
~~
k£st£d ? Who are you ?
The unblended k£ hast£d ~ ~ S form does exist, but it is
very rare.
Something, somewhere, somebody, someone, followed by ap
adjective, are regularly expressed by using the <.S- suffix
on the first word and dropping the ezaje link. Learn :
y .J> <> ~ something good
-½ <> ~ something bad
Y.J> ~ someone (somebody) good
.J~.:, J~ somewhere else
.J~.:, ~ one more, another one, a different one (h.:. d£gar

is an adjective meaning other, different).

I. Give the indefinite form of these words :

.lf t ..,.) r [jT r
"";' § I\ ~_;.:, V yl:5' f
 LESSON FIFTEEN 79

II. Write in Persian :

1. I saw that man yesterday. He had some book or
other in (his) hand.
2. Which bus came late? I didn't see: sometimes
(c/'lf gaht) the buses are late,· sometimes early.
3. A gentleman came to the house today.
4. Did you take anything from the table? No sir,
I didn't see or ( = and) take anything.
5. Who is this ? It isn't his brother, it's someone else.

III. Pronounce :
(voice rising) kojast ? .:...-,l.;S
tn chtst ? ~ <Ji. I
tn chM khubist { ~y- <.S.i;::;- <Ji.I
.:...-,I ~y- <>-i:::;- <Ji.I
IV. Read:
- ~ _J:..,_,:. ~ liT..; ~.:......,, _J:..,_,:. ~ J_:;.. <Ji.I_;:.
- ~ ,.J-S-,,,.J:. ~ .J .:...-,I-½ <>:.J~ :.y <Ji.I ~:._;l.,lj J,-,_;:. :.y <Ji.I!_.:;- r
.;;; _J:..,_,:. J~ yi,l; 3.JJ..:, ft:, jl f
·?l.,lj J.J ~µ J.?; J.:,:.C_ !r. t
·i_;i.,lj ~t:S" _,. ~~t:S" "-:;- .~):, ~y- * yt:S" µ ~

V. Translate Ex. IV.

80 MODERN PERSIAN A•

LESSON 15a
Possessive pronoun endings. We have already had the
endings r- my, c.1\..- our,,.}- his/her/its, and c.1l.!- their. Here
now is the full table of possessive suffixes :
('-:-""'I a horse)
1
(.'"'\ asbam c.1~\ asbeman
my horse our horse
2 c.1l::.:,-I asbetan c.1l::.:,-I asbetan
your horse your horse
3 ._,.4-,I asbesh c.1~... I asbeshan
his/her/its horse their horse
We can add these endings to a plural noun :
(c.1\:...,_p friends)
1 (\:...,.J~ dustanam c.1Lc"\:...,.J~ dustaneman
my friends our friends
2 c.1\.;;\:...,.J~ dustanetan c.1\.;;\:...,.J~ dustanetan
your friends your friends
3 Jj\:...,.J~ dustanesh c.1L.:.i\:...,.J~ dustaneshan
his/her/its friends their friends
If we add these endings to a word ending in a vowel,
for example an inanimate plural in u.- -ha, we put in a
T -y- to make it possible to pronounce the word :

(t.r,... I horses)
1 asbhayam
r.Lr,...I c.1~ t.r,... I asbhayeman
my horses our horses
2 c.14l;-:... I asbhayetan c.14t.r,... I asbhayetan
your horses your horses
3 ~Lr,... I asbhdyesh c.1~Lr,...I asbhayeshan
his/her/its horses their horses
 LESSON FIFTEEN A 81
"'These are the possessive endings we usually write and
speak : they are unstressed. If, however, we wish to stress
the fact of ownership of something, then we often use the
noun followed by the ezafe followed by the personal pronoun
(not the possessive) :
.;...,I .:_,.. * ...,......,1 ~ µ * ...,......,1 <Y-1
tn asb-e-shoma nzst, asb-e-man ast
This isn't your horse ( = the horse of you), it's my horse
(= the horse of me)
i-½..) _,I * J~ J_, i-½...(j ~ µ * J~
sandaU-ye-shoma-ra nadtdam vali sandaU-ye-u dfdam
I didn't see your chair, but I saw his chair
If the possessive pronoun refers to the subject of the
verb, e.g. in such constructions as
I took my (own) money
He has his (own) house
They saw their (own) friends
we cannot use either the i- .:,t;_ .}-, etc., endings or the
ezafe construction shown above. We have to use the particle

I khod ¥ " own " I

¥ can either be used by itself, linked like any other
adjective by the ezafe to the noun possessed:
?.J'
¥ * J..,; .:_,. '
man pul-e-khod gereftam
I took my (own) money
m which case the ¥ khod is invariable, and d9es not
change for person :
82 MODERN PERSIAN A'(

~Jf ¥ * JY. L. '(

We took our money
~f·¥ * JY. .JI I"
He took his money
and so on, the context showing us to whom the ~.:. refers,
or we can, for special emphasis, add the r- <J\;- ..;- etc.,
possessive endings to the ¥, depending on the person
concerned:
pul-e-khodam gereftam ?_Jf r¥ * J_,; ,
pul-e-khodeman gerefttm ~f <Jl..¥ * J_,; '(
pul-e-khodesh gereft ~Jf J-¥ * JY. I"
¥, with or without the r- <J\;- ..;-, etc., possessive
endings suffixed to it, can take the Gdefinite object ending
if desired:
pul-e-khod-ra gereftam ?f G¥ * JY. ,
pul-e-khodam-ra gereftam ?Jf G r¥ * JY. ,
pul-e-khod-ra gerefttm ~f G¥ * JY. r
pul-e-khodeman-ra gerefttm ~Jf 1;t..¥ * JY. r
pul-e-khod-ra gereft ~f G¥ * JY. I"
pul-e-khodesh-ra gereft ~f G..;~.:. * J_,; I"
and so on for all persons. This structure is used whenever
the possessive refers to the subject of the verb itself.
Compare:
?Jf G_;~... I t
I took his (i.e. somebody else's) horse
and ~Jf G~I Cl
He took his (somebody else's) horse
with ~f G J-¥ * '-:'""'I f
He took his (i.e. his own) horse
 Af LESSON FIFTEEN A 83

~_;
".)

ambassador~ saftr country ; J...:S keshvar

embassy ..::.,;U- sefarat corner ,._.:;, }' gushe
war ~jang as well --t.~ hamchontn
minister .r.)J vaztr the Persian Language ..s-;u *.j\(j
Ministry of War ~ *..::.,;l;J zaban-e-jarst
vezarat-e-jang tongue, language .:i½.i zaban
Ministry of Justice *..::.,;l;J king .\....:;,.,~ padesha!J,
vezarat-e-dadgostart .SJ:;,J .,1., queen ..-S:.l.A maleke
square .jl.>.~ meidan court;½;.> darbar
lane ,..,,. _Jl kuche ministry ..::.,;l;J vezarat
beautiful ~ ghashang mosque-":---.... masjed
tile .ylf kasht justice . ; ~ .>I.> dadgostart
mosaic .;;~\f kashtkart street .:, \( \::> khtaban
to drive -.ul; .:,.ul; randan, rand- name i---1 esm
various ~ mokhtalef taxi .,St; takst
to pass (by) _::....::,:,J' (J;;.:,·:,J' building..::.,;\...,, 'emarat
gozashtan, gozasht- (az) colour ~; rang
Ferdousi (a Persian poet) ..s~J.>J3 green :r.-- sabz
Ferdl}ust bank ..s:.; ½ bank
to stop -.>~I .:,.>~I tstadan, blue d. i abt
tstad- yellow/golden.>;; zard
driver .J3 J....:;, shi}jer not yet _; ... j p hanuz ... na-

Read:
~ * (.>t;4L:,,:-
* 6-.;-§ .J 8.J): * (.>L.,,.'.)4l:,,:- jl .J ?J' ~\; ~ J.J.J'_.,
<f.\ _J.> ,(.-1/_.> ~ * (.>\.,..::..,).J' L. .J .,~\ ~\; <5'\f' ~ ,?JS'
* .'.)\"::' <f.\ ,(.-1/_.J..i ~ ./' j_,.:... .J .>).> <>Y;:'; ~§./' cJ4L:,,:- ./' J~
8.) :,_ *_J.> ~ ~L,....:;_,.f jl ,S.,_.J"' _J.> f ,½-1/_.> ~ * 6-.;- §'
. .J .t;.,¼ *.JLu., ,.:..,..,\ .t;.,¼ * .J4.J., * <>u.J.> .J., .J~ <f.\ ,..::.......,,
,..::-.,, h.,* (.>,\.,..::..,).J' ~*h., * ($L>cJ4L:,,:- _J.) * .s;:i.
,.:..,..,\ .'.)\.,:_\

* <>L>.::....JLl.J J.J.,:_., f-1,.-1,_., h.,* <>t.,..::....JLl.J-4 * .::;...JG.J ~1.

,&_); * .,:_J.J * J.:,;.. ~ ·i-1/.., G &~ .J ,.s..~..f .,1.,
84 MODERN PERSIAN Id

* u;Lo...l::-,-o . ..::-,,. ,5_; :., * ..l::---- 6..,_ .:., ~ ½:>- .:,;. I * ,.; _;~
.:., \y I §
...,!T * u;Lo.&_; ! .::..,.I u;_;~ts' .:,;.I &;.:.;; ~ . .::..,.I &;.:.;; w
* .:.,4½:>- .)~ ~ * u;Lo..:..,_;U.... jl ~ ~ t ; .~)~ Y:"' .J ~.).) .J
,&;.:.;; J.:.:- cr-!~4 .; .::..,.I 8_; :.,_ J.:.:- u..:..,_;U.... . .::.,..;,:i$' &'.J~_;
.~_;b ,.}¥ * t.4 .:..,_;U.... f'

§ ~ masjed also has an Arabic plural: "":-l~.... masdjed .

.
c.J...J-'
I. Fill in the space with the correct possessive, either
suffix or¥* as appropriate:
~-1;.-1;.~ G-..,-; µ ·i.1a~ G.:.iwr-; .JJJ..~,
·i~b .:.,~4 ~ ½:l.::S'.:;.. _,::.j_.f- yl.::S' Lo...,-; _;I~ f' <Y.J~ _;\ ~ r
.~)~ - t.4 .:..,_;U.... f' .,.
 LESSON SIXTEEN 85

-~! - J4J.) _;.) ol.!.)¼ f

. .)I.) ir. u-p ..I""? •.;...,I ..I""? .:,;.I* f .:,;.I I)

II. Write in Persian :

1. He passed through his (own) garden.
2. I passed through his garden.
3. I passed through my garden.
4. He passed through my garden.
5. He passed through her garden.
III. Answer orally and in writing:
f .::...-,1 cJ\.;¥ * cJ4j cJ4j ii£ f .::...-,1 cJ\J¥ * cJ4j <.S"_;l.i * cJ4j
y -½_).) c)\.;¥ * t.4 µ "
y-½.~ ..la:--- _;.) ~ f -½.-½..) ..s)S::::ilS' f
f .::...-,1 h.)~ * J;. 4. -½__;b c)\.;¥ * J;. t
Y-½._;b .::,...,.) _;.) cJ\J¥ p f.::,...,~ cJL:.J; ()

LESSON 16
Ezafe ,.;L,.;I
It is time to revise the ezafe.
The ezafe is a short syllable, pronounced e after con-
sonants and ye after vowels. It is used to show:
(a) possession :
.)J~ * ..,......1 .)r * ..s4:--I
.)J~

.)J~
.:,;.I * ..,......1
.:,;.I * ..s~I
.)J~ cJT * ..,......1
.)r cJT * ..s4:..-I Y.)r ii£
.** .......,\
o\.!.)l., .
'-:-'... I .1,
I
.1

(b) noun + qualifying adjective : ·I :·!

:
. '

.!S'_;j * .)/ .::,...,l_i * .::,...,.) Jl.;;.I * ..s4:..-I I

·I
I

~*t.4 <.S"Jls * ..su.yl::S"' <.S"Jls * yl::S"'

86 MODERN PERSIAN

(c) apposition (agreement) :

J:"" c.SliT · r"'.;:. * c.Sl:.i ;_,; *~
.}~ * ,:.,!_,.; i.;:.l_i: * :..r ,:.,T Jl.,:.I *~
Note: (1) it can be used to denote any combination of
(a), (b), and (c) above:
.•. Ji.,:.I * {"'J:. * '-:-""'I
the horse of* my friend* the Iranian ...
(2) If we use the indefinite suffix c.S- after a noun linked
by an ezaje to the next word, that ezafe is dropped and
replaced by the c.S- :
YJ> * :..r
but
y J> c,S:>y (no ezafe)
The writing and pronunciation of the ezafe
(a) It is unwritten, and pronounced as a short vowel -e-;
after a word ending in a consonant :
6'.;.:i: * '-:-""'I
Remember that a breathed• b,, that is to say, one following
a written or unwritten vowel, is a consonant :
,:.,1.,:.1 * .l.! shab,-e-fran the Shah of Persia
(b) It is written c.S- and pronounced -ye-; after a word
ending in a long vowel I or J :
c.S1 a-ye c.S.J u-ye
my books ,:.,. * c.Sl;:l:5' big houses 6'.;.:i: * c.SU,j'....
-½ * c.SY. the bad smell
(c) After the long vowel c.S- t and after 4 e (h) as a vowel,
AV LESSON SIXTEEN 87
the ezafe is pronounced -ye. It is usually in these cases
unwritten, but it is occasionally written, to avoid possible
ambiguity, with a • hamze over the ,.s or the <1 :
good fruit y ..J> ~ or y ..J> ~ mzve-ye-khub
a big ship 8.J-% .;::s- or 8.J-% •.;::s- kashU-ye-bozorg
this gentle- t.;T .:r.,1 J.i.:..., or t.;T _:;,_1 ,J.i.:..., sandaU-ye-zn agha ','i
man's chair
If we wish to add the definite direct object suffix L to
a compound linked by an ezafe (or with many ezafes) we ·I
add the L to the last element only. It is either written on
I
to this last word, or written separately; more often '
separately.
thi~ big chair 8.J-% ,J.i.:..., .:r., 1 fo sandaU-ye-bozorg
~ J.?.J' ~ L 8.)-% ,J.i.:..., .:r.,1
zn sandaU-ye-bozorg ra koja gereft£d ?
Where did you get this big chair ?
The possessive ezafe (see Lesson 15a) is often used,
especially in CQnversation, with the noun JL. mal
"property" thus: * JL. mal-e- "the property of". We
use * JL. mal-e- when the possessing is the thought upper-
most in the mind of the speaker. Compare:
This is my book ..:..,..I w-- * yl:S' .:r.,1
zn ketab-e-man ast
with
This book is mine ..:..,..I w-- * JL. yl:S' .:r.,1
£n ketab mal-e-man ast (literally, is my property)
The question " whose ? " can only be asked by using
* JL.:~~ S * JL. .:.,fl.. .:,T Whose car was that? (literally,
That car, the property of whom was it?). "Whose is
88 MODERN PERSIAN AA
. ? " as a question comes last in its sentence. It is
written:
~.::... . \ s JL..
or
~ .::..4' JL. .
and is in both cases pronounced mal-e-ktst ?
Whose is this book ?
~ .::.....1 S * JL. yl:5' y,_I or ~ .::.-,_f * JL. yl:5' y,_I
tn ketab mal-e-ktst ?
The answer could be .:...I cJ-" * JL.
mal-e-man ast It's mine
or
c)"° * JL. mal-e-man mine
* JL. can be used to great emphatic effect. Compare
.:;_j_J' cJ-" * yl.S' J ..1.,T
He came and took my book
with
.::...._}' c)"° * JL. .:.,l:5' J -1..T

He came and took my book

~}
easy .:,\~1 asan bazaar ;l..i\! bazdr
fruit • .J-::-' m'ive cherry ,_,~ µ, gilds
tree .;;,.;. J~ derakht Hassan ;y.,.> hasan
several, many, much ~½...i z'idd fire ,_,.::.ri' dtesh
apple':-""="""' s'ib teacher;\!' ..iy, i dmuzegdr
village .~ deb capital city .;;.,~_\, pii-ye-takht
interesting (literally noteworthy) Firoozan (an Iranian name)
"':° _,; * J: G ghabel-e-tavajjob .'.>..i.J~• f'iruzan
lesson ,_,~;~ dars national J• mellt
worthy (of) * J: G ghabel-e- lamp, light t_lft cherdgh
director ,.,-~;; ra''is painting .,i'W naghghash'i
bright ;_;.,.;,JJ r/Jushan education, vocabulary, diction-
painter ,.,~w naghghash ary~.) farhang
 LESSON SIXTEEN 89

I. In these sentences, mark the ezafe, if any, with an *

(asterisk). Use also· hamze where appropriate:
.:.,..,I cJl.,:_I J.. .!5J4 JL. ~ 8.J): u.Jl.J> if.I
~ cJ\..•..T <S"'.Jt,; c)4 ..i r
;,;.f <S"'.Jl,; ~l.:S' f ~)'' ~ "-';" .JJ.,:_~ I"
.:.,..,I ~.r .)__,; ..Jy; ,:;->-
~b :r. '-:'Y- <.>~ l)

.::,._,. ~~...i c.SL~L. cJi,.; ..).,,,.:, ~ c.S1...,,Ll4y.. .J~ f

.:.,..,I .Jlf..i..,..T <.J!,I .J~I.J'. JL. f.::,.._§' JL. ...,.,....,1 ..r..1 v

.::..... 1 '-:'Y- ~ <.)"-}$.., ~'}t'.., '-;-;,.... I\

i-½.~ .:..,;..J~ .J~ 8,J): o..U..J? ~ '\

-L.T-½ J..,i .;.,T _jl 1,

II. Read the above sentences when you have marked in

the ezdfe, taking care to pronounce it correctly.

III. Write in Persian :

1. Whose car is that? Which one? That one.
2. That is the Minister of Education's car.
3. Tehran is the capital of Iran. It is a big city,
4. There are not many big cities in Iran : but there
are many small villages.
5. As the car passed through the streets of Esfahan
(cJ~I) we saw something interesting.

IV. Explain the ezdfe in these phrases by placing each one

in one or other of these columns, thus :
D
90 MODERN PERSIAN
°'.
(example: ~ J. * 6j4 * u4_; 0_j_,y} * -st,;T)
Apposition I Noun+ Adjective I Possession
0·~JY;;· * -s t;T 1.
<.Y * 6j1..,• 6j1..,• * <.)'":':!Jr
~~ D_;j_ * u_;~ er.I r ~.:....-L,:S)_..,.:; * ,:r-
.:....-1 ,y,_,_; .:,f,l.. er.I * -s~~ t . .:....-1 ~ * ...,......1 t;T er.I * ...,......1 f
~.l./_.l./_.:> _;Ll4 _;.:> ~ * ~l.:...i .., .}) Cl

LESSON 16a
The present tense of verbs. We have already had the
present tense of 0~ and .;_;,1.:,. When we conjugated to
have in the present, we took the Present Stem, which for
.;,;.1.:. was -_;I.:. dar-, and added the endings
1 i- (..:,.-) r.- (L.)
2 -½.- (µ) -½.- (P)
3{ .:,- (_,I) ..\.i- (0~1)
.:.- (0T) .:.- (L;T)
For the present tense of all other verbs, we take the
present stem, as we did with .;_;,1.:, above, add the same
personal endings as we did to - _;I.:, above, and also (this is
most important) add the Present Prefix:
-::-- or -13 mi-
To form the present stem of most verbs, we take the
.,:J- -tan, 0.:.- -dan, or 0,½- -fdan endings off the infinitive ;
for example :
Infinitive Past Stem Present Stem
read 0-u),.:- khandan khand-
-..\.i ),.:- _;),,:-- -khan-
pull 0~ kashfdan - ~ kashfd- -.::S"- -kash-
weave .;;4 baftan -::i4 bd,jt- _;4_ -baf-
 Ii
I I

'°I\ LESSON SIXTEEN A 91

To these present stems we add (1) the personal endings
as for the present of .;_.:;b to have, and (2) -::-- m£- the
prefix for the present tense. Here now in full are the
present tenses of these three model verbs :

(a) to read: <JJ.jiy:-, past stem -J.jly:- khdnd-.

Present Stem -jly:-- -khan-
1 I read (~ we read r.j~
m£khdnam m£khdn£m
2 you read ..wl.
.~ you read ..wl.
-~
mzkhdnzd mzkhdnzd

3
r,eads
m£khdnad
J.j\.
~ they read
m£khdnand
J:..i),~

it reads J.j\.
Y""::-° they read J.j\.
~

mzkhdnad mzkhdnad

(b) to pull: 0~, past stem - ~ kashtd-.

Present Stem -.!S- -kash-
1 m£kasham
~ m£kashtm
~.
2 m£kash£d ~ m£kashtd ~

3
{m£kashad ~ m£kashand ~
m£kashad ~ m£kashad ~

(c) to weave: ~4, past stem -::i4 bdjt-

Present Stem -;4- -bdf-
1 m£bdfam r-'·L,.
.• m£bdf£m ..
{:·L,.
2 m£bdf£d .i.;~ m£bdf£d .i.;~
..;~ m£bdfand .c.;~
3 {m£bdfad
m£bdjad ..;~ m£bdfad ..;~
92 MODERN PERSIAN

Apart from cl~ to be and ,:;:..:;1.:. to have, there are no

irregular verbs as such in Persian. We can put it this
way:
(a) ,All verbs, including even cl~ and ,:;:_.:;1.:,, are completely
regular in the past tense.
(b) cl~ is seldom use_d in the present-the forms ;...J>,
etc., are used instead.
(c) ,:;:_.:;1.:, is without the-::-' mi- prefix in the present, other-
wise its present is regular.
(d) For all remaining verbs, it is necessary to find the
present stem. This is got in most cases by taking ,:}- or
cl.:.- or cl-½,- off the infinitive, but in many cases the present
stem is irregular.
Note that: the present stem is the only irregularity ever
encountered ; once we have the stem, we add -::-' mi- and
suffix the regular present tense endings. And even then,
most so-called " irregular " present stems can be grouped
together. We shall study some of these groups from time
to time.
Here are the present stems of the verbs we know so
far (irregular present stems are marked§) :
Present
Infinitive English Present Stem 1st Singular
•.
<J".) go - J.)- -rav-§ i .J ..I;°
cl-½_.:, see -~- -Mn-§ r*-"
.).:,1.:, give -deb,-§
-lb.:>-
r'-½--
~}' take, get -J?- -gfr-§ i~
cl.:>_;y- eat, drink -.;y-- -khor- f .Jr-:~
0.wl
.. r · sleep -i!,,;-- -khab- (.~
 I:,,

"-f LESSON SIXTEEN A 93

0..Gl,>- read -j l,>-- -kMn- (1'>-::-'

~4 weave _ _;4_ -bdf- r-''L..
.•
... :. .
i.1-"'Y write -~y- -nev£s-§ r-~
;;:.j$' pass by - .)j$' _ -gozar-§ '.iL
i.) •
The negative prefix can be added to the present tense:
i.JY:/ namzravam I'm not going
-½:½~· nam£btn£d you don't see

~ talaffoz
The vowel of -::-- is long : m£. It is stressed when it is
the only prefix.
The vowel of -j is short : na. It is stressed whenever it
appears. Practise pronouncing :
you go J.;..Jr. m£'ravtd (prefix stressed)
you aren't going J.;..J ~- nam£rav£d (first prefix stressed)

The battle of Rustam (right) and Esfandyar, an episode from

Ferdousi's poem "ShalJname" (Book of Kings) which is the
Persian national epic.
(Drawn from B. W. Robinson's "Persian Miniatures", by kind
permission of the publishers, Bruno Cassirer, Ltd., Oxford.)
94. MODERN PERSIAN

We have learnt a verb meaning to be in the present;

~ , -½:=--'>, etc. There is.also a form of the present of this
important verb which appears as a suffix.
1 -am i- -£m r.-
2 -£d -½.- -id -½.-
3{-ast .:,....- -and ..u-
-ast .:,....- -ast .:,....-

Examples:
1 singular ~.,,:- J:> ,y, man kheiU khosham
I am very happy
2 singular/plural ~ -Au:.~ dMd? Are you late?
1 plural r-~L L. ma rdhat£m
We are comfortable
3 plural ..u-1,4 baladand
They are au fait
(balad -1,4 adjective = informed, au fait)
If we wish to suffix r.- -£m or -½.- -id to a word ending
in 1- -a or ..,- -u, we write a hamze on a bearer first and
pronounce the glottal stop, thus :
r!foL rdstgu'£m We are truthful
~ .I.}~ bannd'id ? Are you a carpenter ?
In the same situation the suffixes i- -am, ..u- -and are
written separately, with their own I alef: ii, ..ul.
After a final • e all these suffixes must be written with
their own introductory I alef :
ii ~ khaste am I'm tired
 LESSON SIXTEEN A 95

-Li\ ,.:...,f J.:.:- kheiU gorosne and They are very hungry
(,.:...,f gorosne =hungry; ~ khaste =tired;
..,~G rastgu = truthful)
~ ..1;, I ~ µ shoma khaste td ? Are you tired ?

Note: There is a negative short form of this verb "to

be", but it is very seldom used. We need not bother with
it here.

today j _,_,.I emr·az restaurant .)IJ_,;:...~J resti3nin

last night ~.., dzshab window •r.~ panfere
at home J _;,:... manzel room J\kl otagh
tonight ~ I emshab garage j!J\f garazh
time .:;..Ji_, vaght servant ..,f _,; ni3ukar
work )\f kar tired ~ khaste

TEXT

t,.,Y:!· JG½, J..i.rl .r L:-5" J..i.rl .;.;,,; JG~ .3..i.J'...,

~-1.;-'.J;:'
~ i.r..4 -' i)-Li .:,.;_, ~ I i.,JY- J_;,. it.; ._,..~., · ;_;., § i-'J;:'
J_,
~-1.;J~ ~ µ ·i JJ~ 0G_,::..,J J., it.;
~ ~J:,_ *JGlf ~~JI~¼~· 1,,.~ ~ 0l:i¥ JU,\~ .31
. .>JJ;:' l..04L:,:- J.> J .>J~ 0\.1.::-- _jl l...:,fl.. .0\.1.::-- ~- ~~ J
~ -r-.H._, r~· ($"Jt.. .r..,; \'-½:i~ ($"Jt.. 1,;, 11,~
($"Jt.. .r

. .>~ l)J; .r _jl _,\ J I'""-½-- J.,; _,4 .r ~ -Y>.1.::-- 0l:,'.,_,.:.. ~J~ ~
.,4_.3 * JI.S" - i¼.l,.,:- ---'..., J.:.:- .r ~-.,
r\.,µ
~-1.;¼.l,.,:- ---'..., ~ .>_i_j ~.,
·ii .c:...,:.- ( . ~ .,_,.3 J.,.:- ~ I J_,
§ After the verbs ~J to go and 0.1,,T to come, we can omit
-i to-, which is then understood :
;_;., i ..i J;:' mfravam daftar I go to the office
96 MODERN PERSIAN

I. Write in Persian :
1. I am tired. (Short form.)
2. Do you write ?
3. Are you going?
4. He doesn't read.
5. We are happy. (one word.)
6. They are going.
7. They came.
8. Who sees?
9. What happens? (= passes).
10. You give.
II. Put into the Present Tense :
~ .::,_;,J.f S 'I" r.-1.;.:. L. r
~ ~..G.!,>- µ t .::,.;,__,; _,I ()
..G¼_!,,.:. .:..Jj '\ .:...i_; ~I A
.:..,;_J' t;T '.
III. Conjugate ~Jf and c>-½..:> in the Present.
IV. Change the long forms of "to be" in these examples
to the suffix form (e.g. ~ 8_;): .:.,• to {_;j_ .:.,.) :
~-½=--'> l::-5" 'I" ..\::...J, ~ r ~ ojl; '
r .r:....,;.. o ..\::...J, ._,.,T _;.:. t
V. Complete, in the Present Tense:
~4 .- ~ J.:,,:- * ->YJ' 01.;:_I _;.:>

~_; . - 0Li,1.,..4 b) .JI r

.:_r...::__,; . - ..... li L. 'I"
;_;:;,J.f ~-~I jl ,St
0..G_!,,.:. ,-; cS"'_;li 04_t;T .:.,;.I jl il.C <'l~ ()
 LESSON SEVENTEEN 97

LESSON 17
Prepositions. Prepositions in Persian fall into two groups:
those used without being connected to their noun by an
ezaje link, and those which require an ezafe after them.
The ones without an ezdfe are pure Persian prepositions
proper ; those linked by an ezafe to their noun are usually
adverbs, nouns, adjectives, or foreign words borrowed and
used as prepositions.
(a) Prepositions which do not take the ezafe:
~ -i be (written joined or separate) to

.J:, dar in .4 ba with •

~ M without jl az from

.r. joz instead of, except for

(b) Prepositions always joined by an ezafe to the noun
they govern :
* ._j), taraf-e- towards
* J.:. \:, dakhel-e- inside
*.:i_.,~ Mrun-e- outside
* <>\.I'. bard-ye for (colloquially bar-e)
* cl..9-½ bedun-e- without
*~ bein-e- between
* er:\; ptsh-e- in front of
*.::..=-,•: posht-e- behind
* <>A pa!J,lu-ye- in the presence of
* <S.J.J ru-ye- on
* .;:.J zfr-e- under
* <>Y• tu-ye- in, on
* D-?.:i:; nazdtk-e- near (to)
98 MODERN PERSIAN

Note:
(1) ~ " behind " will be familiar to Latin scholars.
(2) dar has two meanings : (i) a door, and (ii) in.
.J:>

(3) There are many more ezafe prepositions-those given

above are merely the most important.
Compound prepositions are common in Persian. They
all take the ezafe :
* <.$.>; _;I az tu-ye- from out of
* <.$.J.) _;\ az ru-ye off
* _;;_j _;I az zfr-e- from under
* . . :, fa. · betaraf-e- in the direction of
* <.$~ beja-ye- in place of, instead of
* ~ _; I az posht-e- from behind
* ,!>.J_:,) _;\ az nazdtk-e- away from (" from near to")
* ....:,_), _;\ az taraf-e- from the direction of, on behalf of
* cJl:,. .):, dar mtan-e- among
* cJl:,. _;\ az mtan-e- from among
* ~ _;I az bein-e- from between

table r." mfr pan~:, dtk

carpet..;,~ farsh, Ju ghat£ light e_1.,'t" cheragh
to stand -~1- .:,:,~1 tstadan, plate ..,..\.i..~ boshghab
pres. stem -tst- spoon _,.;,u ghashogh
to sit - ~ - ,:_,;..-:.; neshastan, furniture --:SIS1 asastye
pres. stem -neshtn- tea ..S~ chat
rug ~\,; ghaUche lunch;\,,,\; nahar
balcony ~ balkon bed ..,..1_,,;. *.::,.;.; takht-e-khab
key -½1f keUd placed, situated i-1.J vaghe'
wall ;IY,_:, dtvar seated ,.;:..._,:.; neshaste
stove .,s;~ bokhar£ cup .:,½,;J fenjan
 LESSON SEVENTEEN 99
floor, ground ~Aj zamtn knife ~_;lf kiird
a glass .:, Ir.;l tivan lampshade _;_,j~ i abazhur
letter of the alphabet ....;_,,.. harf fork J ~ changat
street door, front door '-:'.J~ darb consisting of j\ .;:,_;\~,:, 'ebarat az
lock J,i.; ghoff, breakfast .}\;:..;:,\; nashta't
picture ~ naghsh translation~"!" .iI tarjome
bowl JJJ;. zarf

Note: (a) jl y_;~ consisting of, is always used with the

verb 0~, to be, which is always placed after the u_;~
'ebarat:
.u-;; jl .,:....,I u_;~ yl::S"' .:r..l 1
1,n ketab 'ebarat ast az tarjome
This book consists of translation(s)
~ ~, u_;~ '-';- jl ~ 9\JI r
asasiyeyesh az che 'ebarat bud ?
What did his furniture consist of?
(b) .,j> bowl and .,j,;.., letter of the alphabet are Arabic
words. We can either use their Arabic plurals .,j_,> zoruf
and .,j.J,;>- horuf or else the Persian ones Li,;> zarjhd and
Y,;>- harjhd. With Arabic plurals we always have the choice
of using the Persian plural. It is of course considered more
educated to use the original Arabic one, though no foreigner
would be criticized for r,tot doing so .
.
01,_;-'
I. Translate and write out :
1. A plate, a knife, and a cup are on the table.
2. What is near the table?
3. In this house there are three people (~)- Outside
the house is a garden, and in the garden there
are flowers.
100 MODERN PERSIAN I••

4. Did you see the key in the door? Yes, it was in

the door, but I pulled it out.
5. What do you have (= take) for lunch every day ?
6. Do you drink coffee with breakfast ? In England
they drink tea out of cups, but in Iran we drink
it out of glasses. (Use the singular for " cup "
and " glass ".)
7. Who was standing behind the door ?
8. I saw my friend with his father yesterday.
9. Did he say this in your presence ?
10. No, he said it to his friends outside.
11. Inside this house there is a lot of furniture.
12. His house is situated near the Embassy.
13. What does his furniture consist of? Of chairs,
tables and beds.
14. He goes to work without me, but it is very near.
15. Is the stove near the front door ? Yes, it is situated
behind the front door.
16. I went towards the mosque.
17. My brother was sitting inside the bank. He had a
• book in (his) hand.
18. I never have a hat on (my) head.
19. Who put the picture on that wall, near the window,
under the light ?
20. We took the rug off the carpet, and under it we put
our money.
21. This is your room, and this big bed is for you.
 \. \ LESSON SEVENTEEN A .. 101
!:
II. From the examples below, pick out the prepositional
constructions requiring the ezdfe. Then mark that ezdfe
with an * asterisk. Say how the ezdfe is pronounced
in each case :
<J'.:°j .J'..j jl .,. JU.I <->J; "l' JU.I _;:i \
..;L;,I c!.i-½ f _;l.,.l; ~ b L,.~ .y,,I c!lz. _;:i t
<.Y'_,,.,;I 4 °' cJI.,; ..jfa. " y_;:i ~ _jl V
..:,.- f." \.

LESSON 17a
The stressed prefix of the Present Tense, -,,.. mi- can be
written separate in most verbs. There is no difference in
the pronunciation :
i-' .J:4 or i .i.; ~ mfravam I go
When this prefix is attached to a verb beginning with
T a, the - long sign over the I alef is dropped when the
-,,.. mi- is joined; thus from cJ:i_;} dvardan to bring, present
stem - _;_iT- -dvar-, we have
i _; .il::-- or i _; _,T~ midvaram I bring
We must write as one word, dropping the I dummy alef,
all verbs beginning in short a. Thus from .;,;_i..lil anddkhtan
to throw, we have i jlx_,,.. mianddzam I throw.
We must write separately the Present of cJ:i~I istddan,
to stand. This is to avoid the clash of two long fs:
~ I ~ mUstam I stand
Irregular Present Stems-1st group : kh-z, kh-s, kh-sh.
Verbs whose infinitives end in the guttural combination
;_,;.- -khtan change this ending into a sibilant sound, z, s, or
sh, to form their Present Stem. 'I
102 MODERN PERSIAN \. 'I'

(Note : In the following list, instead of quoting the Past

Stem after the infinitive, we shall omit this Stem and quote
instead the Present Stem. This system of quoting verbs is
the usual one found in Iranian grammars and dictionaries,
so we shall keep to it for the rest of this manual, omitting
the Past Stem which is always regularly formed.)
GROUP 1a. kh-z
Infinitive English Present Stem
.;,;...,..T
amukhtan teach -J_,..T- -a11tuz-
~T am1khtan mIX - ~- -am1z-
.;~..,T av1khtan hang -.:-:_..,T- -av1z-
.;_,;.L, sakhtan make - _j\...,- -saz-
<f'>..J"' sukhtan bum (to be on fire) - .J..J"'- -suz-
.;~_; r1khtan pour - :,__;- -r1z-
.;_,;.\.,j\ andakhtan throw - _j\..(j\_ -andaz-
.;_,;.1.:,A pardakhtan pay - Jl.:.A- -pardaz-
~ pokhtan cook -;;- -paz-
(root vowel also changes here)
GROUP 1b. kh-s
<f'>I.;.;. shenakhtan know a person, -..-\.;.;.- -shenas-
" connaUre "
GROUP 1c. kh-sh
.;,;.._,_; forukhtan sell _::,_,_;- -Jorush-
Note: (a) .;_,;.1.;.;. shenakhtan to know is used only like
the French connaUre or the Spanish conocer or the German
kennen: to know a person, to be acquainted with. To
know a thing or a fact is a different verb.
(b) In ~ pokhtan to cook, the vowel also changes in
forming the Present Stem : -;;- -Paz-.
 LESSON SEVENTEEN A 103 I r1:11
I,,
'I '!1·11
,I

~~} I
,
ili
':I
1

ice~- yakh salt & namak

wind .)½ bad seed~ tokhm
world .:,4,:, jahan, ½1.) donya grass • ~ sabze
fall (-;:,;I-) .j.)WI oftadan, -oft- sea ½,;.) darya
hill, } •.Jl or{ ku'!J river .)JJ rud, ,.J\;..).JJ rudkhane
mountain ef ko'!J it's raining -½.l-::-- .;I;½ baran
rain .;l;li baran mfayad
a plain .::,,....;;..) dasht snow ._; Y. barf
it's snowing -½.½• J_,i barf winter .:,l:..,,,..,.j zemestan
mtayad autumn .r.,H, pa'tz
sumin~r .:, ~ l; tabestan climate ly• J ..,.,i ab O hava
spring ;l~i bahar village o.) de'!J
little, few (>r kam iron ~"' i ahan
country ;y.::S keshvar season, chapter (book) J.,.-=• fast
road ol; ra'!J seasons, chapters Jy,...; (Ar. pl.) ! I
railway ~i *•I; ra'!J-e-ahan fosul y.....,; (Pers. pl.) faslha
beside *;l.:S kenar-e-

TEXT
(y..,.;) J.J.,..;
f 0G4 01.,:,1 _;.) .-½,l::,. 0G4 J'IS' J.J ..:..-,I ~ <J:'j 0~\.i _;.)
.)...r" 4 i ..f' 0L~l.i .;.,,l::,. .)4j * 0G4 h.) <.SU>_;y.!.S" _;.) J.J -½,l::,.
f-1;.l::,. ~4 _;.) .J 0~\.i *µ _;.) 0-': . ..:..-,I iJf 0~G' f..::...-,1
• .J¼: _;.) J'IS' .J -½,l::,. 0\::.....j J.) 0-': J!,
yT t_4 t,:" * <.S.J.J .J u..::...:._;.) * <.S.J.J L. ~ * 0L:~G _;.)
_;.) U>~ .J¼: _;.) _., .:..,.:;l..(j t.4 _;.) .: ., ,:._;.) JL..._;4 t.. * . : . .-,_.,.) ·f. -%.J:°
D.,;.JS-- J.:,:- * <.Su..::...:._;.) ~~ : ~ . ) ~ * <.S.J.) yT _., .::.,,,:.l,Ajl <J:'j
,.)_;\.)

* 0-': .:..,.:;.) _;.) _., 01.,:,1 * <.Su.J~ _;.) • ..:..-,I .)...r" - ~ i Jf 0\::.....j
J_., 0\::.....j _;.) .)_;\..(j 0-': (which) ..s-v.) _;.) ~ Ju._;~ .-½,l::,. .)4j
-~ t:. u,..,j\..:..)_.,_; * <.>.J.) .-1;.l::,. .)...r" * .)4 .J .)4j * 0-': 01.,:,1 _).)
104 MODERN PERSIAN ' •t

c;. ~n· t) -li}...:, * o§ * -s¼ .).:, - .J¼: *µ

(.i.;_,\...:, damavand, highest mountain in Iran)

rJ..J-'
I. Answer each of these questions orally in Persian, then
write your answer out:
~..; 4 .;_...,\ i Jf J:>- .:i~t; <JG'.)__,.:S .).:, 1
~-½.~ ._j.J'. µii£.).:, r
~6-.;§ -s'--~ -SJ.J -½_j,_J;:' "'; I"
(tree, i.e. "trees" in general - ~.J.:,. ~~ ~.J.:, .:i4~ .J.:, t
.:i 4~ Maban = desert).
~.::.....,\ ~~ • .:, .J.:, 4 J~ .J.:, .:iw_;... ~
~ .::.....,I .:,r 4. i Jf \....:,4 .:.}¼ .J.:> t
~ r.).:, D.) _j,_ -.,\.....::...;:,.:, <Jl..¥ * .)..,.:S .).:, \.. V
' • Q
LESSON EIGHTEEN 105
~-½.~i 01.;:.I .J.:. I_:; A

~ -½,l,,.. .:.4J 4 f
0G4 0l::....:l; * J.-aj .).:. 01.;:.I .).:. °'
II. Translate orally and in writing :
1. He mixes flour (.:..JT ard), water, and salt and pours
it into a cup. He cooks this on the fire.
2. He is standing near the door.
3. The fire is burning well.
4. What are you making? Will you sell it?
5. I know that man. He teaches my son Persian.
6. Why (lr;- chera) did he throw this paper out? I paid
for it myself.
7. He is hariging the picture on the wall.
8. When did he sell his car?
III. Put into the Present Tense:
r1;_;;, <r .,. ~Y L;T r -½:=>-1.:..1'; µ
-½:=>-1-lil t ~ ~ i.:.~I

LESSON 18
Present Stems ending in long vowels
Some present stems end in long vowels, 1- a or .r u.
e.g. The present stem of 00 amadan to come is -1- -a-
and of ;_;g gojtan to say is -yf- -gu-.
In these verbs, because of the final vowel, the present
undergoes slight changes, for phonetic reasons, before the
addition of the personal endings i- "';'.- .:.- r.- etc. We shall
take 00 and ~ as models. All verbs whose present
stems end in -1- -a- go like 0.t..T, and all verbs with present
stems ending in - _;- -u- go like ~ .
 106 MODERN PERSIAN

To come To say
.:,..\.,T amadan ;.£' goftan
-..\.,T amad- past stem -:.iiS" gojt- past stem
-1- -a- pres. stem -§' - -gu- pres. stem
1 (. L... r-·L... (.J L• !e'.
f:Y"::"
mtdyam mta'£m m£guyam m£gu'£m
2 .J.Jl:-o .J.Jl:~ J.Jh J.Jh
m£a'£d m£a'£d m£gu'£d m£gu'£d
..ul.. ..1.:.;.l,:.. -½.J~ ..1.:.;...,~
mtayad mtayand m£guyad mtguyand
3
{ -½. ½:-- -½. ½:-- -½.h -½.h
mtayad mtayad mtguyad mtguyad
You will notice that (i) it is not the endings which are
irregular, but the stems, (ii) where the personal ending has
the short vowel a, i.e. in the cases of the 1st singular and
3rd singular and plural:
1 i-
2-
s{ ~-~- ..U-
~-
we put the consonant -y- -=- between the stem and the
personal ending. It is easier to say the word with this
-:- glide-vowel put in. (iii) Where the personal ending
has the long vowel ~ £, i.e. in the cases of the 1st plural
. and 2nd singular and plural:
1 r.-
2 -½.- J;.-
3
\ •V LESSON. EIGHTEEN 107

we put a• hamze, resting over a" bearer", a bearer being,

you will remember, like an undotted ~ b, thus :
!

This ! is pronounced as a glottal stop, like the letter

t. 'ain.
Pronounce:
(Catch your breath on the hamze) m£gu'£d -l}y~
m£a'£d -IJl:-- migu'£m r,.&~
But pronounce a -y- glide in these ones:
mzayam (.½:-- mzguyam (.J~
m£ayad -½½:-- m£guyand ~h
There is no glottal stop, no. catch of the breath, in these
last four examples. Be careful to see and hear the
difference in :
Glottal Stop -y- Glide
-I:&~ and "'a½:-° ..i-.h
m£gu'U m£ayad m£guyad
you come you say he comes he says
t!l:-- r!h and (.½:-- r.h
m£a'£m m£gu'£m m£ayam m£guyam
we come we say I come I say
Irregular Present Stems-2nd group : udan-a
Verbs whose infinitive ends in 0~.r -udan take a Present
Stem in -1- -a- and conjugate exactly like 0-LoT amadan
above in the present tense :
Infinitive English Present Stem
0~) farmudan command -L..)- -farma-
<.)~· namudan show -~-- -nama-

',I
108 MODERN PERSIAN

.:.,~_,j\ afzudan increase -!JI~ -afza-

03/jT dzmudan test, examine -l..jT- -dzmd-
.:.,~ peimudan measure -h;- -peima-
0~ Ll zddan bear young (animals) -Ll- -za-
(the infinitive has the present stem vowel here)
Note that the irregularities we are listing concern the
present tense only : the past tense of all verbs is always
regular in Persian.

u G~ EXPRESSIONS 'ebarat
(i) ~ .!.;.~~.} "';'" che Jarmudtd ?
~ rt..:. -½.3/.} "';'" che farmudtd khanom? (to a lady)
~t,;T -½.3/.} "';'" che Jarmudtd dgha? (to a gentleman)
These expressions, meaning literally " What did you com-
mand? " are used in polite conversation to mean "What
did you say?''.
(ii) ~ ~ bale ? (" Yes ? ") said with a rise in the voice :
bale? means" I beg your pardon-what did you say? ".
We can use (i) and (ii) together :
~-½.~~.} "';'" ~
bale, chefarmudid ? Excuse me, but what did you say ?
(iii) ~ _;,.l,.,:- khahesh mikonam Please (requesting
something) :
~ .::....-~ .:.,1~ * oL ~ .;,-l,.,;-
khahesh mikonam - rab,-e-shemirdn kojast ?
Excuse me-where is the Shemiran road ? (Shemiran is a
northern suburb of Tehran)
I•._ LESSON" EIGHTEEN A 109

I. In the following verbs in th~ present tense, a." bearer"

has been written without its necessary mark, • hamze or ·,1 •

• two dots (-y- glide) as the case may be. Fill in the
hamze or the -y- glide as necessary :
(e.g. -1:,,t,,.. µ should be -l:l'l,,.. µ
r..,~ ,:.,., should be {..J~ ,:.,.,)
~..\Jl,,.. S r J:..Jh .:.,~I I
~ !A:-- .:.,T t r-' 1,:.:., t.. y-
..\J h ..,1 f ~-1:,,l.._;.,,.. ~ µ ~
..\.,~· ..,1 A r-'H. l.. v
..\Jl..jT ..i ~ ._
II. Now check your answers to Ex. I with the Key at the
back of the book : correct your mistakes.
Now pronounce carefully each example of Ex. I:
! = a glottal stop
== -y-
III. Put into the present tense :
~-½.~)--:;- I
.:..,,:._,..~ ..,1 Y'

LESSON 18a
Numbers
Cardinal:
3 ,.,,, se Y' 1 ~ yek ,
4 _;~ chahdr t or r 2 ..,:. do r
110 M6DERN PERSIAN
''.
8 ..::,...:.,,,hasht A 5 e panj 0 or /)
9 ,J nob, -. 6 ..;.::, shesh '\ or f
10 .~ dab, \ • 7 ,:..l;, haft V
0 _;.... sejr •
Ordinal:
6th •• i f sheshom 1st J_,\ - avval
7th r;' i V hajtom 2nd i-'~ i r dovvom
~
8th r~ i A hashtom 3rd i y i I" sevvom
9th rt' i._ nohom 4th i.J~ ir chaharom
10th r-"'~ i \ , dahom 5th ~ i /) panjom
Note: (i) Apart from J_,\ 1st avval, which is taken from
Arabic, all . ordinal numbers are formed by adding the
syllable r-
-om to the cardinal number. This -om is r-
stressed. (ii) The ordinals are adjectives, and are joined to
the noun they qualify, by the ezdfe :
i..)~ * <.)".J~ dars-e-chaharom the fourth lesson
~ w.... safb,e-ye-panjom the fifth page
~ ..il:- jeld-e-hashtom the eighth volume
(iii) The cardinals are always used with the noun in the
singular. We say ~I asbha horses, but with a number it
is singular, thus : ....,.....1 . J ~ chahdr asb four horses.
p d-' yl.::S'" ,r- shesh ketdb va panj ghalam
" six book and five pen "
When the noun denotes people, we often use the word
~ nafar persons
between the number and the noun. When the noun denotes
things or animals, we can use
\j ta pieces
in the same position :
111 LESSON EIGHTEEN A 111

J..i~ .:..A>t> ~ I .Jli .;~ .; Jl--':.1 ~ d

panj nafar irdnf va do nafar ingUsi haft nafarand
Five Iranians and two Englishmen are seven people
i~1~ .:il.!.:_4 yl::S't ....., .:,T .; fs t; ,_;..;, (fol r
in shesh td ghalam va dn se ta ketab be-fshan dddam
I gave them these six pens and those three books
The cardinal numbers answer the questions
r .J.L¾- cheghadr ? r ~ chand? r ~ ..(:..;- chand nafar?
rt~ chand td? How many?
r _;-L¾- cheghadr? also means the singular > How much ?
This expression never takes .Jli nafar or t; ta after it.
The ordinal numbers answer the question, untranslatable
into English:
r~~ chandomin ? " the how-manyeth ? "
cf. the German adjective der Wievielte?
~A~ chandomzn is an adjective, but it always precedes
its noun and has no ezaje.
Read these examples for practice :
..i..i....T ~ ,_;..;, r..i..i~T J.;J_~ ..:.-,_;~ ~ ~
J..i 1,,:- t ._, ;.-,,.J~ J .J t-li !,>- Li .J~ er r..1;...l..i1,,:- Y l::5' Li ~ r
..:.-,I~ <.)".J~ (f-1 r~ 4 r- r..::... . 1 <.)".J~ ~~ (f-1 'l"
t )J..i J_.,{ ~ er r..1;._;1~ JY. .J.L¾- t
-
i.J..J-'
I. Write"in Persian numerals (e.g. 6 4 = 10 becomes +
I•= t f):. +
+
(a) 2 x 3 = 6 (b) 6½ 3½ = 10 (c) 6th, 7th, and 8th
II. Write in words in Persian :
(a) eighth (b) first (c) second (d) third 'I
112 MODERN PERSIAN

III. Fill in the blank with yaJ or \j as necessary:

''"
.::...,..,I~·- .J:, .J JJ..:...,., -,_;.::. JU.I .r..1 .J:,

~r.):, c)~-~ r·
ti.) Jl.1_1 - .J:, \"

~½:-° c.11_.i.. - 1B ~ .I:/.½:-° c.11_.i.. .)~ t

~.::.,,;...J) . } , ) - ~ l:l
(c.11_.i.. meb,mdn = a guest)

LESSON 19
The Subjunctive
The subjunctive mood is used a great deal in Persian.
By itself, a subjunctive verb has the meaning "may" or
" might " or " let me (do) - - ".
The Present Subjunctive is formed by tc!,king the Present
Tense, dropping the -::-4 ml- prefix, and substituting the
Subjunctive Prefix -i be. This -i be is usually joined in
writing.
Compare, for example, the Present Tense with the
Present Subjunctive Tense of
.;;.J raftan to go

Present Stem - .J.J· -rav-

Present Tense Present Subjunctive Tense
SINGULAR
1 i .JJ,;-' mfravam I go i .J-'. beravam I may go
2 J,u J:' mfravid you go ":.J-', beravld you may go

:,.J J:' mfravad he goes :,.J-'. beravad he may go

3
{ :>.J J:' mfravad it goes :,.J-'. beravad it may go
\ \.,. LESSON NINETEEN 113

PLURAL
1 (..J ..1;4 m£rav£m we go (..J J. berav£m we may go • I

2 ~.J ..1;4 m£rav£d you go ~.J J. berav£d you may go

{ ..G_;..1;4 mfravand they go ..G_; J. beravand they may go
3
:._; ,;;4 mfravad they go :,_; J. beravad they may go

The , be is always stressed. Pronounce :

i .J J. beravam (..>~beguyam ~~ bekhan£m
-0.JJ-"i beforush_ad -I}~ benama'£d -l:.;_L.J-"i befarmayand
When the verb begins with T long a or I short a, the -,
becomes -::, and the whole combination is pronoun~ed
l:, bid or l:,: bia (the - madde is dropped) :
T verbs : ..Gj__,~l:,: b£'amuzand r.l:: biayam
I verbs : r-!_;)l:, biajzu'£m :.jl..Gl:,: b£anddzad
Before .:i:.~\ £stadan to stop, the "-: be- is separated:
~I "-: be-£stam I may stop
To make the negative of the Subjunctive, we first remove
the -, -:: be- or b£-, and then replace it with the negative
prefix j na-, or -:i nay- before a vowel. This negative prefix
is stressed here as elsewhere. Remember that the -, be or
-:: b£ is dropped in the Negative Present Subjunctive. So,
for ~ for example :
Present Subjunctive Present Subjunctive
Affirmative Negative
beguyam I may say
(..>~ r.fa naguyam I may not say
-I}~ begu'£d you may say -½:~~ nagu'£d you may not say
-½.~ beguyad he may say ~fa naguyad he may not say
r-~~ begu'£m we may say r-~~ nagu'£m we may not say
114 MODERN PERSIAN \\ t

~~ begu'£d you may say -½,!..,~ nagu'£dyoumay not say

~..,~ beguyand they may ~..,~ naguyand they may not
say say
The second person of the Subjunctive (both affirmative
and negative) is used by itself as the Imperative or
command form :
-½,!..,~ 0.i:. beman begu'£d Tell me
-½,!..,~ ..,4 be-u nagu'£d Don't tell him
~.., .J'. J;~ manzel berav£d Go home
-½,!~ lMI £nja naya'£d Do not come here
.Y.-½ yl.:S' .:,Tan kitab bedeh£d Give that book
Similarly, other persons (without pronouns) can be used to
express the idea " let . . . " :
.:..., .J'. beravad let him go, he may go, may he go
{}fa nagu'£m let us not say, may we not say
and the question form of the 1st person singular is very
common, thus :
ff.-'~~ che beguyam? What am I to say? What can I say?
Suffix ,.}- -esh. Besides meaning his, her, or its (posses-
sive), the suffix ,.}- -esh can be added to prepositions. This
usage is particularly common in colloquial speech :
What did you {che be-u goftzd? f ~ _,l, ~ I
tell him/her? che besh goftzd? f ~ cA ~ '1'
I asked him/her {az u namesh pors£dam i-1::---.r. .;..u _,I _jl f
his/her name azesh namesh pors£dam i-l::---.1; .J--1..i ._,!jl f
(0-½:.....r. pors£dan, -.....r.,- -pors- = to ask)
 115
'' ~ LESSON NINETEEN

Prepositions normally taking the ezaje after them drop

their ezafe if this J,- -esh suffix is added :
He stood behind posht-e-u fstad .:,~I _;I *~ ~
him/her { poshtesh fstad .:,~l~f
Did you go in pfsh-e-an raftfd ? f~.) .:,T*~ V
front of it? { pfshesh raftfd ? f ~_; J:.!+.; A

If the preposition ends in a vowel, we put a -:- -y- glide

between it and the J,- -esh to facilitate pronunciation :
Is the book on the { .::.,..,I .:,T * <.>.J.! "1;
table ? bale r~ye an ast
1.:..:1
f ~ * ~.J~ yl::S"' ".
Yes, 1·t 1s
· on 1·t { ..:....... 1, ir...J.J
; ...L
· ketab ruye miz ast?
bale ruyesh ast
My friend went instead of him/her
dustam bey"ayesh raft ..::.j_; ~~ r'.J.:, \ •

The J,- -esh suffix can also be added to verbs, to indicate

the direct object of that verb :

I J,- here = G_;I or G.:,T

j-½...u G_;I ,,;

N o, I d1"dn 't see h"1m/h er na ura nadfdam
{ cr4-½_..u ..,j
na nadfdamesh
In all the uses of J,- -esh outlined above, we can use the
corresponding plural suffix .:,t..;_ -eshan = them (animate
and inanimate). This use is similarly colloquial:
I told him/her besh gojtam ;z ._A \
I told them beshan gojtam ?f" .:,~ r
114 MODERN PERSIAN I I f

-½,!..,~ begu'U you may say -½,!..,~ nagu'Uyoumay not say

~~ beguyand they may ~..,~ naguyand they may not
say say
The second person of the Subjunctive (both affirmative
and negative) is used by itself as the Imperative or
command form :
-½,!..,~ ..'.!~. beman begu'£d Tell me
-½,!..,~ ..,4 be-u nagu'U Don't tell him
.J.;,..,-': J_:;.. manzel berav£d Go home
-½Sl::; ~I £nja naya'U Do not come here
.Y.-½ yl.S 0T an kitab bedeMd Give that book
Similarly, other persons (without pronouns) can be used to
express the idea " let ... " :
~..,-': beravad let him go, he may go, may he go
(!->~ nagu'£m let us not say, may we not say
and the question form of the 1st person singular is very
common, thus:
f (.->~ ~ chi beguyam? What am I to say? What can I say?
Suffix .}- -esh. Besides meaning his, her, or its (posses-
sive), the suffix .}- -esh can be added to prepositions. This
usage is particularly common in colloquial speech:
What did you { chi be-u gojtU? f ,;._;:$ _,li ~ I
tell him/her ? chi besh goftU ? f4 J-.! ~ "1'
I asked him/her {az u namesh pors£dam i-1::--J; ._,!,li _,\ jl 'I"
his/her name azesh namesh porsUam i-1::--J; ._,!,li _;jl f

. .
(0..1.:,..,J pors£dan, -....r -pars- = to ask)
 i. I

I Io LESSON NINETEEN 115

Prepositions normally taking the ezdfe after them drop

their ezdje if this J,- -esh suffix is added :
He stood behind posht-e-u zstdd .)~I JI * .::..!.; o i

him/her { poshtesh istdd .)~l~f

Did you go in pzsh-e-dn raftid ? f ~.) c>T * er:\; V
front of it? { pzshesh raftid ? f~.JMA
If the preposition ends in a vowel, we put a -=- -y- glide
between it and the J,- -esh to facilitate pronunciation :
Is the book on the { ..:....,I c>T * i.SJJ ~ }
table ? bale r~ye an ast f-=--:-1 ~ * ~J:
yl.::S"' °'
·t · ·t
Y es, 1 1s on 1
{ .;.,.,I cr..JJ ...L
· · ketab ruye miz ast?
bale ruyesh ast
My friend went instead of him/her
dustam bejdyesh raft ".;.._;J c.2½; {.-,J.) I•

The J,- -esh suffix can also be added to verbs, to indicate

the direct object of that verb :

I J,- here = LJI or L .:,T

f-'-1...(j LJI ,.;

N o, I d1.dn 't see h.1m/h er na urd nadzdam
{ <r4.J.;_..(j,.;
na nadzdamesh
In all the uses of J,- -esh outlined above, we can use the
corresponding plural suffix c>l.;.- -eshdn = them (animate
and inanimate). This use is similarly colloquial:
I told him/her besh goftam ?f ~
I told them beshdn goftam ;z- c>~ r
116 MODERN PERSIAN \\f

~-½.~ .,AJ~ µ '

Were you at his/her house? shoma pab1i1yesh budU?
~ ..I./.~ <J~__,~ µ r
Were you at their house ? shoma pabiuyeshan budU ?
I didn't see him/her nadUamesh <.r"-½...G \
I didn't see them nad£dameshan 0\.!....1.;,..G r
Note: 0~1 budan and .;;1:, dashtan. Do not attempt
yet to form the Present Subjunctives of these two verbs.
They have special Subjunctive forms which we shall deal
with later.
.
cJ...J°'
I. Put into the Present Subjunctive:
~~.,. r.V r
(..JJ~· f ..1.;.h b
r.jl.)~ °' ~-"
.)~\·
II. Make your answers to Ex. I Nos. \, '1", t, b, v, and °'
negative subfunctive.
III. Make your al!-swers to Ex. I Nos. r, f, A, and \,
affirmative subfunctive.
IV. Write in Persian and then read aloud, paying attention
to the stressed prefixes :
1. May I go out ?
2. What am I to say ?
3. Come here.
4. Where is he to go?
5. Let's see him. (One word.)
6. Don't take his money.
11 V LESSON NINETEEN 117

7. Let him not take his (own) money.

8. Say this after ( = with) me.
9. Don't cook my dinner late tonight.
10. Why may I not pay ?
V. Put into the form using the suffix .}- -esh or .:,t.;_
-eshan:
f~~fa 1;T !,;,:-1
J.}..,~ ..i4 'I"
~..i; JU.I * ,s__,j t,

VI. Translate Ex. V.

(Drawn from B. W. Robinson's "Persian Miniatures", by kind

permission of the publishers, Bruno Cassirer, Ltd., Oxford.) I '

I
Ii
118 MODERN PERSIAN \\A

LESSON 19a
Questions. We said in Lesson 13a that we make a question
in Persian by raising the voice towards the end of the
sentence (in speech) and (in writing) we occasionally,
though by no means always, use a European question-mark
reversed f. Not all Persian books, and very few Persian
writers, bother about the f mark. Persian books printed in
Europe usually do, of course, use f.
The order of words of the statement is not changed to
make a question:
They saw him urd didand .,lj-1;_.) L.JI \
(falling tone)
Did they see him? urd di"dand? f .,lj-1;_.) L.JI r
(rising, inquiring tone)
Question-words. Many questions in Persian, as in English,
are introduced by question-words :
why ? cherd ? ~
what? che? ~ (colloquially cht ?) che chtz? -½=; ~
which ? koddm? ii£
who? k£? S
when? Mi? S
where ? kojd ? \,:S
how ? chet6ur? .JJb;-
how much/many ? chand ? ~ cheghadr ? _;-lk;-
and the many compounds we can form from these words :
whose ? mdl-e-k£? S * JL.
for what ? bard-ye-chi? ~ * -sl.,o:
 11
i

! '

LESSON NINETEEN A 119

'' °'
from where? az koja? l.:-5' jl
until when ? ta Mi ? S \,;
and so forth.
When these words are used to form questions in Persian,
we can put them at the beginning of the question, as in
English:
Where did Hassan come from ? ~ .w .j,--:- l.:-5' j I I
To whom did he say this? ~d ~ u-1.I ~ r
When are you coming tomorrow? ~-½J~ 1-l_) µ ,S f
Why did you come today? ~ ~.w j_,_r\ !r;- t
But it is far more usual to put the question-word im-
mediately before the verb, i.e. nearly at the end of the
question:
~ .w l.:-5' j I .j,--:- I

~d ~ ~u-1.I r
~-½J~ ,Sl.l_) µ f
~ ~.l.T ½- jJJA\ t
In good conversational Persian this latter order is much
better.
Indirect Speech. In English, we have two ways of
indicating speech. We have Direct Speech:
1. He said " I am ill " i
and we have Indirect Speech or Reported Speech : I

,I
2. He said that he was ill
!
These two sentences both mean exactly the same thing,
but in No. 1 the exact words of the speaker, with no altera-
tion in tense or person, are used. In No. 2 we merely get
120 MODERN PERSIAN ''I'.
a report of what the speaker said : the tense of the verb
and the person of its subject are both changed to fit the
report.
In Persian there is no distinction between Direct and
Indirect Speech : we always use the exact words of the
speaker.
cc n Inverted commas are occasionally used in Persian :
they are not obligatory.
Speech is usually introduced by the conjunction ,S- ke
"that". This word, like the inverted commas, is not
obligatory.
Examine:
My brother said" I am ill" [ d i.J~\.J'. \
Clf~..r'>l
OR .::..£ i.J~\.J'. 'I'
f~..r'
My brother said that he was ill ~.JA£' d i.J~\.J'. 'l'
(u""!.Y mar£z ill) Cl~..rii £' d i.J~\.J'. t
Exactly the same method is used to express questions
in speech:
Ahmad asked " Where are
you going ? " ccf--½J.J'.:'" l:-5" µn -½:--'.J'., ..i...--1
OR f--½.., .r:/ l,:S' µ -½:--..i:, .i...-- I r
Ahmad asked where I/he/ f ... .., ..i::-- l:-5" l-..:. £' J.::......i:, ..i...--1 'l'
she was OR we/you/they
Cl f--½.., ..i::-- l:-5" µn £' -½:--.r. .i...-- I t
were going ·
In the questions \, r, 'l', and t above the f may also be
omitted.
The context of the speech usually indicates who is meant
by the " \...:. ", but the exact words of the speaker are always
 i I

I
11'\ LESSON NINETEEN A 121 ':

used. As you see, the conjunction "$'" is not always

translatable into English.
A question which requires an answer " yes " or " no "
Ii
may be introduced by tJ. This is an untranslatable
question particle. It always appears as first word in the
question clause :
. {shoma btrun mzravzd ? f -1/.J µ .:,_, F. I_;; I
Are you gomg • •
? OR
out · aya shoma btrun mtrav£d? f .1;...,.J:° .:,_,~ ~ 4T r
If we wish to quote a yes-no question as speech, we
usually introduce this question by tJ ,S-, which is then
translated as " whether " in English. Again, neither the
,S- nor the t.,J is obligatory:
Ahmad asked " Are you -1/.J.J;° .:i..,~1 µ J,:.-,-J'., J..a--1 \
going out ? "
-1/.J.J;° .:i..,~ µ tJ J,:.-,J, J..a,-\ 'I'
OR
Ahmad asked whether I/
"':'.J.J;° .:,_,~ µ £ J,:.-,-J'., J..a--1 f

he/she was OR we/you/ .:,_,~ I_;; t.,J £ ..1:,...-J'., J..a--1 t

they were going out "':'.J .J;°
All the above, \, r, I", and t, can take either <1 1> or \'
or both together ; and the context of the question tells us
who is indicated by I; shoma.
Again, the same method is used to express commands as
quoted speech :
Go! berav£d -1/.J.J'.
.J.iJJ d \,
He said " Go " Igojt beravid - .
OR gojt berav£d (I.J.i..,J1> d
- . r
He told me/him/her/us/ gojt ke berav£d J.,JJ' £ d
. - I"'
you/them to go gojt ke berav£d (1-1/.J.J'.l).S-dt. I 1

I
i .l
122 MODERN PERSIAN \n'

Irregular Present Stems-3rd group : -stan verbs

Verbs whose infinitive ends in ;;.,,,- -stan nearly all have
irregular Present Stems. Here are the most important
irregularities encountered:
GROUP 3a. s-h
Infinitive English Present Stem
;;_,ts'" kastan lessen --'>ts'"- -kah-
;;.,,,!.,.:- khastan wish, want _..,!_,.:.- -khah-
~ jastan jump -1=:-- -jab,-
(J;"'.J rastan escape --'>_J- -rab,-

GROUP 3b. s-nd

~ bastan tie, bind, close -~- -band-
(J;"'_r.; peivastan unite -~- -peivand-
GROUP 3c. s-n
~ shekastan break _:S.};,_ -shekan-
~ neshastan sit -~- -nesh£n-
(vowel change also here)
GROUP 3d. Oddments
~ gos£khtan} break -W" - -gosel-
~ goszstan
~ sho.stan wash -y- -shu-
~ jostan -ju-
look for, seek -y,;--
;;.,,,L.:- khastan arise -khtz-
- Yj--
In Group 3d above, note (i) ~ g oszstan to break has
an alternative form in the infinitive only-the present stem
has only the one form. This verb is not as common as 3c
~ shekastan. (ii) In all these four verbs there is a vowel
change as well as a consonant change. (iii) Do not confuse
 LESSON NINETEEN A 123
3a .;_.y. khastan = to wish (pres. stem -•l,... - -khah-) with
3d .;,.L.:- khastan (no mute -.r v here, N.B.) whose meaning
is to arise, with the pres. stem j,f-- -kMz-.

TEXT
•.:>½; * .:.__,. .J \.j\.:, * .:.__,.
.~1 o.::....!.i .:S'.J:.,_ * *
•L .JL:5' · ~ * ..s.J.J ..s_j.J.J Ub * .:.__,. ~-
UI.:. * .:.__,.
_jl .W 6..,_x; ~ If.I £ ~ 3 -~~ •.:>½; ~ 6.,_ £ ~.:,
.w;- _jl ~ UI.:, * .:.__,. (I~.::.....,. .::.j_; .w;- J-r! t:; ~I _jl)) £ "':-"-".,
"-';» £ "':-"-"., .J .:>__? ~ J~.:, ~ (l~.J J, •.:>½;)) £ d .._.,,;.:,
i_;.:. * ~ c1~.JJ. •.:>½;1> .S- d i.J.:, W.:. Ub * .:.__,. Cl~·½,H..h
,J-r=, *c.:,_),.:...;.) •L 0.:._j c.:,r 03 -½ 3 ((.;....,I <Gi_,;,.:. .:.__,.. If.II) .S- .:...f' fa
.J.:>)) .S- d 3 .:...f' I-L.,.. .?. UI.:. * .:.__,. .:...i.J •L & .w;- £ ~.J
~ ~ ;.:._;_j !,.,;- ~ .s- -½--.1. •.:>½; * ~ (l"':-"J;° J-r-!~ µ ~L., _;.:>
.:,_;_j µ 4J .S- ;-;1.(j ~"':-"-'. cf' _jl µ ¥.Jl) £ d \.j\.:, * .:.__,.
r~.:, .s- :1t... J_; .-½>•.JJ;° cP1':. 4. .:._;_j 4.T ;....;1.(j 0.r;- "':-"J;° ~ _;;,.:. 4.
.11-½--J:" ~ ~l.... _;.:. .).:. .s- fl¼- ~.JJ;° •L J~

~;
"J
sick, ill v1':.r martz but JJ valt
seated ~ neshaste now that ,..Sy\.,.. hala ke
a few -'~ chand centre :/ r markaz
lk { ;_;::J; .:,\.:,{ ptade raftan wise UI:, dana
wa ;_;;;J; ol; ra!:J raftan fellow ..,~~ shakhs
be surprised .:,:,_}· ~ ; ta'ajjob walking, on foot •:,l::? ptade
kardan when ,..S .j:,;J vaghtt ke
surprise ~ ta' ajjob after jl .>..a! ba'd az
a second time tJ:, W:, daj'e-ye- moment c::,; J-' ml3ughe'
dovvom grass • :r.-~ sabze
ask (of) _....., J?- .:,-½--- J? porstdan, a time ,.,..;:, daf' e
-pars- (.;1) think .:,:,J fa fekr kardan
then ..,-1, pas as .:,y.; chun
124 .MODERN PERSIAN

mad ,J\Y..~ divane minute } ,..JW~ d hi he

earlier, sooner, quicker ~~J; moment - ag g
zadtar without a word .:,~; ....;J,,. *wJ~
arrive --;- w-½---'J rasidan, -ras- bedun-e-harf-zadan
speak 0:,~j .._;J"'" harf zadan slow(ly) ._,:;.1.J!. yavash
voice ,....__. seda hour, watch .::..,:\...... sa' at
call .:i~J ,.....,_. seda kardan civilization .:,.u tamaddon
know (a fact) _;\~- .:_,;:....JI~ answer ..,..1y:- javab
danestan, -dan-

r.J.~
I. Answer these questions orally and in writing in Persian:
f-1;.) s .,. f ~ .c:....!.i ~ Lil.) * ~ \
f .)I.) er! Lib* .).r y!.,,:- ~ J f f ¼-'Y. ~ Lib* .).r _jl o.)~ * .)y \"
f .:......il..U ~ ~ f .)b !,.,;- y!.,,:- <Ji.I Lib* .).r l)
II. Translate :
1. I don't know what his name is.
2. Did he say where he was going?
3. Tell him to go.
4. Hassan said he had seen someone in the village, but
he didn't know who it was.
5. Tell him to wash his hands.
III. Translate (a) into English Direct Speech, then (b) into
English Indirect Speech:
e.g.
.-';J.J'. .s- d er!
(a) He said to him: "Go."
(b) He told him to go.
~~ ~) .:,~4 "1' ~ ~I !r;- .S- i¼-'_;:, .}) \
.;....,I ..i:..) d t .;.....,l..;l,;_.)~<)/.1.S- .)~ P.).r \"
~ .:,J_/ * §> 01.,._1 ~ * JL,.., ~ r_,..T J.J.rl l)
 LESSON TWENTY 125
LESSON 20
After the verbs " can, to be able to " and " want to "
in English, we use the infinitive of the verb :
I can go }
I am able to go (in the Present)
I want to go
I could go }
I was able to go (in the Past)
I wanted to go
In all these examples, " go " and " to go " are infinitives
in English.
In Persian, we do not use the infinitive in such cases,
but the Present Subjunctive Tense (the -i be- tense) in the
appropriate person, thus, for example : 1'
i .J-'. beravam that I may/might go
can, to be able to :
Infinitive : .;_;1,; tavdnestan
Past Stem: -:..J_!,; tavdnest-
Present Stem : -;_!,;- -tavdn-
Thus the Present 1st person singular is r!f::.. (..:,. )
(man)
mUavdnam I can, I am able to. The Past 1st person singular
is ;,-;1,; (..:,..) (man) tavdnestam I could, I was able to.
to want to:
Infinitive : .:;...,1,> khdstan
Past Stem: -::,..,1,> khdst-
Present Stem: -.1>!,,>- -khdh-
Present 1st singular r""~ (..:,..) (man) m£khdham I want
to. Past 1st person singular r'l,> (..:,. )
(man) khdstam
I wanted to.
126 MODERN PERSIAN , rt
Examine:
man mUavdnam anjd beravam i-'-'. ~T r.!f:::.. .:,, 1
I am able to go there (literally, I am able that I go there)
shomd tavdnesUd dnjd beravzd -½...i..;: ~T ~l,; µ r
You were able to go (literally, that you might go) there
zshdn namUavdnand znjd bzdyand ~~ ~\ .J:J~· 0~\ f
They can't come (literally, They cannot, that they may
come) here
kz mzkhdhad bd man beravad? ~ ~-'-'. .:,, 4 ..u.~ S t
Who wants to go (literally, that he go) with me?
Mchkas nakhdst bedaftar beravad ~-'-'. P-½ ..:.....,_l,;i ~".,'-:!' ~
Nobody wanted to go to the office
r-'. .e -I'""~· .s- d ;...-'~ i
dustam goft ke namzkhdhad dzr berasad
My friend said he didn't want to arrive late
(oR: My friend said: " I don't want ... ")
The .;_.J_[,; or .;...l,.,:- form (called the auxiliary verb) can
come just before the subjunctive verb:
shomd znjd m2khdh2d benesh£n£d? ~-1}Ji! .Y,~ ~I l-f: V
Do you want to sit here ?
or just after its own subject:
shomd m£khdh£d znjd benesh£n£d? ~~ ~\ .y,~ µ A
Do you want to sit here ?
The subjunctive verb can be understood, of course, just
as the corresponding infinitive can in English :
mzkhdham beguyam vaU namUavdnam (~· J..i f.-'~ I'""~ °'
I want to speak, but I can't
 I,'

I '

HY LESSON TWENTY 127

rah namfravand. nam£khahand J..:...>~· • .JJJy/ •L , •
They aren't walking. They don't want to
After the verb " want to" in English, we often have an
oby'ect before the infinitive :
I want him to write (i.e. I don't want to write myself)
This is translated by putting the object between the
.;....!_,,;. auxiliary and the subjunctive verb, but in the suby'ect
form : i.e. no L- -ra particle attached to the noun or
pronoun. For further clarity a S' ke particle can be used:

,
I want him to write
r ½fa. JI ~~ <J' \ \
man m£khaham u benev£sad
, (literally. I want that OR
he should write) ½.>:..i JI -S- ~ ~ <J' , r
man m£khaham ke u benev£sad
A further word about .;....!.,,;- : it can of course take an
ordinary direct object, as "want" can in English:
I want an apple s£b m£khaham ~~ ~ ,r

. ·.i -'
1.,1.J

I. Translate :
1. Can he write Persian ? Yes, he can.
2. Does he want to learn this? No, he doesn't (want).
3. Where do you want to sit?
4. I can't wash (my) hands without water.
5. Why don't you want him to see your house?
6. Nobody could tell me this.
 128 MODERN PERSIAN \'t'A

7. Do you want dinner now?

8. He wanted to sleep, but he couldn't.
9. Yesterday he was very ill and couldn't eat any-
thing.
10. When did you want to see us? Are we to come
early?
II. Put the infinitive on the left into the correct subjunc-
tive form to fit the sentence on the right :
~ - L:-:-!_I .i.,,,!,~ \
:;_:, - ri,=::-c· yT er. "
.;....; b ~- ..1::::..-!,,:- ~ f

0~.:. ~ __;.....I ..S- - r-j!,=::-c. y\.;:S"" 01.I .J.:, ti

III. (a) Put into the Past Tense Ex. II Nos. \, r, t,
and ti.
(b) Put into the Present Tense Ex. II No. f.

LESSON 20a
To ask. The English verb "to ask" is translated into
Persian in two ways :
.;..!,,:- khastan (to want) = to request, ask for something
cJ-½:--'-'. porsMan = to ask a question
They both take jl az (from) with their personal object:
What did you ask of ~ ~!,,:- ~ !J' jl }
me? az man che khastid ? .• •
1
I asked him to come .Wl, 1 ·, • I · I ·1 <.fa":}'-
••• '-f" f"'Y- .J .J
alone az u khastam tanha Ma'fd
 LESSON TWENTY A 129
What (question) did
you ask me?
.
f-'-!.-1:--.J ~ -.:,.- jl
az man eke pors£d£d ?
I asked you what this ~<)'!.l£i-1:--..l'.,µjl
was az shoma pors£dam ke £n
chtst
Irregular Present Stems-verbs in <J:,- -dan
Verbs whose infinitive ends in <J:,- -dan fall into various
groups:
(a) <J:._.r -udan verbs are the second group of irregulars.
See Lesson 18 for these.
(b) <J-'-!.- -£dan verbs are all regular, forming their present
stems by dropping the <J-'-!.- -£dan, except those listed below
under (c) and (d).
(c) The following verbs in <J:.- -dan have present stems
in -:- -n-, and occasionally other irregularities as well,
which should be carefully noted :
Infinitive English Present Stem
<,):,_j zadan hit --u- -zan-
<J:,J kardan do -:S'- -kon-
<J-'-!..)T afar£dan create -~_;T- -afar£n-
<J-'-!.:, d£dan see -~- -b£n-
<).,G.. chtdan
. ,: arrange, lay out ..
-:.....:,..- -chin-
_(d) The following verbs in <J:,- -dan have present stems
in -..r -v- as well as a vowel change :
Infinitive English Present Stem
<J~ shen£dan hear -~- -shenav-
<JJ,.;, shodan become -y,- -shav-
130 MODERN PERSIAN \I".

Compound Verbs. You will probably have noticed that

we have learned comparatively few verbs, so far. Persian
has very few simple verbs ; it uses simple verbs combined
with other words, usually nouns or adjectives, making
compound verbs.
Compound Verbs formed with 0:.5 kardan to do
wait (for) sabr kardan (bardye) (~L:) 0:.5 -':-"
thank (to somebody) tashakkor k. (be kas£) (~) LJ:.5~
speak so!}bat k. cJ:.5 ~
work kark. c):,5 _;LS'"

accept, agree ghabul k. c):,5 J_,:,i

throw out, reject bfrun k. c):,5 c!J.);!
prepare hazer k. c):,5 _,...;l.-
arrange dorost k. c):,5 .:...,_;:,

live (in a place) manzel k. c):,5 J;.

live (exist) zendeg£ k. c):,5 J.JJ_j
move off harakat k. c):,5 ,::,S"_;>-
{ sa'£ k. c):,5 <.;-
try
kushesh k. <.):,5 ,_;.;.§
open baz k. c):,5 j½
find peida k. 0:.51¾
think fekr k. 0:.5 fa
help (to somebody) komak k. (be kas£) (~)0:.565'
change 'avaz k. 0:.5 <..!"'Yo
Compound verbs form all the usual tenses, by inflecting
the verb half of the compound, which is never separated.
The Subjunctive, and hence also the Imperative, of a
Compound Verb has no -i be- prefix ; compare
\\" \ LESSON TWENTY A 131

;s:-,.1~1(~\
mUavanam fnra bekonam I can do this
with
;s-~ &.Ju r~ r
mUavanam jars£ sob,bat konam I can speak Persian

Let us examine a typical Compound Verb, 0~5 ~

tashakkor k. " to thank " in all its parts, as an example :
Infinitive : 0~5 _;s:...::.;; tashakkor k. to thank
Past Stem: -~5 ~ t. kard-
Pres. Stem : -:S' - _;s:...::.:; t. -kon-
Pres. Tense: r>--::- _;s:...::.:; t. m£konam (etc.) I thank
Past Tense: i~5 .Js:...::.;; t. kardam (etc.) I thanked
Subjunctive: f ~ t. konam (etc.) may I thank
Imperative: J..;S' .Js:...::.:; t. kontd Thank (someone)
The negative prefix _; na- is added of course in the usual
way to the verbal element of the compound. Remember
that the non-verbal element of the compound never changes
and never separates itself from the verbal element.
132 MODERN PERSIAN

If we wish to suffix ,.}- -esh or 0Ll- -eshan (him or them)

as a direct object to a Compound Verb, we attach the
suffix to the non-verbal element :
Throw it out ! bfrunesh konzd .;.;S" _;.j__, ~
I didn't open them bazeshan nakardam i.:,fa 0Llj4
TEXT

C i-¾--.J, J,jl __. .:....-1 ~ .;.-,1 C i.:,..f' ~ LiT 6,_ 4 jn_.:>

t ~ J;,. ~ µ
J;,. ~ I_; C (1.y· J__. ~_;LS"'~ I_; C (I.!:-- ,:r ~ :,:r
~
t;.. .Ll * .:.,4~ _;.:> i.:,..f' ..rrJ, _;.:> J;.. ~;:;__. er!:; * .:,.;__. ~ :~
*(""I-~ J;_. 6.,:;-§ 4,§ 6,_ _;.:>.:,I~_;.:> ':.'I.» J__. ~
.:....-1 .:.,~ ¼-§~§..:,;.I
* _;.s.:, * 6,_.:,; 6.,:;-§ ¼-§ . ,; .:.,T - .;.;S"~ - .:.,~ ¼-§ : ,:r
f .:....-1 .:.,t;¥
i .)f J.,,:. C ..rrJ, * ¥ _;.:> ..,; .:.,~t; * (>I--: ; ....!_,.,;- ,:r A
~ I µ ·i.:,..f' ~_,..Li¥* J;_. ~ ..:,;.4--' ;s· ,. /' ..(jj .:....-1
i.;~.!:--1 ..r; .y__,,;- f ~_;~ it; -IJ~ ,:r * J_:,;..._ ~_;b .;.;__.
~~ILi_;
(.~ ('Y- __. ~ ~ J.,,:. I_;* .::.,U::JI jl
- ~ l>.J;';"
~}
conversation ~ so"f!bat · don't mention it (lit. it's nothing)
to study ,:;:,J vNJ:, dars k. ~ ..Sj,;;>:; chtzt ntst
salary J_,ii> hogh11gh hope -½--1 omtd
kindness .::.U:..11 eltefat I hope (I-am-hopeful) tJ1J-'::-"1
for your kindness W *.::.\Ji:..11 .:,1 omtdvaram
az eltefat-e-shoma
 LESSON TWENTY A 133

cJ.J-'
I. Answer: javab bedeMd ..Y.-½ y!,,:-
~~ .J\S'" ~ J ~~ J.:,:_. .J-r-Z ii£ .J~ l-,;, I
~ .IJh ~ I_,;,- ~h-- ..:.,U::)\ ~ µ * <.Sl.,o: ~ ¥.J '1'
~~ ~ ( $ ~ . ) ~ ~ ~ ' I "
~4 ~ 043 ~ 0 ~ \ .)~ t
~ ~ ..::,......)~ 0\;~ * il;. ~~ b
~~ _,.,.;6- µ * <.SL,: 0t;).~Li S f

~.,; 4 ~ .J\S'" fl~ ~ .J~ I_,;, \J oS' ~ V

~~ _f .JJj ~~ 0\;:;p-
4A
~~ 65' ~ ,S 0\.:...,.)~ .)~ °'
~~_j' JL- ~ .s- .y~ '.
<.)"'.)~ 4,.,,_J..l..o .)~

( 4,.,,.)..1..o madrase = school)

II. Translate :
1. He moved. 4. Get the dinner ready.
2. Let him move. 5. Where do you live ?
3. Am I to speak ?
III. Give the Subjunctives of :
r~J.JJ.3'1" ;s:-z.r i~'
;s:.:.J: ~ t
0

~ - _,.,.;6- b
IV; Translate, taking care with" ask":
1. He asked me for an apple .
. 2. He asked me what the time was. (Time here =
hour.)
3. Ask him where he lives.
4. Don't ask for money.
5. He asked too much (too much = ~43 zfad) for his
fruit.
134 MODERN PERSIAN If t

LESSON 21
Comparison of adjectives and adverbs. There is no differ-
ence in form between adjectives and adverbs in Persian:
y__,.,;- khub = good OR well, -½ bad= bad OR badly.
To form the comparative degree of adjectives and
adverbs, we add the suffix ;- -tar to the simple form of
that adjective or adverb. To form the superlative, we
suffix ,y_;- -tartn to the simple form.
Examine:
big 8.J ~ bozorg small ~ § kuchek
bigger fl.J:., bozorgtar smaller ~ § kuchektar
biggest ,y_ fl.J ~ bozorgtartn smallest ,y_~§ kuchektartn
bad, badly -½ bad
worse ;-½ badtar
worst ,y_ ;-½ badtartn
There are only two irregular comparisons :
good, well khub .:)l;__j ztad
y __,.,;-
• very, muc h{
better --'Y. beb,tar J:> kheiU
best ,y_ H. be!J,tartn more ~Mshtar
most u:! ~ Mshtartn
Note: (a) The comparative form of the adjective follows
the noun it qualifies, and behaves exactly like the simple
(positive) form, taking the ezaji, etc. :
a big house manzel-e-bozorg 8.J ~ * JjA
a bigger house manzel-e-bozorgtar ;r.) ~ * J~
some good place ja't khub y __,.,;- J~
some better place ja't behtar H. J~
(b) The superlative adjective always precedes the noun it
qualifies, and there is no ezafe. We can, of course, because
 LESSON TWENTY-ONE 135
of its meaning, never have an indefinite suffix ;;- -£
associated with the superlative. The superlative always
means the best, the biggest, etc. :
This i~ the biggest house .::-,I J_;.. ,:;.,..;f.J): ,:;.,.I
£n bozorgtar£n manzel ast
That is the smallest boy .::-,1..r-; ,:;.,.;~ § .:,T
an kuchektar£n pesar ast
(c) than = JI az or I,; .ta:
This book was dearer than that one ~ ~ .:,T jl ;;if yl::S' ,:;.,.I
£n ketab gerantar az an yek£ bud
" too much " and " too ". These English expressions such
as in " too much money " and " too good ", are not easily
expressed in Persian. As a rule we use, for
pul-e-z£ad ~4.3 * J-'?
too much money OR
{
pul-e-kheiU ztad ~4.3 J.:,:- * J_,?
too good kheiU khub y »- J.:,:-
Both these Persian expressions really only mean very
much and very. Nevertheless, we have to make do with
them, as they are the nearest we can get to the English
idea.
Numbers 11-20 :
Cardinal Ordinal
11 \ \ .~.34 yazdab, 11th ~~.)~. yazdahom
12 ,r ·~.3~~ davazdab, 12th t1'~.)~~ davazdahom
13 \ I" .~)::-- s£zdab, 13th ~~~- s£zdahom
14 \t •~.J~ chahardab, 14th ~~.J~ chahardahom
15 \ ~ •~)·4 panzdab, 15th t1'~.:,:4 panzdahom
136 MODERN PERSIAN \ft
I
16 It o.:.)l.;. shanzda!J, 16th r-.:.)l.;. shanzdahom
17 IV o.J.l.o,hevda!J, 17th r"'J.i.o, hevdahom
18 IA •¥ hejda!J, 18th r"¥ hejdahom
19 '. o.:.j_,.i nuzda!J, 19th r-.:.j_,.i nuzdahom
20 'I'. ~ Mst 20th ~ Mstom
More about the comparison of adjectives and adverbs.
Some complex adjectives and adverbs, as in English, do
not add suffixes but form their comparative and superlative
degrees with the use of :
more Mshtar ~
most Mshtar£n <.J!, ;.~i
Thus:
pleasant (lit. pleasure-bringing) neshat-avar .;..,T J.l.:J
more pleasant Mshtar neshat-avar .;..,T J.l.:J ~
most pleasant Mshtarzn neshat-avar .;..,T J.l.!.i <.J'!.~
interesting (lit. worthy of note) ghabel-e-tavajjo!J, 4:>;-y * J,t;
more interesting Mshtar gh. 4:>;-y * Jt; ~
most interesting Mshtarzn gh. 4:,;-y * J t; <.J'!. ~
In colloquial Persian, the superlative is often expressed
by using the comparative degree followed by-.> jl az hame
"of all" or "than all", especially when the adjective is
the complement of the verb to- be :
.::.,..,I <.J!.fl.;j_ _;;:- <.J!.I = .::.,..,I -.> jl fa.;j_ _;;:- <.J!.I
in mzz bozorgtarzn ast = tn mzz bozorgtar az hame ast
This table is the biggest
,.,,. jl H.= <.J!.H.
-.>j\p~=<.J!.~
 . i

IY'V LESSON TWENTY-ONE 137

good ..-,, .J> kh'l1b forbidden t.J~ mamn11'

better ..r-1-( belJtar
best ,:;i.~ belJtarin
t f i{ .,~
gra e u 0J~ mamn11n
motashakker

much .>\;_j ziad well-known t"J.L... ma'tam

more _,;:...~ bishtar correct .:;.,,....,,; ., dorost
most .:;i..,~ bishtarin important t""l-4 mohemm
happy J6.,.;,.J> khoshlJal lazy ~ tambal (~~ -nb- is pro-
stubborn ,_,::S J"' sarkash nounced -mb-)
old (of people) ~ pir § ..u bad
o_;\; tazrJ bad(ly) { .;1_,;. kharab
new { .J.!..\:i;- jad£d pleasant ;Ji J.\...:.; neshat-avar
orange (colour) ~;\; naranji poor •)~ bichare
difficult ~ moshket rich ..L:..,;:)J.> d8utatmand
expensive ;;1.}' ge'l!an tall, high -'-'-½ botand
brown d'.; ;,.sl•-'1-9 ghalJve'i-rang young 01.P. javan
er. i abi old (of things) ,-.:..p kolJnrJ
blue { .; 'j,f gotabi red .r _,.; ghermez
cold .,J"' sard black •l::--- siab,
hot (water, food, etc.) t_l.> dagh easy ;;L..,i asan
tight~ tang cheap 01j;1 arzan
bright, alight, light (of colours) woollen ~ pashmi
;_,..:.J; r8ushan white -½-"...., sefid
out, extinguished (of lights, little (adverb) r,f kam
fires) ..,.:. _,.. \.;. kham11sh a little (adverb) ._,..S kami
dark ~;\; tarik warm, hot t" .J' garm
empty J\_;. khali loose J....:. shot
heavy, thick ~ sangin full .r. par
excellent J~ 'ali thin, light (weight) 6:-:-- sabok
intelligent ..,.:. _,,. 4 bah'l1sh happy J6.,.;, .J> khoshlJat
Turkish J _,; torki stupid (''I"..-! bifalJm
Russian ..s"J) r11si Egyptian ..s J'""' mesri
Italian .;~~1 italia'i French ,.s.,_...;1.,.; faransavi
Indian ,.s..u... hendi German .) Ui atmani
§ ~~ pir "old" always precedes its noun:
an old man· pir-e-mard ., .,.. *~
an old woman p£r-rJ-zan .:;_:, * ~
138 MODERN PERSIAN \'l",\

Pakistani ._.Jl:.:.....S¼, pdkestdnf successful J, y movaffagh

American .;~.,..i dmrfkd't famous ..jJY"° ma'aruf
kind, gentle .:;,;itl.o moltafef ready, present _,..;,\... hdzer
sorry .......,,l:.. mpta'assef absent'="'-~ ghdyeb

I. Example:
•.:... . I J_:,:.. ..:r..;X-½ r_:,:. J_, .::......1;x.4 p * J_:,:.. \ .::......1 ~ J_:,:.. ..:r..l
- ~ - p J_, .:......I - _,I \r" cr.r4 .:,-,
- iy * yl::S' J_, .::......1 - i _,.:. * yl::S' \ .::......1 ~ J_,I * yl::S' r
. .::......1
-..I' jl iJ.:,I.J'. J_, iJ..J~-r.l..;- .:,-, \.:>J~ t_b *<.S~ ~ 'l"
.::>Jh
. .:>~-o}~ * ~ ..:r..l J_,.~~-p \ i ~ [ .:r, t
. .:......I 6:JJ - ~ J_, .:......I - .:>Jj \ .:......I y:._,J ;,} ()

II. Translate :
1. Who is the richest man in this town ?
2. Ali (~) is rich, but you are much richer.
3. The eleventh chapter is more interesting than the
third.
4. Which book was most important ?
5. Old people (i.:..r mardom) know better than young
ones.
6. I can walk faster than you.
7. Can you give me a cheaper one than this ?
 LESSON TWENTY-ONE A 139
8. He always arrives at the office earlier than you ;
does he have a faster car than yours?
9. Why does the cat always sit on the most comfortable
chair?
(cat ,-,__J' gorbe; always ~ ham£she)

LESSON 21a
-S- relative. In the sentences :
1. The man who came here yesterday was my friend.
2. Give me the book which you bought.
3. Did you go to the place where I sent you ?
the expressions the man who, the book which, and the place
where are called relative expressions.
They are all expressed in the same way in Persian :
..w ~-\
~ 0-4 * .:;,. , _;: , j_; J_::, ,S" <>::,.r \
mard£ ke dfruz £nja amad dust-e-man bud
The man who came here yesterday was my friend
r
..Y.-½ .:r "--? -1;.-1.a -s- <..>"' 1.::5"' r
kitaM ke khar£d£d be man bedeh£d
Give me the book which you bought
~~J i::.\;:,...J L µ .:,.- -S- J~T I"
anja'£ ke man shoma ra f erestadam rafUd ?
Did you go to the place where I sent you ?
You will notice :
(i) We attach a <S- -£ suffix to the noun beginning the
relative expression. If the noun ends in a vowel, or if it
carries a I.,.- plural or L- definite direct object suffix, we put
140 MODERN PERSIAN \t •
a ! hamze on a bearer before the .;- -£, and pronounce a
glottal stop.
Nouns already ending in .;- -£, like J.c..,.., sandal£ a chair,
do not add a further .;- -£.
(ii) After the .;- -£ or J -'£ we have S ke which we have
already met in Speech (Lesson 19a). The .;- -£ or J -'£
may be written together with the S ke as one word:
..• .1.oT j_.i.;:.~ ~~.r '
... -½.-½.r ¾\£"
... i~L:...,J; Gµ u-- ,s::;\.,f T r
Here are some further examples of relatives :
.:-,I ,:;- _;......I ~ _;IS" L. * .;I.;: ~..J'y
nokar£ke bard-ye-ma kar m£konad esmesh hasan ast
Hassan is the name of the servant who works for us
. . . fit'
c?. 1;~I i~ hf T u--. 4..i ei
vaghMke man anja budam £nra_ besh gojtam ...
When I was there (" The time that I was there ") I said
this to him ...
~¼-~ ~ J.:,;_. 1.::-:-!.I £ Jl.y'.j f
zanhd '£ke £nja manzel m£konand m£shenas£d ?
Do you know the women who live here ?
~ ..:...-,~ r..i) ..i4 u-- .s- .;~_;LS"' .:ir v
an kard£ ke man be-u f orukhtam kojast ?
Where is that kni~e (which) I sold to him ?
"UJ'. ¼°'!,~ £ JL:,- .Y' /I
har ja'£ ke m£khah£d berav£d
Go wherever (" every place that ") you wish
 LESSON TWENTY-ONE A 141
't'
You will notice that we have given .S:.:,:;J vaght£ke and
.6:Jl:- jd'tke, when and where respectively, as relatives. Do
not confuse these relative words with S kei ? when ? and
~ kojd ? where ? which are both interrogative, question-
words. The relatives .s:.::,,;J when and .6:Jl:- where mean
"at the time that ... " and "at/to/from the place that
. . . " respectively. The interrogatives S when ? and
~ where ? mean " at what time ? " and " at/to/from
what place? " respectively.
Distinguish between :
Interrogative Relative
~~~1,Sµ ... ~ ~ I µ £ ~JI
shomd kei tnjd hastzd ? vaghttke shomd tnjd hast£d ...
When (at what titrte) will When (at the time that) you
you be here? are here ...
-½:Sl:.o ~ JI ..s- ~ er.
beman begu'td ke az kojd . .. r.l:-- :r .6:Jl:- JI "
mzd'td az jd'lke man mzdyam ...
Tell me where (what place) The place I am coming
you're coming from from ...
... ~~~µ
shomd kojd budtd ? . . . i~ </ .6:J~ T Y'
Where (at what place) dnjd'zke man budam .. .
were you? The place I was at .. .
Irregular Present Stems-4th Group : f-b
Verbs whose infinitive ends in .:,'.:;I- -dftan, ~- -tftan,
and .:,'.:;J- -uftan take present stems in -ii- -db-, -~- -zb-,
and -u- -ub- respectively :
142 MODERN PERSIAN \n'

Infinitive English Present Stem

.:_;;;t:; tajtan § twist/shine -,l:i- -tab-
.;;4 yajtan find -,4- -yab-
~ ) far£jtan deceive -~)- -far£b-
.;;§ kujtan § beat, pound -,§ - -kub-
.;;.) rojtan (short vowel) sweep -u_;- -rub-
§ .:_;;;t:; tajtan and .:_;;;§ kujtan have also formed infinitives
derived from their present stems : <J½, l:i taMdan and
<J½,§ kub£dan.
There are two exceptions to the rule governing this class
of irregulars. The following verbs in .;;1- -aftan have
regular present stems in -.ii- -aj-:
-.i4- .;;4 bajtan, -baf- to weave
-.iLS::..::- .:_;;;LS::.:; shekaftan, -shekaf- to split

-::..,~~ 'ebarat
f ½ chera (lit. why?) But yes! (after a negative question)
.::..,.,,\ .::..,.,,_;.:. dorost ast That's right
~ bebakhshU Excuse me
(? ~ µ * .:.,Ll::)\ jl
az eltefat-e-shoma kheiU mamnunam
Thank you very much for your kindness
f .::..,.,,I .::..,.,,_;.:, dorost ast? } (rising tone)
f ~ _;~I £nt6ur n£st? Isn't that so ?
~ 'ajab ! Strange ! How odd !
~ .s~ ch£z£ nfst Don't mention it
ff _;LS"' ~ che kar konam? What (on earth) am I to do?
rkl.::.. mota' assefam I'm sorry
 LESSON TWENTY-ONE A 143
Polite Speech. (a) When speaking respectfully of some-
body (i.e. somebody whom we would normally call t;T dgha
Mr. or (l,,:. khdnom Mrs. or Miss) we use the 3rd person
plural of the verb :
dghd tnjd hastand? f ..J.:.::...J> ~I t;T
Is (lit. are) the gentleman here ?
Madame didn't come khdnom naydmadand ..tj-1,.y (l,,:.
~ - .)\5" ..i.J.rl J~ * c.St;T
dghd-ye-te!J,rdnt emruz kdr namt~onand
Mr. Tehrani isn't (" aren't ") working today
and in such circumstances we correspondingly use .:i~I
tshdn they instead of the less polite .JI u he or she:
-1..T .JI u dmad becomes ..(j-1,.T .:i~I 'tshdn dmadand
He/she (lit. they) came
(b) When speaking to such people, we tend to substitute
for the verb :;z to say, and for many other verbs when
used in Compound Verbs-especially kardan in this case-
the verb
(-l...)-) .:i~.) farmudan, -farmd- to command
. e.g.:
What did you say (lit.' command) sir? fuT '.½'.~.) "-';
che farmudtd dghd?
Mrs. T. said (commanded) that . . . . . . £ -li~.) J~ * (l,,:.
khdnom-e-te!J,rdn£ Jarmudand ke ...
-1;.~.) ~U::JI _;I (>-1
I am grateful for the favour that you did (lit. commanded)
mamnunam az eltefattke J armudta
And similarly we have the expression
..\Jl..~ be/armd'£d Command (me)
144 MODERN PERSIAN \U
meaning" I am at your service. What can I do for you? "
It is very often used when answering the telephone :
~T -½:!l..J~ ~J;,:_..;b ..;:__;_, * c.S~T- ~
bebakhsMd - aghaye vaz£r hastand? befarma'£d agha
Excuse me-is the Minister there ?-Yes, speaking;
what can I do for you ?
(c) Conversely, when referring to what I say myself,
instead of ;;.£ gojtan to say (and of course instead of 0~)
f armudan to command, which would be inexcusable
arrogance) I use the Compound Verb
.:i:.~ ,_yl,y 'arz kardan lit. to petition, to beg
If I may say so, you are mistaken -½.~) .~I oS" ~ ,_yl,y
(Et. I beg, you have commanded a mistake)
'arz m£konam ke eshtebah farmudU (•~I = error)
May I (be permitted to) say that. . . . .. oS" f ,.yl,y
'arz konam ke . .. (subjunctive)
..\.i~) .;._;, ~T J_, i:.~ ,.yl,y ):f ~
panj kW3 'arz kardam vat£ agha shesh f armudand
I said 5 kilos but the gentleman said 6

~}
to telephone .j:,J ,:,.a; telefon k. number o;\.....!. shomare
message r\½ peighdm Rafipour (surname) J.Y.;":h
director .Y.. .... modfr raffpur
possible ~_. momken
.\.ii,½ bedanad (subjunctive of .;,.JI:. danestan) " so that he
should know"= in order to know. See text below.
In numerical series,
" a " ...:.JI alef "b" Y be
"C" ~ j£m "d":. dal
 LESSON TWENTY-ONE A 145

=~Y.
~ _;.:, ~

c~., ..w;- .Ji- V., c.S"') ff. t () .:.,L,; ~µ cr.1-rl.,.:. ~ = ...:.,JI

f.:...-,1
rl.,.:. .!.}\..~ :y

f ~ J_..,. * <>t;T 4 r'"l,,;- .S- f <.l"'.r : ...:.,JI

f.!.}\..~ i¾ D-/. §.i. - ~ ~b. (1..,.:. ~~:.. : '-:'
.:...-,I
.J.J~.J ~ £ .!.}\..~ .:.,~4 £ f <.l"'.J~ -~ ~ J.....,.> : ...:.,JI
-~ G.:,~I ,.:...-,I §.i. £ Ju.~t.... .JJI-½ .:...f' ~
<.J"'.r J_, (1..,.:. .:...-,I j5:!... .JJ_;I.:. .:.4J * _;1.5' LJT £ JL,.3_,_; er.I :y
~\..~ .:r--t .;:_-lo * <>Ll°4 .:.,\..:;¥ ~ b) .:...-,I -H. £ ~
•.JJ_;I.:. .:..~ t;T ~t.... ., J.,_; ~ ~ i.).... 3.,__,..1 .:.,.r;
(_µ J.:.:- .~t..h ~ .:.,\..::.¥ _;y~_; * <>t;T 1.:.)-y__,,;. J.:.:- : ...:.,JI
rl..,.:.
J.Jl~~ -r1..,.:. ~ <.>~ = '-:'

u!.J"
I. Put the two sentences together, to form one relative
sentence, e.g. :
.JJJ..T 3.,J_.:. + r~· t;T .:.,T
r~· .JJ.l..T 3.,J_.:. £ Jt;T .:.,T =
.Y.-½ :r. + J;.J;...,.:- yl::S" I
.JJI~· ~ + .::j_; J~ r
.:...-,I&::.;+(.-½...,.:- Ji.;:_I * <>.J~\.5' f
.:..,... l.il.:.+ d er.I.:.__,.. t
..1:;:_,,, ~ * _;~ + .JJ ....T t;T ()
146 MODERN PERSIAN \ ff

II. Here are some sentences with relatives in them. In each

case, write the underlined relative expression differently
(the pronunciation remains unaltered, of course) :
e.g. . .. -1..T ~.).I"' becomes ... -1..T £ <>.)J"'

.;....,I <S"'.Jt; f-:- ~ £ J4J \

.;....,I 0~1 .::,j.J ~~ r
(.~ (~ £ JL,,~L.., -1/,-?J,-.}.i .:r. I"

i.!.;,.) ..::....... 1 ~ £ J.i.:...,.. f

.;....,I ;x 4.1> JI -½_..1.p £ Jt.;T ()

III. Translate your answers to Ex. I and II.

IV. Translate:
1. Where is the boy who broke the window ?
2. Wherever (Every place that) you go, you .will be
poor.
3. Timur the Lame (0ts'.J__,f . J ~ -'.:61 amfr teimur
gurakdn) was the worst king who ever (§'f'
hargez) lived.
4. They have sold that picture which you said was
very beautiful.
5. A man who does that is not my friend.

LESSON 22
More Compound Verbs :
(a) Formed with .;;,1.) dashtan to have :
to like dust dashtan .;;,b .;....,Jo)

remove, take away var d. .;;,1.) .JJ

\tV LESSON TWENTY-TWO 147

+
dare ( subjunctive) jor' at d.§ .:,:;..::1.) u!r.
feel pain dard d. .:,:;..::b .)_Jo)
to want something meil d. .:,:;..::1.) J.:..
(What would you like? chi meil dcMd? ~ ~_;b J.:.. "';)
§ The hamze is written over the alef, which is pronounced short:, a.
This is '.'n Arabic word, spelt in the Arabic fashion. Hamze never
occurs over alef in pure Persian.

(b) Formed with cJ.)b dddan to give:

shake hands dast dddan cJ.)b ..::..-,.)
teach dars dd. cJ.)b c.r'.J.)
give, cause trouble zab,mat dd. cJ.)b C::....--j
give up, lose az dast dd. cJ.)b ..::..-,.) jl
give back pas dd. cJ.)b c./"';
show neshdn dd. cJ.)I.) 0l..:..i
accomplish anjdm dd. 0.)b i~I
(c) Formed with 0.J.,j:S kash£dan to draw:
take pains, trouble zab,mat kasMdan 0.J.,j:S c::....--j
be ashamed (of) khejdlat ksh. (az) (jl) 0.J.,j:S .::.J~
to last, endure tul ksh. 0.J.,j:S J):,
revolt sar ksh. 0.J.,j:S .r
bring forward p£sh ksh. 0.J.,j:S ~
Note: Verbs formed with (b) cJ.)b dddan retain the
-i be- prefix in the Subjunctive:
Show me that dnrd beman neshdn bedeMd ..Y.-½ 0l..:..i .:r. 1;T
The Subjunctive of 0~ to be
The stem of 0~ budan from which we form the Subjunc-
tive is -..::.4- -bash-. To this we add the usual endings,
omitting the customary -i be- prefix. -i be- is never prefixed
to any part of 0~ budan.
148 MODERN PERSIAN \tA

to be - Present Subjunctive
• l,
1 bdsham
r· bdshzm r-.•l,
2 bdshzd ~4 bdshzd ~4
{ bdshad ..l!,4 bdshand ..c..!-4
3
bdshad .04 bdshad .04
The usual negative suffix -j na- is added to make the
Negative Subjunctive of this verb: f~ nabdsham,
nabdsMd, etc.
The stem -.:.4- -bash- is in fact the original Present Stem
of cl~ budan, and there does exist a form of the Present
Tense of cl~ budan made regularly from this stem:
1 m£bdsham r~l:::-- m£bdsh£d rfl:::--
2 m£bdsMd ~l:::-- m£bdsh£d ~l:::--
3 m£bdshad .0\......• m£bdshand ..c..!.\.....
.•
{ m£bdshad ..l!,l:::,. m£bdshad ..l!,l:::,.
This form is rather rare and means to exist in everyday
speech; it is only used in rather formal speech in its original
meaning to be.
More about the Relative. If in English the " whom ",
" which ", or " that " beginning the relative clause is
governed by a preposition :
1. The box from which I got the money ...
2. The boy you spoke with (with whom you spoke) ...
3. The man to (* lSI.;: baraye here) whom I wrote the
letter ...
we say it thus in Persian :
... ?f !)J; clT JI <Y .....s::JJx..,.,
sandughzke man az an pulra gereftam .. .
lit. The box that from it I took the money .. .
 LESSON TWENTY-TWO 149
••• ~:,~ ~ _,I 4 µ ~~ r
pesar£ke shoma ba u sol!bat kard£d .. .
lit. The boy that with him you spoke .. .
. . . r-.>1 L -...Li u-- (c?.l..1:) _,I * '->I-': ~:,.r 'I'
mard£ke bara-ye-u (barayesh) man namera neveshtam . ..
lit. The man who to him I wrote the letter ...

You will notice :

(i) The ~- or ..S- ($- -£ke which we met in the last lesson
is the only relative particle used. There is no other one in
Persian.
(ii) We follow the~- -£ke with the preposition, jl or 4 or
* '->I-': or whatever it is, and .:.iT an, ~I u, .:.i~I £shan or t.rT
anha as the case may be.
(iii) In English it is possible to cast the sentence con-
taining a relative in a different way, and omit the relative
word " whom ", " which " or ".that ". N OS. 1, 2, and 3,
above could read, with the same meaning :

1. The box I got the money from ...

2. The boy you spoke with ...
3. The man I wrote the letter to ...
In Persian this is not possible : the relative word must
always be present.
Whose, of which, of whom. These are possessive relatives
and are expressed in Persian similarly to the prepositional
relatives described above, but we use the ezafe instead of
a preposition :
150 MODERN PERSIAN \ ~.
4. The man whose son goes to this school ...
. . . ~-'.J:° 4,-,J..\.. .:,~I ~ (_;r.) _,\ *r. £' <.S~r t
mard£ ke pesar-e-u (OR pesaresh) be £n madrase m£ravad .. .
(literally) The man who his son goes to this school .. .
OR
The man who the son of him goes to this school ...
5. Those whose books are on the table can go
JJ_, _;: J.;_j1f::.. .:...-,I .J.:' * <->-'J 0~li;l:S' .s:J~ T b
OR
JJ_,_;: J.;_j1f::.. .:...-,I .J.:' * <.>JJ 0~1 * <>1.,p.Y\£ .s:J~I ~
anha'£ke ketabhayeshan (OR ketabha -ye-£shan) ruye m£z ast
mUavanand beravand
(literally) Those who their books OR Those who the books of
them is on the table ...

~}
so much ;..wi anghadr a well .l.,. cha"!J
nail (iron) &,:-- m£kh Bandar Shah (a port) .\....:, J-'-':
a port J-'-': bandar bandar-sha"!J

Translate:
1. Where is the book you found this in ?
2. The house I live in has a beautiful garden.
3. When Iran was the centre of civilization, she was very
rich.
4. What is the name of the school your son goes to?
The one where they teach Russian and Turkish ?
5. The boat he spoke of in his letter arrived at Bandar
Shah yesterday.
'I)\ LESSON TWENTY-TWO A 151

6. They draw the water we drink from wells.

7. Whose house is that? It belongs to the gentleman
who teaches my son.
8. Which one do you like more, the one I showed you
or the one you found ?
9. I should like to thank the gentleman who took so
much trouble with this work.
10. Does he have any pain in his foot (there) where the
nail was that we found and .removed yesterday ?

LESSON 22a
How to translate -ing into Persian.
(i) The English continuous verbal forms " is talking ",
" were going ", and so forth, cannot be exactly translated
into Persian ; we use the simple Present and Past Tenses
instead:
He talks, or is talking ~ ~ _,I u sob,bat m£konad
We went, or were going ~.J L. ma rajt£m
There is, however, an Imperfect Tense. This is used to
denote an action which continued for some time but was
interrupted. It is easy to form. We prefix (.f m£ or-:-- m£-
to the ordinary Past Tense :
i~.:. G..,I ,s-· ~_, ?.J:4 .:iy....4 0--
man be-esjahan mfraftam vaghUke ura d£dam
I was going to Isfahan when I saw him
(i.e. my journey was interrupted by my seeing him)
We can only use this device in the past. Examine:
 152 MODERN PERSIAN

... d.J ..\.,T ir. .JI ¥.J i.:.h Jts' .3.J .1_.:. .:,-
man dfruz kdr mikardam vaghMke u beman dmad o gojt .. .
I was working yesterday when he came to me and said .. .
..\,;, ...;.:.L.,; .:.h J.:,:_. ..::.J.J 0T J.:. 0p.J.:. ~LiT r
dnjd'ike dustemdn dar dn vaght manzel mikard tasddof shod
(At the place) Where our friend was living at that time
there was an accident
(ii) If the -ing word is a noun, the subject or object of a
verb, or if it is governed by a preposition, we use the
Persian infinitive :
(a) Subject of a Verb:
.::.....-1 J-5:.!.. ~__.; .J 0..1;_1,>. J.J .::.....-1 0L-T 0.:.5 ~ <.S").i 'I"
f drst sob,bat kardan dsdn ast vat£ khdndan o neveshtan
moshkel ast
Speaking (to speak) Persian is easy, but to read and
write (reading and writing) is difficult
(b) Object of a Verb :
rt-½:,,. ~__.; .J 0..\.i .I,>- J .J i ).:, .::.....,.J.:, .:.,.0 0.:.5 ~ (S"Jl.i t
f drs£ sob,bat kardan man di1st ddram vat£ khdndan o
neveshtanesh namiddnam
I like to speak (speaking) Persian but its reading
and writing (to read and write it) I don't know
(c) -ing Governed by a Preposition :
... £ f....il-l::,- .JI * 0-L::,-,.1. _;I ti
az porstdan-e-u middnestam ke . . .
From his asking I knew that ...
(iii) If the -ing word is an adjective and is not preceded
by the verb "to be" in English (i.e. is not an English
 LESSON TWENTY-TWO A 153
Continuous Tense, see (i) above) then we use its exact .
Persian equivalent, the Present Participle. The Present
Participle is an adjective, and is formed by adding the suffix
o.U- -ande (stressed) to the present stem of the verb.
Present Participle = Present Stem+ •.u- -ande
Examples:
doing konande •.i.:.:S'
working kar konande •.i.:.:S').S"
wishing khahande .~l,:,:-
having, possessing darande o.u)~
desiring meil darande o.u_;b J.:..
knowing danande o.J..:..il~
coming ayande •.i.:..,J
This adjectival Present Participle can be used as an
adjectival noun :
... d c.r. .yS' o.u_; 1~
darande-ye-keUd beman gojt ...
The possessor of (He having) the key said to me ...
Used in this way, the •.u- -ande can take a plural
0tf .u- -andegan or andega'n :
Those running} . ,P.
u., ..u_p davan d, • (from
egan
The runners •
(- .P-) cJ-la..i~ davidan, -dav- to run)
Those wh o run
and you already know, from the verb to fly cJ-laJ, (-.;:,-)
paridan, -par-:
O.U.f parande ( = a flying thing) a bird
0tf .u~ parandegan (flying things) birds
which are used as nouns.
F
154 MODERN PERSIAN

The adjective 0..1.:,J ayande " coming " is used to mean

" next " in expressions of time or of sequence :
next month mab,-e-ayande o.J.:..,J * ol..
(literally, the coming month)
next lesson dars-e-ayande o.J.:,>J * L)".J.:,
next week hafte-ye-ayande o.J.:,>} ~
( o.:.:l.,, hafte = week)
the future vaght-e-ayande o.J.:..,J ..::,.;_,
.:i_;~ ~ o.J.:..,J * . : ,.;_, _;.:i ,S"' ..li \-½:-"' ~~
Mchkas nam£danad ke dar vaght-e-ayande chi m£gozarad
Nobody knows what will happen (pass) in the futm:e
Irregular Present Stems-Group 5: -ordan -ar
Verbs whose infinitive ends in 0.:i_;- -ordan have present
stems in - )- -ar- :
Infinitive English Present Stern
0.:i_r,:, shomordan count - _;µ- -shomar-
0.:i_;;--' sepordan deposit, entrust - _;¼...- -separ-
0.:i__,.;.i feshordan squeeze, press - _;W- -feshar-
There is one exception to this group : 0.:i.;: (- .;:-) bordan,
-bar- to carry ; this verb has a short a in its present stem
instead of a long a.

6:.,id
"J

to ring a bell 0.>j .J:.;j zang God I-<>- khodd

zadan to happen .:,.:,\;:jl J\•SI ettefdgh
,a bell ..f.; j zang oftddan
·Goodbye -~\.,. I-<>- khodd hdfez Tabriz (city in N.W. Iran) :r...r.S
(lit. God protect) tabrtz
-.to get pleasure (from) 0.>.r. ..::., ll
lezzat bordan (az) (j I)
 LESSON TWENTY-THREE 155
.
U:..J"
I. In these sentences, put the bracketed verb into the
correct past tense (i.e. with or without the Imperfect
Prefix -::-- m£-), e.g. :
-½~ GL. 4.J -½J-½,-o .....,_;..u:_ J;. jl j;_.JA
Parviz was running from home to school when he saw us
(.;,:.b) '-:'.Y G~ <Y-1 (0~..,s- J;.) j;_Y? .)~ <)"" 4.J I
~(0-½~) Gµ <)"" 4.J µ (.:,:;;_;) ~ jJJ.~ r
(0.i;S J),) Jl;.. ~ 4 \"
~(0~j &j) 0~\ 4.J (0~_;_y) i\.;, µ t
(.:,:;;_;) .J (.;;}'') GJ.x .JI ~
II. Translate :
1. Do you like working in the garden ?
2. Cooking is easy.
3. He gets a lot of pleasure from reading Italian.
4. Next month the bus coming* from Tabriz will arrive
an hour later.
* " which comes ".

LESSON 23
The· Relative-continued. When we have " whom ",
"that", or "which" as a relative, and it is the object of
the verb following it :
1. This is the man (whom) I saw.
2. I gave you the book (which, that) I bought.
we can translate with ~- -£ke or £" -s- -£ ke as we have
already learnt :
156 MODERN PERSIAN

tn ham£n mard£st ke man d£dam § j.l.:!.) <J' C ~.).r 0! ..:r..l \

ketdb£ke khar£dam be-shomd dddam i.)I.) ~ .i.l.:!.r ~15 r

§ Literally" the same(~~) man who ... "

Relative without =-£or,:;--'£. We made it a rule that the

relative particle C ke does not occur without ~- -£ or
-'£ J-. C ke does occur without ~~ -£ or J- -'£, but only
in a rare and rather special kind of relative sentence.
Compare:
barddar£ke £n ketdb khar£d ... .. . J./._r ylS ..:r..l C ~_pi_;:
(with ~- -£) The brother who bought this book ...
with
barddar ke £n ketdb khar£d ... J./..r ylS ..:r..l C _;.)I--: r
(without ~- -£) The brother, who bought this book ...
In No. 1 we have what is called a limiting relative : it
is implied that there are several brothers, but " that one
who bought the book ... ", etc.
In No. 2 the relative C ke "who" does not limit the
antecedent "brother" ; there is only one brother, and he
(incidentally) bought this book.
If you find this distinction a difficult one to grasp at first,
work to this rule, until you get the habit of distinguishing :
(i) If we cannot reasonably place a comma before the
relative "who", "that", "which", etc., in the English,
we need the suffix ~- -£ or J- -'£ in Persian.
(ii) If we can reasonably place a comma before the
relative in English, we leave out the ~- -£ or J- -'£ in
Persian.
,~v LESSON TWENTY-THREE 157
More examples of limiting relatives :
..:.,...,I J.jl,.... * .:,~~ i _;1~ ..:.,...,_,~ .Y..~ er ¾l:S' I
ketab£ke man Mshtar£n dust daram d£van-e-hafez ast
The book I like most is the " Divan " of Hafez
-½.½:-- fa. &.,;,; f.-½.~ J.,.;:~ ~J1"t r
shab,r£ke dfruz dtd£m ghashang benazar mtdyad
The city we saw yesterday appears to be (lit. comes to the
eye) beautiful
And of non-limiting relatives:
••• ..:.,...,\ J.jl,.... * yl:S' ,Y..fa.J): £ .:,~~ * yl:S' 'I'
ketab-e-d£van ke bozorgtartn ketab-e-hajez ast ...
The book" Divan", which is the greatest book of Hafez ...
..:.,...,I ~~ ~ * .r" -½.½:-- J ~ &.,;,; £ ~ t
' shab,r ke ghashang benazar mtayad sar-e-kub, vaghe' ast
The city, which appears to be beautiful, is situated on the
top of a hill
Polite Speech. (a) In formal speech it is considered more
polite to refer to oneself not as er man " I ", but rather as
·~ bande " slave ". This word takes the 1st person singular
of the verb, just as er man does:
I thank (you) bande tashakkor m£konam ~ µ ·~
I should like to say that. . . . .. £ ~ ~.r ·~
bande 'arz mtkonam ke ...
(b) In similar circumstances we use instead of µ shoma
"you", Jt,, * yl:.::-, jenab-e-aU" your excellency "-with the
2nd person of the verb, as with µ shoma :
jenab-e-aU jarmud£d ke. . . . .. £ -½.~) Jt,, * yl:.::-,
You said (lit. Your Excellency commanded) that ...
158 MODERN PERSIAN \ !)A

(c) When referring respectfully to somebody, we tend to

avoid the use of .:i.i..T amadan to come and .:,:;;_; raftan to go.
We use instead the noun ....;.,__r=.; tashrtf " presence " together
with another verb, making a Compound Verb:
.:i~_;_;T ....;.,._r=.; tashr£J avardan = to bring one's presence
(i.e. to come)
.:i~.J'. ....;.,._r=.; t. bordan = to take one's presence
(i.e. to go)
and also
.;_.:;b u,,,,_r=.j t. dashtan = to have one's presence
(i.e. to be somewhere)
Examples:
J.j_;\J.j ....;.,._r=.; J~ * y ~ ,S' J.j-:,--_} (L,;. .J i~..;S' ~ .3.JJ_~
dfruz telefon kardam va khanom farmudand ke jenab-e-aU
tashrtf nadarand
Yesterday I telephoned and Madame said you were not in
When is Monsieur going? ~ J.j.J;::-° ....;.,._r=.; j't;T r
agha kei tashrtf m£barand ?
Madame hasn't come yet J.j~_;_;~ u,,,,_r=.j j.J:.J> (l.,;.. f
khanom hanuz tashrtf nayavardand
These details of polite Iranian conversation may seem to
the Western reader extravagant or servile, but the simple
fact is that they are in everyday use by all classes of
Iranians, and are therefore important. Iranians are
generous people and will always forgive a foreigner for
inadequacies of speech, but will always be careful to use
the appropriate mode of speech themselves, and will
naturally expect the same from a fluent foreigner.
 LESSON TWENTY-THREE 159

6~.ll}
storm_..:,t.;_,;· tafan travel ..:,~J .::._,jl-A mosaferat k.
journey ~...,, safar to fear 01) _...,,J;_..:,-A-::-"'~ tars£dan,
necessary ~j'Y lazem -tars- (az)
grandfather 6' J .:,i *J.A~ if .}'I agar
pedarebozorg the past ,.:;....:.J! ~.).,~ d!3ure-ye-
space of time •JJ~ d!3ure gozashte
aeroplane l~I~ havapeima a few times ,,...;~ ~ chand daf' e
danger Ji.;. khatar some, a few~ chand
always ~~-oA hamtshe . . . ago u.'.:+.? . . . . . . ptsh
thief ~j~ dozd Shiraz j l ~ shfraz (a city in
airport .lf ~ .,.,.; foradga!J S.W. Iran, home of the poets
dead •~Yo morde Hafez and Sa'adi}
to request ..:,~..J' ._,z.,,1_,;. die-~- .:,~Yo mordan, -mfr-
khahesh k. mend ..:,~..J' J;;...s:; ta'amfr k.
camel _r..!- shotor moment C.] y m!3ughe'

0l-i:_I .J:, 0:,_;' ..::.,_;L....

0!,.; JI -~ _,,b:- JI.:? J J.s::..:... 01-i:_I .J:, 0:,_;' ..::.,_;L.... .::;.iS° ~.JJ:, p
JJ ·~ * 6.J..i: * .J~ .~, i_j'} ~ ~ y.}:, 4 l,. <-:-"'I 4 0y...4
.):, £ 0~ _jl J 0\:,_j:, _jl 4J> J § :,h .Ji,..,. cr..1 w:, ~ ~ 0.l,,:- £
.JJ-½:---M ~ ..:,....,Ls_,,b:- ,y,_;f.J:t. JI J:, 04~
. ..:..-,I _;;L.J ~ -1:.JJ½:-- ...:..;_fl 0L:_I .J:, JI..,* Y~.1fl _;Jyl JJ
~.u:, .):, -1::i~ Ji.., * y~ t;T .):, £ .:......J> ~ i_,,,, 0y...l t; 0G; JI
* ..:,....,J:, *l>A. ·~er:\?~ ~ .-1:~ ...:..;.,rS ~t..., ~ JJ ~ ~ ~;
0!,.; .J:, J8u· -?.J ..:..-,I 01-i:_I * l>Ls.1~ cr...P~ JI $i.£ _jl_;f, .J:, i¥-
·i-½:"'.J _jl~ 0:,.J__,,;- (>l.;- * l>I.J'. J - 0y...l * .\f :,J.1; .J:, .JL,.t; - i:,.J__,,;-
§ The Imperfect is used to denote a repeated action in the past,
as well as a continuous action.

Note: From now on we will no longer mark the unwritten

ezaje with an asterisk, but leave it entirely unmarked, as it
is in Persian writing and printing.
160 MODERN PERSIAN If•

I.
: ..IJL.J~ y 1,,:-
~~ p Li. .:,t..,T .:,1--"..1 J:, .:,:,~ u)L. c~ ~-,:, J:, 1
~-li:,h u)L. c~ ~J__,:, J:, £ ._;;.., -li-½:--'M L-..:.:;- "--'; jl r
~.:;.....,. .:,4~ .:,~I J:, f
~..,; Li. ..::.....1 J..,T .1W .:,:,~ u)L. _;.:; 4 t
~ ~ .::.,Ji\_. J..,b;- .:,1.1_1 J:, j__,.rl I)

~? .:,1.1_1 J:, J\.. y\.:.:-

~ -½.:,--: f

~-½.~ ~? LfT £ ..IJl..h J.:.. V

~-½.~) .::.,_;L. Jl.. y\.:.:- ~!,Jo J:, "

~ r-"';.z> (>..:.:;- jl L. \J f.~ J:..,,, .:,~I J:, £ )__, °'

~ .;;.;:___,, o:,.r \.i. ~ <..$5 -lij c! \::5.)): J-1; \ •

II. Put into more polite forms:

~ J;. µ .:,Y;" r.~· µ (>A I:,) if
~~·..A"--'; r
r.~ r~· ?f'.,. if
r-½ I_-!; JL. c:,lt ~µ ..A .;.i,l,.,:- .., ..1..T ~ ..:r.l t
if :,~
~ f ..r"~ if ..1.;.):, J.:.. "--'; I_-!; i\.;. (>I--: I)

III. Translate, giving particular attention to the relative:

1. The camel, which in the past was the most im-
portant animal in the desert, is now not so (J.wT)
important for travelling.
2. Bring the chair which he has mended.
\f \ LESSON TWENTY-THREE A 161
3. Have you traveUed in the ship he was talking
about?
4. This picture, which they bought yesterday, is one
of the most beautiful I have ever seen.
5. At that time ( = moment) he lived in Shiraz, which
is an Iranian city.

LESSON 23a
The English language has two compound past tenses,
formed with a part of " to have " and a Past Participle :
1. I have written} " have ", " had " is called the auxiliary
verb : " written " is the Past Par-
2. I had written ticiple of to write.
Tense 1 above is called in English the Perfect.
Tense 2 is called the Pluperfect or Past Perfect.
Persian can also form these two tenses. First, to form
the Past Participle, we add • or ~- -e to the Past Stem of
the verb. Thus, for two typical verbs :
to write ~__,; Infin. 0:,..f' to do
t
he wrote .;...;,__,; · 3rd sing. Past he did
t
written ..::..;__,; Past o:,..f' done
neveshte Participle karde
Having got the Past Participle in this way with any verb,
we use it together with an auxiliary to get the Perfect and
Pluperfect Tenses.
162 MODERN PERSIAN

The auxiliary verb we use in English is to have : but in

Persian (this is most important) it is :
c)~ budan to be
I have written (lit. I am written) ii -.::.;;__,; .:,.., man neveshte am
We have done (lit. we are done) (.\ o:,J' l.. ma karde £m
I had written (lit. I was written) i~ -.::.1:__,; neveshte budam
We haven't done (lit. we aren't done) (.I o:,§J nakarde £m
We hadn't done (.~i o:,.1S::; nakarde bud£m
You will noti.ce three points here : (i) in the Perfect
Tense we use the short form of to be 0~, written not as a
suffix but detached, i.e. with its own I alef. Do not use
the long form ~ hastam, ~ hast£d, etc., as an auxiliary.
(ii) We attach the negative prefix _;_ -na- to the Past
Participle, not to the auxiliary verb, and (iii) the Past
Participle does not change to indicate tense or person :
the auxiliary does that. Use the Present of the auxiliary
verb and you have the Perfect Tense; use the Past of the
auxiliary and you have the Pluperfect, or Past Perfect as
it is sometimes called.
In Lesson 22 we gave the special Subjunctive Tense of
0~ to be : f 4 basham, JJ:4 bash£d, etc. This tense, used
as an auxiliary, gives us the Perfect Subjunctive :
that I may have written f4 -.: .; __,;
£ ke neveshte basham
that you should have seen JJ:4 o.\.p £ ke dUe bash£d
that you might not have gone JJ:4 ci_; µ £
ke shoma narajte bashU
Notice that in this tense, as in the two other Perfect
tenses, the negative suffix is added to the participle and
not to the auxiliary.
\ff LESSON TWENTY-THREE A 163
The Present Subjunctive of ;.::1.:, ddshtan "to have" is
not used in modern Persian ; instead we always use the
Perfect Subjunctive, but with present meaning :
1. f 4 ci\.:, ddshte bdsham (that) I may have, let me have
2. ..1::--=,4 ci\.:, ddshte bdshtd may you have
etc. ..L..!;l, cib \ . \ 1 ,. ,S' ..,,,\ ·
• • !J.:!'/. ..- \"~ 1
mtkhdham ke shomd tnrd ddshte bdshtd
I want you to have this (main verb in the Present)
~4 cib IP.I µ £ r'~ r
mtkhdstam ke shomd tnrd ddshte bdshtd
I wanted you to have this (main verb in the Past)
The first three tenses we learne_d in this book, the Present,
Past, and Present Subjunctive, are by far the most common
and most useful in Persian. The three Perfect Tenses we
have learned in this lesson are rarely used in ordinary
conversation; but all the same it is necessary to know
them, as they occur frequently in writing and occasionally
in rather formal speech.
While we are on the question of the subjunctive, it would
be as well to note that constructions of the following type
require the next verb to be in the subjunctive, either the
Present Subjunctive or the Perfect Subjunctive as the time-
sequence may require:
it is possible (that) momken ast (ke) (£) .:,,..,\ ,:;0
gheir-e-momken ast .:,,..,\ ,:;0 Jf
it is not possible { momken ntst ~ ~
it is not certain ma'lum ntst ~ i_,.L...
one hopes that omtd ast (ke) (.s') .:,,..,\ -½,-1
I hope omtdvdram i.J~-½,-1
164 MODERN PERSIAN 'ft
These constructions can all, as in English, be followed by
"that" £ ke. This is not obligatory. From the meaning
of these few phrases : I hope that, it is not certain that, it is
possible that, we can see that when an action or state of
affairs is unc~rtain, doubtful, or is an idea or hypothesis
rather than an established fact, we use the subjunctive to
express it.
Examine:
om£dvaram ke b£a'£d -IJ~ £ iJ~-½:,-1
I hope that you may come
(i.e. it is not certain that you will come)
.!..!4 J,i..,.. .:,Is).$" £ .::..,..\ §.I. J":!- "
gheir-e-momken ast ke karetan movajfagh bashad
It is impossible that your work should be successful
(i.e. the very idea of its being successful is impossible)
And similarly, after expressions of emotion, we use the
subjunctive :
r'.J:,
.,\;_;,4 •-1::---J £ f..J> J.:,.:- '!"
kheil£ khosham ke dustam ras£de bashand
I am very glad that my friend has (= should have) come
i-f
4 .;:;1-li GJ.x r.~
..;....h. t
mota' assef bud£m pulra nadashte bashzm
We were sorry not to have the money
(= that we did not have the money)
Conjunctions and Prepositions. Such prepositions as:
without <JJ-½ bedun-e- apart from, except for _jl J"}- gheir az
for <>I.J'. bara-ye- with 4 ba instead of <>4: beja-ye-
 LESSON TWENTY-THREE A 165
after jl ~ ba' ad az before jl ~ ghabl az
because of ~ be sabab-e- ·
in spite of~-' 4 ba vojud-e- (~..i vojud = existence)
can be made into conjunctions (i.e. to introduce clauses) by
adding £ <f-1 or ~I £nke. Compare :
Preposition Conjunction
except for me apart from the fact that he came
.:,.. jl ft- -1..T~ljl yj-
gheir az man gheir az £nke amad
after the war after I went
4jl~ f;_;~I)~
ba'ad az jang ba' ad az £nke rajtam
in spite of him, although I
with him went
.,1 4 ?.)~14
bau ba £nke raftam
before the war before I go
4)~ i-'.J'. ~I jl ~
ghabl az jang ghabl az £nke beravam
instead of him instead of going, he ...
.,1 (>~ :,_,J. ~I<>~
beja-ye-u beja-ye-£nke beravad ...
because I went
?.J~I <>I.J'.
for him
baraye-£nke raftam
.,1 <>L: so that I should go (subjunctive)
bara-ye-u
i-'.J'. ~I <>I.J'.
baraye-£nke beravam
166 MODERN PERSIAN \ff

because of that because I went

0T ~ ?.) s.Sql ~
besabab-e-an besabab-e-znke rajtam
without them unless they go
0 ~ I c!.J-½. ...5q I c!.J-½
-li.J J •
bedun-e-zshan bedun-e-znke beravand

The preposition governs a noun or pronoun : the conjunc-

tion introduces a subject and its verb, i.e. a second clause.

to weigh (-~::S-) w-'~::S kashtdan, return (-~ ..,r - .Y.) :_;;...S .Y. bar
-kash- gashtan, bar -gard-
weight .jjJ vazn the same~ hamtn, .:,\...,., hamdn
think .:i~J _,,;.;, fekr k. kill (-~ -) :_;;.~::S koshtan, -kosh-
it seems (seemed) to him good ... luggage '-:'\7"'"~1 asbdb
(.._.T) ••• -'!\~ '-:'.J~ 1.1::,_,J;.~ be- give permission .:,~1~ oj\~1 ejdze
nazaresh khub mtdyad d., W~.JA_,i, oj~1 e. farmudan
(dmad) ... collect .:i~J ~ jam' k.
you seem to me to be . . . r _,J;.~ bag ...;.J ktf
benazaram -½"-"' ... lo....::. willing ~ IA mdyel
shomd ... hasttd (lit. to my family .~1.Jj~ khdnevdde
eye _,J;.; you are . . . ) remain (-;IA-) .:,_.;\A mdndan,
Mustapha d1~A mostafd § -mdn-
brother-in-law .:,j;~1..,, about "' ~1; rdje' be
barddarzan gold j; zar
finish, end .:i~..,f rli: tamdm k. permission oj~1 ejdze

§ In some Arabic words a final ...s- -t is pronounced d.

\fV LESSON TWENTY-THREE A 167

.·..J ~
1.,1.J
I.

44 ~
When Ali Baba had collected together all the gold, he
wished he had brought weights and a bag with him so that
he could weigh it. After he had thought about this for
some time, it seemed wise to him to go to his brother-in-
law's house to get some weights. Mustapha (which was his
brother-in-law's name) was willing to give him the bag and
the weights, and Ali went off to weigh his gold.
Some hours later, after Ali had finished the weighing of
his gold, he returned to Mustapha's with his things.
Although Mustapha was of the same family as Ali, he did
not love him. After taking the bag from Ali, he said :
'' Before you go, Ali, tell me where your gold is. You
seem to me to be a very rich man, since there remains
some gold in this bag. All gold belongs to the king, and
in spite of being (" although I be ") your brother and your
friend, I will tell all I know unless you show me your
gold."
II. Fill in the blanks twice with the verb given in brackets,
first using the formal tense (i.e. one of the Perfects) and
then with the conversational tense (Present, Past, or
Present Subjunctive) : e.g. (.:i~--: ~?)
-1.i~.J' C"- y~I -½>.~ •~--: ~-? kFT ~-1 _;I ~ : ...:.JI
-li~.J' C"- y~I -½>.~.J'. ~? kFT ~I _;I ~ :y
-?.,~ ~ J..9 (0.l.l) r..9~ J~. j..9--:_~ ;.--1~ ,
168 MODERN PERSIAN

(~->j) J.J_;;.-~ L <1.oli (fol i.)~1-". £ ~ §.l r

(0~.)) ~.Jj l-::;l,-'> £ ~:-.i i ..,1... \"
(0-1..l._:;) it..; jl J:i L. £ JJ~h .;.i,!,>- t
(.:i-:,--) •Jl.:-1) .JlS' <r-1 c.SI-". J~ yl:.::,- £ i~ .J~-lzol l:l

LESSON 24
Further uses of¥ khod. We learned in Lesson 15a that
the particle ¥ khod " own " and its extended personal
forms i¥ khodam my own, .:,t;-¥ khodetan your own,
etc., are used as possessive pronouns when the possessor is
the same person as the subject of the verb :
I took my (own) money pul-e-khodam gereftam i3/" J->? ?f
The particle with its endings, r-,
C:,l;-, .}-, 0L.-, etc.,
has two other important uses. First, as a reflexive :
He deceived himself khodesh f ar£ft ~ ) .}¥
 LESSON TWENTY-FOUR 169
-1::--'_;j 0li¥ jl
Don't be afraid of yourself az khodetdn natarsid
~.:..Jl.:-,;-i¥jl
I am ashamed of myself az khodam khejdlat m1kasham
... x::z'0Ll¥
They said to themselves ... bekhodeshdn goftand ...
Note : G- -rd is never used in this construction.
Secondly, the particle is used as an emphatic word :
.::.JJ .J d ,.}¥
He said it himself and went khodesh goft o raft
As the sentence .;...;_J' ,.}¥ J.J; could be read either (i) pul-
e-khodesh gereft " He took his own money " OR (ii) pul
khodesh gereft " He took the money himself " we can put
the emphatic particle first, to avoid ambiguity, thus : ,.}¥
.::.J.J' J.J; can only read khodesh pul gereft, and must mean
" He took the money himself ".
In the two uses of -¥ khod- outlined above, reflexive
and emphatic, the personal suffix i- -am, 0\.i- -etdn, ,.}- -esh,
etc., must always be attached to the-¥ khod-.
The Past Participle, ending in o.:.- -de or ..:i- -te, can
also be used by itself:
(i) As an absolute expression, doing the same work as a
verb or a whole clause :
1n gofte o pul ddde raft .:...iJ d.:. J.J;
.:,;.I .J d
Having said this, and having paid the money, he went
(i.e. When he had said ... etc.)
170 MODERN PERSIAN \ V•

(ii) As an adjective, in the usual manner of adjectives :

.:;.....I ~-i 6'.) ). ~L.., D-!. .Jl,.P <>.J.J
ru-ye-d£vdr yek sd' at-e-bozorg dv£khte ast
On the wall is hung (there hangs) a big clock
The Past Participle-adjective of the verb (- .J.if-) ~.if
gozashtan -gozar- to pass, to happen, is used to mean
" last " :
Time passes quickly vaght zud m£gozarad ".J~ .:.Jj ..;:j.J
last month mdh-e-gozashte ,;;_;,.if ol..
last week hajte-ye-gozashte ,;;_;,.if ~
last lesson dars-e-gozashte ,;;_;,.if cr.J"
last year sdl-e-gozashte ,;;_;,.if JL..,
and a proverb :
gozashte chi gozashte ,;;_;,.if "';' ,;;_;,.if
lit. : Past what (is) past (i.e. Let bygones be bygones)
Must and may. We have learned how to say" can" and
"want to", using .;._;1,:; tavdnestan and .;..,!,,:- khdstan:
I can do this work f-,. 0.J\.S' <,J!.\ (l,;;::., CAN
mUavdnam £n kdrrd bekonam
Do you want to come tomorrow? ~--;t:,; b.),½,>~ WANT TO
m£khdh£d f ardd Md'£d ?
The verbs "must" and" may" both take the Subjunc-
tive in the same way as do can and wantto, but must and
may are impersonal verbs : they change for tense, but not
for person:
must, infinitive ~4 bdyestan, only has the two im-
personal forms -½.4 bdyad (Present) "it must be so" and
~4 bdyest (Past) " it had to be so ".
IV I LESSON TWENTY-FOUR 171

may, infinitive ~L.; shayestan, only has the impersonal

forms .A;.\..; shdyad (Present) "it may be so" and ~L.;
shdyest (Past) "it might be so". Examine:
(i) MUST:
I must do this bdyad £nrd bekonam ~ L .:,;.I -½.4
(lit. It must be I do this)
You must come tomorrow bdyad fardd b£a'£d .!.:JY. b.) -½.4 r
(lit. It must be you come tomorrow)
(ii) HAD TO (Past of MUST) :
I had to do this bdyest £nrd bekonam r~ L .:,;.I ~4 I'
(lit. It had to,be I do this)
.!.:JY. J.JJ_::, ~4 t
You had to come yesterday bdyest dzru~ b£d'£d
(It had to be you come yesterday)
(iii) MAY:
He may come shayad bzdyad .A;.l~ .A;.\..; o
(lit. It may well be he come)
I may do this shayad £nrd bekonam ~ L .:,;.I -½.L.; '\
(It may well be I do this)
(iv) MIGHT (Past of MAY) :
He might have come shayest bzdyad -½.Y. ~\..; v
(It might be, he come)
Whether the impersonal verb is in the Present or Past
form we normally use the Present Subjunctive of the verb
following it, as you see from the examples above. If we
use the Perfect Subjunctive of the second verb, we get the
meaning" must have (done) ", "may have (done)":
He must have gone bdyad rafte bdshad ,.L;:,4 '°.J -½.4 A
(i.e. Surely he has gone)
172 MODERN PERSIAN I VI'

He may have gone shayad rajte bdshad .04 ci_; -'-!L;. °'
(i.e. Probably he has gone)
Colloquial Pronunciation. Colloquial Persian pronuncia-
tion differs in some respects from elevated pronunciation,
which is the pronunciation we have been using throughout
this book so far. Colloquial Pronunciation is not a matter
of class difference: educated and uneducated Iranians alike
use both styles of pronunciation, depending on the occasion.
Colloquial is that used in ordinary conversation, Elevated
is that used on formal occasions, by rich and poor alike.
We must also remember that Colloquial can still be polite
and grammatically correct: the Polite Forms we have
learnt are just as frequently pronounced colloquially as in
elevated pronunciation. Colloquial is only a difference in
pronunciation; this is also worth remembering. It uses
the same grammar, the same vocabulary, the same Polite
Forms, and of course is spelled like Elevated ; there .is
only one standard Persian spelling.
The first two things to learn are Elision and Vowel
Change.
Elision.
(i) In Colloquial, the present stems of the verbs
.:,.:,\.:, dddan to give ~ gojtan to say
.:i.i..T dmadan to come .:,;;_; rajtan to go
.;,..J!,; tavdnestan can ~1,.,;. khd;tan to want to
.:,.0 shodan to become
are shortened thus :
-1>.:,- -deh- becomes -d- : (""-½-- midam I give
-.;"- -gu- becomes -g-: ~h migand they say
\Vf LESSON TWENTY-FOUR 173

-1- -a- becomes - : r.L.:-- m£am I come

! ~~ be'td come : r-1l.:-- mfzm we come
. - _, J- -rav- becomes -r- : i _,-'. beram let me go
-jl,;- -tavdn- becomes -tun- ~!f:::.c· namUun£m we can't
-.-1,,:-- -kha!J,- becomes -kha-, and the short vowel a
disappears, thus : r-"'~ mtkham I want. BuT
f."'~ m£kMm, .y.~ mtkMd.
-y- -shav- becomes -sh- : i ~ nasham let me not become
(ii) The:.- -ad ending of the 3rd Person Singular Present
and Present Subjunctive becomes -e:
~ m£konad becomes m£kone He does
~ beshavad becomes besheLet him become
But note these exceptions to this rule :
..1;,¥. ..1;,~ mtkhad, bekhad He wants. Let him want
-½.~ -½.l.:-- mtdd, Mad OR}
A d, bAiad
mia He comes. May he come

The same is true of the negative forms of the above.

(iii) .:.-1 ast following a consonant is pronounced in
Colloquial as e:
.:.-1 J..:, dfr e It's late baz e .:.-I J4 It's open
The pronunciations of ~ hast, ~ n£st, and .:.- ast or -st
following a vowel, remain unchanged.
(iv) The only Past Stem which is colloquially shortened
is that of ~l,; tavanestan, which, like the Present Stem
(see (i) ) shortens -avd- to -u- :
(.!f:::.. 'mUunam I can
~!f::.. mUunestam, ~)_,; tunestam I could
174 MODERN PERSIAN \ Vt

Vowel Change.
(i) Before the nasals .:i n and i m, long I a becomes
sometimes u,
sometimes a short u, as in " pull " :
.:iT un or un that ..L.T umad He came -
(I-½:-- mUunam I know .:i4_1.;T aghayun gentlemen
.:it¥ khodetun or khodetun your own, yourself/ves
<J,.\jl.. mundan or mundan to remain
This does not always happen. The Colloquial Pronunciation
of .:i!_,;: is the same as the Elevated, te!J,ran. The form
te!J,run is dialect.
(ii) When the negative particle -j na- precedes -::--- m£-
it is often pronounced ne :
~ - nem£konam I'm not doing
J.J...>¥. nem£ge He isn't saying
but when not followed by -::--- m£- it remains unchanged.
In all cases the -j na- or ni- is stressed.

(J,.J-'
I. Write in each of two columns on the right the (i) elevated
and (ii) colloquial pronunciations of the following
phrases : e.g.

Persian Elevated I Colloquial

J.J...J~-
• nam£guyad n}m£ge
1. i-'.J:'½:T 2. J.:..i_!,=::,c'
3. -":'.l::-- :i_,_j 4. J..,;4
5. ~1~· 6 . .i.:S:.;
7. ~-IJh "-:;- 8. f'_-'-'. -":'.4 ·~
9. ~ · 10 • ..:.,..,I .:iL..T .:,t;.)ts'
 \ Vi) LESSON TWENTY-FOUR A 175
II. Translate:
1. I can speak Persian well.
2. I want to speak Persian well.
3. I must speak Persian well.
4. I may speak Persian well.
5. I had to speak Persian well.
6. I wanted to speak Persian well.
7. I could speak Persian well.
8. I might speak Persian well.
9. I must have spoken Persian well.
10. I may have spoken Persian well.

III. Translate:
~.r .:r..l \
.:;...;S .}¥
~ ~ ~ &),; 0 G'¥ r
~ .:... ..)~ G0T 0l..¥ .1;.4 .,.
x...::,4 ci.) 0l.;;¥ .1;.L;; t
¼.~ iJG'¥ I)

LESSON 24a
The following conjunctions usually take the verb
following them in the Subjunctive :
..S:::.,.I 0.i-½ bedun-e-tnke unless
..S:::.,.I 4 M lnke although ..S:::.,.I ~-' 4 bd vojud-eAnke although
~- 65" ~ ..;_.,~ ~ ir. ~~\ iJJ-½ \
bedun-e-lnke beman hagMghat beg2d beshomd komak
nem2konam
Unless you tell me the truth I shan't help you
176 MODERN PERSIAN \Vf

i A _;I _;~ (!f:::.c. ,y, ..L.';4 YY- -,-,I .:r..l ~\ 4 r

bd inke in asb khub bdshad man nemUunam savar-e-u besham
Although this horse is (" be ") good, I can't ride him
i )'; 1_;T (~· ,.L.';4 J~ ~t.. .:r..l ~I ~.J 4 Y'
bdvojud-e-inke in masMn aU bdshe nemUunam anra bekharam
Although this car is (" be ") excellent, I can't buy it
The following conjunctions take either the Subjunctive
or some other tense, depending on certain circumstances :
)"\ agar if Li ta so that/until
~\ <.SI.;: baraye inke so that/because
.J'I agar "if" takes the Subjunctive after it if the verb
is in the present or future time (i.e. if the condition is a
possible one) :
:.~·...;_}'I-:.~ d.>!Y\ .t.Y. :._;J )"I t
agar zud Mad otobus migfre - agarna, nemfgfre
If he comes soon, he'll catch the bus-if not, he won't
In this example, he may yet come in time : it is still a
possibility.
But if the verb following the .J' I if is a Past verb (of any
tense), then obviously the condition is impossible. In this
case:
.::.Jh L <.)".>!YI -Lo\::-- ;:._;J .J'~ ~
agar zudtar miamad otobusra migereft
If he had come sooner he would have caught the bus
we use the IMPERFECT (the Past with -::-- mi- prefixed) in
both parts of the sentence.
Li ta has two meanings : (i) so that, in order that (when
it usually takes the Subjunctive), and (ii) until, when it
\VY LESSON TWENTY-FOUR A 177

takes the Subjunctive when referring to the future, and

the Past Tense when referring to the past :
fnja sabr konfd ta man biayam (.½:! cJ"' \j .J.;S' .J;""' ~I
Wait here until I come
fnja sabr kard ta man amadam i ....T cJ"' I.; :,_J' .J;""' ~I
He waited here till I came
The conjunction £ J_; vaghtfke" when " (see Lesson 21a,
Relative expressions) takes the Past Tense when we wish
to translate an English Perfect Tense:
vaghMke amad fnra besh bedfd ¼>-½ u=-: Ger.I ....T £ J_;
Wh()n he has come, give him this
£ er.I c.51.;: or ~I c.51.;: baraye fnke, when it means "so
that", "in order that", takes the Subjunctive. It can
also mean " because ", in which case it takes some non-
Subjunctive tense. Compare :
SO THAT •••

yr
-1), 4 .:;,;_,. ~ I c.51.;: J.;,S' _; l5'
khub kar konfd baraye fnke movaffagh basMd
Work hard so that you may be successful
with
BECAUSE •.•
. . . i:,.J' _;ts" Yr £- er.I c.51.;: i~ .:;,;_,.. r
movaffagh budam baraye fnke khub kar kardam
I was successful because I (had)" worked hard
No. \ uses the Subjunctive, No. r uses some other tense,
in this case the Past. No. \ expresses a hypothesis, No. r
a fact.
The Passive. In English the Passive of verbs is formed
178 MODERN PERSIAN \VA

by using the past participle of the verb with the auxiliary

" to be " in the appropriate tense :
I see becomes I am seen
I saw becomes I was seen, etc.
In Persian the same rule applies, but the auxiliary used
is (-y:-) 0..\_.; shodan, -shav-" to become", NOT 0~, "to be",
which, you will remember, forms Perfect tenses, not
Passives.
In Persian the Past Participle precedes the auxiliary,
in the Passive as in the Perfects which you have already
studied:
I see ~ m£b£nam becomes I am seen i Ao •-½!~ d£de
m£shavam
I saw i-½!~ d£dam becomes I was seen i..\_.; •-½.~ d£de ,shodam
I have seen ii •-½.~ d£de am-I have been seen ii •.t:: •..\p d£de
shode am
let me see ~ bebinam-let me be seen i.>-=-! •..tp dzde
beshavam OR i _y •..\;.~ d£de shavam
let me not see ~ nabinam-let me not be seen
i y.!.i •-½.~ d£de nashavam
(Note: in the Passive, the negative is attached to the
auxiliary, not, as is usually the case, to the participle.)
We use the Passive Jar less in Persian than we do in
English.
Passive of Compound Verbs. (i) Verbs compounded with
0~_;) kardan, and a few others, drop their verbal element
and use 0.0 shodan instead, to give the Passive :
satisfy 0~_;) <S"L raz£ k. be satisfied 0.0 <S"L razi sh.
fill 0~_;) .J'-: por k. be filled <J..\_.; .J'-: por sh.
'v-. - LESSON TWENTY-FOUR A 179
empty 0::._]' JL,;.. khdU k. be emptied 0-l!; JL,;.. khdU sh.
open 0::._.f' J4 baz k. be opened 0-l!; J4 baz sh.
extend (a thing) 0::._.f' u1'. pahn k. be extended 0-l!; u1'. pahn sh.
V - V -

find (.)::,_.f' 1-1::; peidd k. be found (.J.l!; 1-1::; peidd sh.

arrange 0::._.f' ..:..,..,_;::, dcrost k. be arranged 0-l!; ..:..,..,_;:, dorost sh.
prepare 0::._.f' ~l,.. hazer k. be made ready 0-l!; ~l,.. hazer sh.
send ~I:, Jl..,_;I etsdl d. be sent 0-l!; Jl...,_;I ersdl sh.
(ii) A few verbs compounded with ~I:, ddshtan change
this verbal element to cfa4 ydftan (" to find ") to form their
Passives:
educate ~I:, .},_;JJ, parvaresh d. be educated cfa4 .},_;JJ.,
p. ydftan
accomplish ~I:. i4:I be accomplished cfa4 i4:I
anjdm d. anjdm ydftan
(iii) Verbs compounded with most other verbal elements
put that element into the Past Participle and add the
appropriate tense of the auxiliary 0~ shodan in the normal
way:
It shows J.;,~ (.JL:.i neshdn mide
It is shown ~.!+.- o::,\::, 0W neshdn ddde m£shavad
He took it away ..:...;;I:, _;_; 1_;T dnrd var ddsht
He was taken away .l!; cl\::, _;_; var ddshte shod
With the Passive, "by" = jl az.
By whom was this found? f .l!; l-1::; S jl c'.r!I
in az k£ peidd shod ?
In English, we have a curious habit of forming passives
from verbs which have no Direct Object: I was given
(i.e. to me, Indirect Object, was given ... ) . This is not
possible in Persian. The passive equivalents of such verbs
180 MODERN PERSIAN

which take Indirect Objects, as, for example, ~ to say,

.:.i~_; command, .:.i~b give, ~_;.) sell, 0J,:.-,y ask, etc., can
0

only be formed thus :

... JJ~I~ .:r.

I was given
rTHER (a) They gave to mebeman dadand
OR (b) To me was given ... ,.(.!, o~b .:r.
beman dade shod
(a) They tell me ... J.;.;.h .:r.
I am told
rHER beman m£guyand
OR (b) To me it is said ... ~ d .:r.
beman gofte m£shavad
(a) They asked from us ...
f
We were asked
lEITHER
OR (b)
az ma porsidand JJJ,:.-,y• l.. JI
From us it was asked ...
az ma pors£de shod ,.(.:, oJ,:.-,y. L. jl

Numbers. Here are the remaining numbers:

Cardinal Ordinal
'f,. .J ~ Mst o yekom
21
22 "'n ~ .J

.J~ .J
~
~
Mst o yek
Mst o do i .J~ .J ~ Mst o dovvom
23 n" 'Co' _; ~ Mst o se i Y' .J ~ Mst o sevvom
24 rt_;½ _; ~ Mst o chahar (etc.)
25 r c) ~ .J ~ b£st o panj Cardinal
26 r f ..;_;, .J ~ Mst o shesh 27 r v .::,.i,. .J ~ Mst o haft
28 r A.::....!J, .J ~ Mst o hasht 29 r ._ 4.i .J ~ Mst o nob,
30 I"• <5' s£ 31 I"\ ~ .J <5' s£ o yek
40 t • Ji.,:- cheb,el 50 c) • o~panjab,
60 f. .::......,.;, shast 70 V • ~t;:.;_,,. haftad
80 A• ~~ hashtad 90 ._ .- -?J.i navad
 \,\' LESSON TWENTY-FOUR A 181

100 \ • • ..L.,.,sad 151 \ ti \ 6.,,. .J •l.:-:-; .J ..L.,., sad

o panjd!J, o yek
200 r,, ~_;.) devfat
300 '!" • • ~ sisad 400 t , • ..L.,.,J½-';- chahdr sad

500 ti • • J...al4 pdnsad 600 f • , ..L.,., .;..:, shesh sad

700 v , , ..L.,., .:........ haft sad 800 A , , ..L.,., ~ hasht sad
900 ._, , ..L.,., ..; no!J, sad 1.000 \ , , , J!i,,, hezdr

1959 (year or numeral) \ ._ ti ._ ..; .J •l.:-:-; .J ..L.,., ..; .J J!i,,,

hezdr o no!J, sad o panjd!J, o no!J,
2000 r , , , J [i.,. _;.) do hezdr
· 3000 '!", , , J!i,,, ....., se hezdr
1,000,000 \,, • •,, , , .:,_r.1. melyun
½X, ....;,..,,,j nesf 50% 1/.tl • ..L.,., J.l •l.:-:-; panjd!J, dar sad
100% 1/. \,, ..L.,., J-l ..L.,., sad dar sad
You will notice (i) Numbers from 21 to 29, 31 to 39,
41 to 49, etc., are formed by coupling the larger number
(tens) to the smaller number (units) with .J .o "and".
(ii) All compound numbers are formed in this way, right
into · the millions. (iii) The tens, 30 to 90, are simple
numerals, and irregularly formed. The only difference
between ....., se 3 and cS" sf 30 is the vowel. (iv) 200, 300,
and 500 have special words, ~_;.) devtst, ~ sisad, and
~4 pansad. Otherwise the hundreds are regularly com-
pounded. (v) The Arabic word for "first", J_;I avval, is
not used for 21st, 31st, 101st, etc.-these are regularly
formed by suffixing i- -om to the Cardinal number at the
end of the compound.
When constructing any number, always work from
greatest to smallest, and always connect separate elements
with .J which is pronounced o.
182 MODERN PERSIAN

~}
to dance ,j.)J -.,-"']J raghs· k. pass (by or over) (-J.il'-) ;_,~~.lf
excellent J~ 'alt (jl) gozashtan, -gozar- (az)
understand ,:;-½-o.,_; f a"!Jmfdan, to play ,:;.)J ._sj\~ baz£ k.
-fal!m- truth ~ haghfghat
bridge J, pol heart J.) del
hungry ,...l~ .J' gorosne dog~ sag
also, as well~~ hamchon£n happy J~.? khosh/.Jal
_as far as (preposition) \; ta bone ,:;1_,;.;:~1 ostokhan
be lost ,:;-'-~!. ( gom sh. lose ,:;.)J ( gom k.
tooth ,:;1..u.) dandan slowly, gently "-"~~"'i aheste
already ('""' ham cast one's eyes .:.,;<>l..ul •.. JJ;,;
like, similar to ~ mesl-e- nazar . . . andakhtan
animal ,:;1.,~ heivan, Arabic alone \.i-l; tanha
plural .:;,\;I~ heivanat

0),;,.::..-l .,o:.,,,.}' ~

~ _.))"IJ.,,; 8.Jj_ 0),;,.::..-I ~- ~ JWy o:.,,,Jf ~ .:u~

0U!,::>- JI ~I Ll.J-½ :i;<; !., 0T L;j l:i .;.;Jf 0IJ.j.) .J:i !., 0),;,.::..-1
:i.J.J 0T ..i:.J £ J; JI ~~ J,:iy;- J.:,:_. l:i WT Ji -~ •..1.p J~:i
~:, yy ~ ._:...-,:, .J ..:...-,!., .:.....-½ .J..J J; l:i 4-' .:i.J~ -?J, § <->I ..._;t,;..
..i:.J),.j ..:..;--".:'° J; <->-'.J o.::...,,,T "¥-' -~ ·~.) ~ JI .:.....!,;.i L)~
0IJ.j.) .J:, ~ :,_ 0!,...::...I ~- J,¥- J!.. ~ ~- ..1p -' ..::...,;.IJ.jl J,:,_y;.
·~.) ....;t,;.. .)-'.J yT .J:i £ J),;,.::..-1 utl £ ~ r-1--' <.$~ ~ 0,.1 _.)~
cl:, c.r:;-~ 0!,;..::.-,I ~I .:.,.;,I:, J.:.. ¥- J:, .J.) -' ..:...-,I J,:iy- JL. -?J~
_.;.;,4
•-1/.:i yT .J:i £ J!,;..;:.-,1 0T U :i.J'J4 J,-?J.:. <->L;IJ.j:, 4-' J-'
ciJf i-':i 0!,...::...I ~tl <->~-' - .;.;, f-' :i\.::;I 0T .J:, 0!,...::...I :,Y:.~ -?J~
.:i)" f - .:.,..;,l:i £ ~ S.,. 0T .;.;,4

§ rudkhane'£ " a river " is so written. The I alef must re-introduce

the '£ after e.
\ A'l" LESSON TWENTY-FIVE 183
.
U:.J-'
I. Translate the last paragraph of the text (beginning
... :,5 ..i4 .}¥ (.>t.;\.G:, 4_.., J_..,),
II. Put the bracketed verb into the sentence in the right
form:
r,."'Y:' J.:, (0.w) :,_..,_j _.,I ~.I 0_..,-½ \
.. JW-:,>-
.:...,...j · (0:,:J.,) J..:...::J'J :, .5::.,\• t.,• r
(0:>_uT u>-!..?) µ ~I JI iJ..!:. &'~ r
.;.:;let 0_[,,;..:...,\ (0:,5J4) .}¥ <.Slt'.IJJ:, 5.,,, ..f I t
(0-½.r) (.>_;;~) cr..1 .;....,I H. -1)-4 o.::.::.1-G :,4.3 J.J; _t1 ()

0\J.I ,~_,:..;-- ..:.,~I JI ~- _jl J..I

fU-az-yekt az Udt-e-fonubt-ye irdn
Tribesman from one of the
southern tribes of Iran.

LESSON 25
The Short Infinitive. We have learnt that the infinitive
of Persian verbs is that form ending in ,:;- -tan or cJ:>- -dan :
0:,5 kardan to do ~_; rtkhtan to pour
;;._s:.::, shekastan to break cJ:>_;y khordan to eat
There exists also a second, shorter infinitive, which is
184 MODERN PERSIAN \ "f

formed in the same way as the Past Stem of the verb, by

dropping the final <.J- .-an of the infinitive proper. There
are no irregularly formed Short Infinitives. Thus :
:,..f' kard, .::.;: _; rtkht, ..::.-S.::, shekast, :>_;y- khord
The Short Infinitive is used in these impersonal expres-
sions:
(i) After -1~4 bdyad one must, ~~ nabdyad one must not,
bdyest ~4 one had to, and~~ nabayest one had not to:
One must not do this thing :,..f' G_;ts' er.I ~~ \
nabdyad tn kar ra kard
One must say that . . . . . . .S- d ~4 I'
bayad gojt ke . . .
One had to work well for that employer
:,..f' _;ts' y_,,;- ..,....t...., <.JT c.Sl..i: ~4 r
bdyest bara-ye-dn sdheb khub kdr kard
One had not to tell lies d t_,_;:; ~~
nabayest dorugh gojt (i.e. it was necessary not to ... )
(ii) After the verb ~ mtshavad or mtshe meaning, here,
" it is possible to ... ". This construction is only common
in the Present :
mtshe gojt bejars£ salam 'aleikom? ~ fJ... i')\...,' (S"'.)~ d ~ l)

Can one say (Is it possible to say) "Salaam aleikum" in

Persian ? ~ .J, bale mtshavad-Yes, one can.
And similarly after ~ · namtshavad one can't, it is not
possible to ... :
J,.;., • !< .b.-o
.. Jv ~ •
_;;; :,.~·
::;r-..~
i
namtshavad dar masjed kafsh pushtd
One cannot wear shoe(s) in the mosque
 IA~ LF;SS0N TWENTY-FIVE 185
(iii) After the forms cJlf:::.. mitavan, .:,_!,~· ,11,amUavan,
.::..-.ilf:::.. mUavanest, and .::..-.i.!,::,,./ namUavanest (one can, one
cannot, on~ could, one could not) :
(N.B.-There is no personal ending at all on this form.)
J.;..:. .L;. ~ cJlf:::,. l:,-:1.I j\ V
az inja mitavan masjed-e-sha!J, did
One can see the Masjed-e-Shah from here
J.;_.:, .:,_!,:::,-c· Gc::l.:- ~ J_, A
vali masjed-e-jame' ra namUavan did
But one cannot see the Friday Mosque
There is no shortened Colloquial pronunciation for these
forms of ,:r...J_!,; tavanestan when they are used in these
impersonal expressions with the Short Infinitive.
The Short Infinitive is also used after a special form of
the verb .:,:;..._!,.,:. khastan to wish :
Take the verb .:,:;..._!,.,:. khastan and conjugate it in the
Present Tense, DROPPING THE -::-- mi- PREFIX. We get:
1
1 r-" _!,.,:. khaham f."¥ khahtm
.2 -1::-'>¥ khaMd -1::-'>¥ khaMd
.A,>_!,.,:. khahad ~ _!,.,:. khahand
.;.-_!,.,:. khahad .;.-_!,.,:. khahad
Add to each of these forms the Short Infinitive of a verb,
and we have a Future Tense. Thus, for cJ.:._f' to do and
;£ to say:
1 .:..}' ('"""¥ khaham kard d ('"""¥ khaham gojt
I shall do I shall say
2 .:..}' -1:,-'> _!,.,:. khahtd kard d -1::-'>Y. khah£dgoft
you will do you will say
G
186 MODERN PERSIA}< \At
:,..f' ..u._l,,,;. khahad kard d ..u.!,.:- khahad goft
he/she will do he/she will say
3
{ :,..f' ..u._l,,,;. khahad kard d ..u._l,,,;. khahad goft
it will do it will say
1 :,..f' {-"'¥ khahzm kard d {-"'¥ khahzm goft
we shall do we shall say
2 :,..f' ..y,_i,,,;. khahzd kard d ..y,_i,,,;. khahzd goft
you will do you will say
:,..f' _I,,;. khahand kard
.i.:,,,,, d .i.:,,,,,_I,,,;. khahand goft

they will do they will say

3
{ :,..f' ..u._l,,,;. khahad kard d ..u._l,,,;. khahad goft
they will do they will say
About this tense : (i) Do not confuse it with . .;.._1,,,;.
khastan with -::-- m£- prefixed in the Present, used with
the Subjunctive of the verb, giving the meaning " I wish
to do something ". Compare :
:,..f' ('""'¥ L i.:r..l with f-,_Li.:r..l('""'~
£nra khaham kard (Future) m£khaham £nra bekonam
I shall do this I want to do this

(ii) In this future tense, the stress is always on the

operative part of the verb which is the Short Infinitive-
the auxiliary is only lightly pronounced :
..:...i..) r-"' _I,,;. khaham raft I shall go
(iii) This Future Tense is only, or almost only, used in
formal speech and in writing. In conversation we normally
use the .Present Tense for future time, unless there is a risk
of ambiguity, for example :
\AV LESSON TWENTY-FIVE 187

~ .!.I>!,,:- ~.J.) ,S' r.h .;.....,l.:-:-,,1 ,S' r.h' 'I

namzguyam ke znjast, mzguyam ke zud khahad bi,,d
I am not saying he is here, I am saying that he soon
will be
Whenever it is perfectly obvious that the action is a
future one, we use the Present :
Tomorrow I'll go farda mfravam i.J-':" b_,,.i
(iv) There is no special Colloquial pronunciation for ~~
khastan when it is used in this construction.
(v) The negative prefix -j na- is attached to the auxiliary,
not to the Short Infinitive:
I shall not say nakhaham gojt d ~!_,;i \ •
He will not come nakhahad amad -1..T J..1>!_,;i \ \
When, therefore, is the long infinitive, the infinitive given
in all the dictionaries, used ? Its sole use in sentences is
(see Lesson 22a) as a noun, i.e. as the subject of a verb :
.;.....,I .:,LJ t_.,,.. ~ ~ \ r
pokhtan-e-tokhm-e-morgh asan e
Cooking (to cook) eggs is easy
or as the object of a verb :
i)~ .;.....,_;~ G0~ ~~G <Y , r
man radio shenzdan-ra dust daram
I like listening (to listen) to the radio
or governed by a preposition:
i)J.j .::.j_; <JJ.j),,:- -sl.;: It
baraye khandan vaght nadaram
I have no time for reading (for to-read)
Thou. Up to now we have constantly used one pronoun
188 MODERN PERSIAN
'""
for you, µ shoma. Strictly speaking, this is the plural
form of you. There is .also a singular form
" thou " .Ji to
with its secondary forms P. be-to to thee, 1; tora (no .J)
thee, direct object-and so forth.
This form of you is only used as is " tu " in French or
Italian, or " du " in German, i.e. to one person with whom
one is on very familiar terms indeed. It even happens that
father and son will address each other as I,;, shoma. In some
cases the use of .Ji to implies a familiarity almost verging
on contempt. The foreigner is well advised never to use
it ; but it should be known, as it is sometimes heard, and
is used in literature. The verb with .Ji to as its subject is
the same as the I,;, shoma form in all tenses, but withJhe
final ~- -d taken off :

..; µ .
J.;; ~Jµ .}Jy
shoma £d to £ shoma raft£d to raft£
you are thou art you went thou didst go
-½.)~ µ u:)~ .Ji JJ:4 o-½_~ (.A 0.1.p
\
s,homa dar£d to dari dide basMd dide bash£
you have thou hast you may have thou mayest
seen have seen

But for the imperative we drop the -1,.- -U of the I,;, shoma
imperative form :
.J......J ••
• •.Y-' ~_,:J
nanev£s£d nanevis
(you) come (thou) come don't (you) don't (thou)
write write
 LESSON TWENTY-FIVE 189

The corresponding possessive suffix is u- -at (this is the

original singular of .:,t;_ -etan) :
.:,w;. .:J;. .:,t;_;~
manzeletan manzelat pedaretan pedarat
your house thy house your father thy father
0l::;. t.;.....,.) ~t.;.....,.) .:,t;¥ u¥
dusthayetan dusthayat khodetan khodat
your friends thy friendsyour own, thy own,
yourself/ves thyself
Colloquial Pronunciation. In the Subjunctive and Impera-
tive of some verbs, the -i be- becomes bo- when the next
pronounced vowel is o, o, or u :
§..,_ bokon }.
~ bokon£d from cJ.).f' kardan to do
~ bokon£m

..,~ bagu -1
BUT -.-
because the next { ~ e. ,
.L.b-" begU
from .;z gojtan to say
pronounced vowel • f" • ,
. , , ""..,:,..; begam
1s not o, o, or u. 1- •

_;~ bogozar }
.A;._;~ b~gozarU from ~~ gozashtan
..IJ_;~ bogozarand to pass
And note especially the pronunciation of the _..,; to
imperative in :
the .., is pronounced o here - ! .., ..,: boro ! }
but as -av here, where the next { her£, from
vowe1 1s• no t pronounced o, o, or u ~..J J · beravi ~_; ra,f/-,an
A A I A ...
1
and similarly with cJ.,L;, shodan : !..,.!J nasho !
190 MODERN PERSIAN

BUT
.. nashavtd, .. nashavad, beshavad,
-½.? nashtd ~ nashe ~ beshe
In both Elevated and Colloquial the following pronuncia-
tions are the only possible ones :
.J.f boro I go! .J; naro I don't go!
r sho I be (in passives) .J..:..i nasho I
Irregular Present Stems-Group 6, ash-ar.
Verbs whose infinitive ends in .;.,:1- -ashtan have Present
Sterns in -_;I- ar-.. There are no exceptions to this rule.
Infinitive. English . Present Stem.
.;.,:b dashtan have -_;I.-, dar-
.;.,:~1 angashtan consider, suppose - _;~\- -angar-
.;.,:1~ pendashtan consider, reflect - _;I~- -pendar-
.;.,:lS"' kashtan sow, cultivate -_;D - -kar-
.;.,:1..3" gomashtan appoint, set over -_;I.J"-: -gomar-
.;.,:1-lf gozashtan § }
place, set -_;l.lf- -gozar-
(0.-,_;l.lf gozardan also)
§ Distinguish between (-;-if-) ~.if gozashtan, -gozar- meaning to
pass by (short a, no Direct Object) and its' derivative given above
(-;1..if -) ~1..if gozashtan, -gozar- meaning to place (long 1 a, takes
a Direct Object).

<J.J-'
-
I. Put the bracketed verbs into the Future Tense:
(.;.,:b) .-,~_; _;lS"' •.i.:...J ~ l.. .S- i-"~ ~.r \
(.;.,:1-lf) Gyl:,-,1 .JI r
(0..1..!.i) <.Y';}S' b) £ ..u-"y) _;tf_;_,..T 'l"
r
\ .\ LESSON TWENTY-FIVE 191
<Ii 4 (0.:..J..,T ~?) 0~1 lJ -L:.il~· t
(~.)) 0~4 .:,__,_j ..,I ~

II. Put into the singular (_,; to) form:

~..,; f ~.., .J'. ~ ! JJ,~ (imperative) t

~ -I}..,~ ~ '\ ! ~ (imperative) A ! ~4 .:.__,_j (imperative) v
.y,~ \•
III. Write the pronunciation, thus :
Orthography Elevated Colloquial
e.g. (.~ beguyam . begam
r.)~ '\"
~..,; ~
r~·" -I}~
~\

IV. 1. One must not talk in the mosque.

2. One, can always try; but one cannot always say
whether one will succeed.
3. It is not possible to say who did this,
4. One shouldn't (~L;.;) tell lies ((y% t_..,.;.:. dorugh
gojtan).
5. What must one say instead of ".y ''.? One must
say ''. ·~ ".
TEST PAPER-VERBS

A. 1. Give the Past Participles of :

.;::,:;r ~ ' 0.0 t 0.:>~ '\" ~4 I' .;...1_,.:.
2. Give the Present Participles of :
0.:,_j ~ .:;_;...,..T t 0..L.T 'I" ~ I' ~.)
192 MODERN PERSIAN

3. Give the Short Infinitives of :

0:,_j' er"!,=;- ~ 0~_) t 0:>_;)I f

4. Conjugate completely in the Present Tense:

~ ~ ~b t ~ r ,µ r 0~·

5. Put these forms into the Past Tense:

:>.'.>;-½:-~ -½l::=-"t ~.::-,J'r J.J.._;.J:!r iA-
6. Give the (a) Perfect, (b) Pluperfect, and (c) Perfect
Subjunctives of these forms:
•.
r'; ~ i:,~ t i-Li rI f
;;_}'
' .
r

B. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb given
in the column on the left :
0J..T -.:,.- li ~Y:--" ~I
.;;.) - 0 ~ b.)....,~ ,:r>- r
0-Li !,,:- ~- .....),=:. µ jl Si. ii£ f
0-:,! - ~0~ :,\,_j j_;_,...I 01.,:.1 ~~ 0\,.; _;:,
0~1-~ -:,j:, _;I oS'-J.J..i.:J ~
0~.) ~- 0Y-1 04Y'; r¼- "5; ~1 jl f
0..\..~ ~ - j_; .,:_:> l-:, ~ £ .;..$ ~ .;..$ "-'; V
0:>..? ~ - ~ t'- ( ~- y,,;- -=....,:, _;:, "
0.J,.;, 0_;~ - ~ - ~I _;I £ d ~ 0T \
0~.)-~Jj ,.; -.;_}'I - o..oU- b_) .}'I \.

C. Give the (a) Short Infinitive, (b) Full Infinitive, (c) 3rd
person singular Subjunctive, (d) 3rd person singular
Imperfect, and (e) 3rd person singular Present Tense
of the Persian verb meaning
to tell lies
 LESSON TWENTY-FIVE 193
Put the form (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) as appropriate
into each of the blanks in the following sentences :
. - 4 ~.I c.$1_;; i_;l..u ..:...,..._,.) !; ~ ..r..1
. .)_H. J_,~ !; ..,1 u-S' ~ ":-'-:-"" ..r..4 ..,-4 r
,.::..,..,1-½-f
--~·t
..)J ""'~ J_,~ !; _,I u-S' ~- ~ f I ()
D. Distinguish, by translating or explaining, between:
~.) {-"¥ ..1.,T t;
.
r-~ r-~ I. } 't' i
.. L;
(. L, }
f <.J"".r
. .ul.. ... .)..,--:fl
d~4 } .::,_;..1;~f I } f

.)J f f' .~I ~L.:;

.l:,f } t r · .w1
o.)J
•L,
. .ul..:;
. } ()

§J ii ·~.)
~ } A
i ~ ·~.) } V

o:.!:,~ -1:../.~.c.:...J~'
o:.::,I~ } '. ..loT .::..,..j~' } °'
PART THREE
Words
 LESSON 26
Word-building. By the use of suffixes we can form many
derivative words in Persian :
(i) If we take the Present Stem of some verbs and add
the suffix J,- -esh (,?.- -yesh after vowels), we form abstract
nouns of quality or of activity :
_,... sar head} _Jjj_,... sarzanesh
(-.ij-) .:,~_; zadan, -zan- beat = punishment
(-.!§-) .:,~§ kusMdan, -kush- to strive :
J,):,§ kushesh effort
(- _j_;_r) cJ-½_j_;_, varzzdan, -varz- to exercise:
J,_i_;_, varzesh sport, exercise
Similarly, from obvious sources, J,j....T am£zesh mixture;
J,_i_,..T amuzesh learning, knowledge; J.!.l..c· namayesh exhibi-
tion, show; Jjb danesh knowledge; ,?.l..jT azmayesh
experiment, test ; and many others.
(ii) If we add to any adjective (including participles)
ending in •- -e the suffix J- -gl, we get the abstract noun
of the activity concerned :
•..1:JG ranande driving (ad.) J ..1:JG ranandegt (noun)
-.::...,,:.. khaste tired l > ~ khasieg£ fatigue
..::..-: baste bound ~ basteg£ bond, link, connexion
.:.,,,.}' gorosne hungry ._f.;.,,,_;f gorosneg£ hunger
(iii) Many words of activity are formed by coupling
together the Past and Present Stems of a verb, or two
Past Stems:
197
198 MODERN PERSIAN
\°'"
from ~ gojtan : J ~ (..,f .J d ) gojtogu argument
~ jostan to search : ~ jostoju search
.:.s_;_;.l.T amadorajt or ..i;_;.l.T amadoshod traffic
(iv) If we add the suffix 04- -ban (rarely, 0~- -van) to a
noun, we get the name of the person tending the place or
thing:
L4 bdgh garden: baghban gardener
_p!;, shotor camel : shotorbdn } .
A camel-dnver
shotorvan
_;::i dar door : 04_;::i darbdn concierge, janitor
..,,.¼ pas watch : 0l.z..¼ pasbdn watchman, policeman
(v) The suffix 0t::...- -stan, -estan, means " place of" :
§' gal rose : 0\::...Jf golestan rose-bower
0 ~ \ englestan England
0l::...-i,J lehestan Poland ,
..1-r-Z shab,r city : 0t::...__;,r-:, shab,restan a county
0l::..S¼ pakestan Pakistan 0t::..._;..\:), hendustan India
0\::....i\;.;\ ajghdnestan Afghanistan
0~.r 'arabestan Arabia 0l::..S; torkestan Turkestan
(vi) The suffix .tf - -gab, also means " place " :
. ~ I fstgab, station .l5:!.il::i daneshgab, university
.~Le- namayeshgab, theatre .tf ::i_;.) forudgab, airport
.~L.jT azmayeshgab, laboratory .~4 bdshgab, club
.~ bongab, society, office
(vii) The word <1.il,,:. khane "house" is used as a suffix, for
a place where things are kept or where a certain activity c
is pursued:
 LESSON TWENTY-SIX 199

..;Ll:l:S' ketabkhane library ..il,;._;lS' karkhane workshop

..;l,;. »r ashpazkhane kitchen ..;l,;.~__,.. mar£zkhane hospital
..;t;:i.-,.. melJ,mankhane hotel
(viii) A few abstract nouns of quality or condition are
made by adding the suffix _; 1- -ar :
from ,:;;;_; raftan: _;l:;_; raftar behaviour
from c:;;f gerejtan : _;L:;f gereftar affliction
from ~ gojtan : _;l.::K' gojtar speech, talk
from 0~ kardan: _;b.}"' kerdar action (vowel
change here)
(ix) We can add, to adjectives of quality, the suffix 1- -a
to give the abstract quality, a noun :
~ palJ,n wide, broad ~ palJ,na width, breadth
i f garm warm L.f garma warmth
(x) Many abstract nouns are also formed by adding c.S- -£
(J -'£ after vowels) to other words:
• frT ashpaz a cook c.S frT ashpaz£ cuisine
0~~ baghban gardener J~4 baghban£ gardening
.;,t...; naghghash painter &t...; naghghash£ painting
t.;I.:, dana wise Jt.;1.:, dana'£ wisdom
8_; j_ bozorg great 1..>f_; j_ bozorgl greatness
i\nd, from equally obvious sources :
&l.:.;4_jzzbashenasz aesthetics
c,S_;~lS' kasMkar£ tilework, mosaic
~_,.:..Li namnev£s£ registration
~ <Jj..9 vaznkasM weighing
(xi) Finally, for this lesson at least, a colloquial suffix
lenoting the operator or handler of something. This suffix
,=;- -eh£ is taken from the Turkish -ci or fi :
200 MODERN PERSIAN r •.
~
telefoncM telephone operator
~ naftcM oil-seller
~ tofangcM rifleman (&.;' tofang = rifle)
Colloquial Pronunciation. In the verb (-)lf-) .:;..:.1lf
gozashtan, -gozar- "to place", it is common practice to
omit in speech the syllable -go- only when it is preceded by
a prefix:
r )~ mtzaram I put ~)~ l.:,.~I tnja bezarid Put it here.
BUT
~ ~llf 1_;T l:S koja anra gozashttd? Where did you put it ?

....,
.,;.J"
I. Form workers from:

places from :
J-ib A cl~ V cJirt- t y .r ~ $
abstracts of activity from :
~ 1r .:,.uG 1 1 .:,~4 1 • # °'
and redoubled compounds from :
~ It
II. Translate and explain the construction of :
.:,.0 ~_,.:..t.; c <-2~· t .:,:,__j' _;w '" .K.:Jb r -~
III. Give the Persian for :
1. to do the cooking.
t
2. to be painted. s
3. a quarrel, to quarrel. There was (= cJ.0) a quarrel
between them. (quarrel = "argument")
r •I LESSON TwENTY-SIX A, 201
4. the policeman, the police, t~affic.
5. theatre, library, county.

LESSON 26a
Wordbuilding. We form CAUSATIVE VERBS Ill Persian
thus:
(i) By taking the Present Stem and adding .'.J..UI- -andan
::>r .'.l..l:,il- -an£dan to make the new verb, which is then
regular: -.J.r .:_;;;_; raftan, -rav- to go; .'.J..U~_; ravandan, -;11 _;-
·ravan- (also .'.!.UL randan, -;L- -ran-) to make it go, to drive
;omething along.
-··r .'.!¼--_; ras£dan, -ras- to arrive; .'.J..Ul..._; rasandan, -;L.._;-
rasan- or -;L-_;- .'.l..l:,il..._; rasdn£dan, -rasdn- to make it arrive,
o bring it up.
c.JJ.J_:,.J' gard£dan, -:,..f- -gard- (also ~ gashtan, -:,.}'- -gard-)
o become ; -; I:,.}'- .'.l..l:,i b.}' gardan£dan, -garddn- to make
omething become so.
- jy- .;.,;.r sukhtan, -suz- to blaze, be on fire;
-;G.,,..- .'.!..l:,i0y suzan£dan, -suzan- to make it burn.
202 MODERN PERSIAN

(ii) By changing a root short a (unwritten) to long -1- -d-;

- _;:;t' - ~£' gozashtan, -gozar- to move, go past ;
-)£' - ~1£' gozdshtan, -gozdr- to pass something, to place
it, to make it move past.
- _;:;t' - i.J:,_;:;t' gozardan, -gozar- = gozashtan above ;
- )£' - i.J:,)£' goz(i-rdan, -gozdr- = gozashtan above.

Note: _;£'- i.):,_;:;t' gozardan, -gozar- also forms the Causa-

tive -jG£'- i.JJJG£' gozarandan, -gozardn- (by rule (i) above),
meaning to spend or pass time.
In each of the cases above, the original verb does not
take an object, but itself performs the action of the verb.
The Causative derivative takes an object and causes it to
do the action. Examine :
~..,,,, ~tr' kdghaz sukht The paper burned
i.J.,,.il_;y G~tr' kdghaz rd suzdn£dam I burned the paper
Time. The hour is given with the word ~l,... sa'at
meaning (i) hour (as here) and (ii) clock or watch:
one o'clock sa'at-e-yek 6-:. ~l,...
three o'clock sa' at-e-se ....... ~l,...
eleven o'clock sa'at-e-ydzda!J, o:,_;4, ~l,...

Time up to the half hour is given by adding the minutes

to the last hour, using _, pronounced o:
1.10 sd'at-e-yek o dab, daghtghe .;_;:, o:, _, 6-:. ~l,...
2.15 sd' at-i-do o rob' t .J _, _,:, ~l,...
3.25 sa' at-e-se o bzstopanj dagMghe .;J:, ~-' ~ _, ......, ~l,...
4.30 sa' at-e-chahar o nzm (.! _, _;lr;- ~l,...
 LESSON TWENTY-SIX A 203

hour, clock, watch, .::,,:\~ sa' at minute <lii:-:->~ dagMghe

half an hour.::,,:~("~ ntmsa'at half~ ntm
quarter of an hour.::,,:~ c:,J rob' quarter C(J rob'
sO,'at p.m. ,n,h .:,1 ~ ba'ad az zo'flr
a.m. ~ sob!} midnight .,_...!, ..........,; nesf-e-shab
noon ,n,h zo'flr sunrise t.,ll, totu'
forenoon ,n,h .:,1 J,:-> ghabt az zo'flr second (of time) -0t: ~aniye
sunset '-:'J~ ghorub month .t.. mab
year J\~ sat day .)J) raz
week w .. hafte

Days of the Week. Iran is a Moslem country and the

weekly day of rest is Friday. The day after that, Saturday,
is called after the Jewish Sabbath. From then on the days
are numbered in order after Saturday :
Friday ....a-; jom' e or ~.:.T ddtne (less commonly)
Saturday ~ shambe (--:-i- = mb)
Sunday ~ - yekshambe
Monday ~J.:, doshambe
Tuesday~.... seshambe i
Wednesday ~J4, chahdrshambe ,.11
'; I
Thursday ~ panjshambe I:
To all these names we may prefix JJJ ruz-e- (day). 1.:

The Calendar, r...,Z

taghvtm. 'i
.1:
Three calendars are known in Iran : ',11
l I!
(i) The Arab (Moslem) lunar calendar, 354-5 days long, 1
il

!l'I
is only used to mark religious occasions. It is not nece.ssary 11
I'

for us to learn it, merely to know it exists. 'II I,

1

(ii) The Iranian 'national calendar is solar and lasts 365-6 1

lI

days. It begins exactly on the Spring Equinox which,

204 MODERN PERSIAN r •t
depending on the year, falls on our 20th, 21st, or 22nd
March:
<Y-.:,.J.J) farvardin
.J½: 31 days} ~ <5.:>) ord£behesht r
bahar Spring { each
.:,I.:,_,.,;. khordad \"
..r} Ur
.:,~\;
tabestan Summer { 31 days }
each
mordad
.:,l.:,J~

.JJ,.J~ shal:J,r£var
ft" mel:J,r
• •1..,
Y::.
pa'£z Autumn { 30 days
each }
. , - Ab A • , b A
ui.; 1 a an, uc; 1 a an
.-
_;.:> 1 azar
A

30 days } <5.:> dei \.

C:,l::......j
each ~ bal:J,man \ \
zemestan Winter {
29/30 days .J.:..i..,I esfand 'r
esjand .J.:..i..,I has 30 days every fourth (leap) year(~ Jt...
sal-e-kab£se). To each of these names we can suffix ol..- -mal:J,
" month ". This is especially common in the case of the
short names: ol..._r} tfrmal:J,, .\..ft' mel:J,rmal:J,.
Both the Moslem and the Iranian years are reckoned
from the date of the Prophet's journey from Mecca to
Medina in 622 A.D., but because the solar year is longer
than the lunar year, the number of the year (and of course
the names of the months) differ.
1 Jan. 1958 A.D. = \ \"\"f <5.:> \ \ 11 dei 1336 A.H. Iranian
(A.H. = anno hegirae, Year of the Flight)
(iii) The Christian Calendar is used unofficially, especially
in commerce and international affairs. The months are ~
mostly pronounced as in French and transliterated so : u
 'I'. c) LESSON.TWENTY-SIX A 205
French. Persian. French. Persian.
juillet "-/, ..,J janvier "-!.Y~
aout UJ1 (ut) fevrier "-/,.)_,;
septembre .
pb..., . mars er').•
octobre ~I avril cH.J;r
novembre --':"41_,; ma1 . ._.
decembre --':"4l,..,.) juin .:;JJ
Dates are given with Ordinal numbers and the ezdfe :
'I,
Saturday 16th Khordad shambe shdnzdahom-e-khorddd
.)b_r ('"".))l.! ~
1st March avval-e-mdrs U"'.Jl.. JJI or U"'.JL. JJI JJ.J
ruz-e-avval-e-mdrs
The year is qaoted as a number, beginning with the
thousand: 1914 \ °' \ t o.).J4- J .i.....,,..,; J .J!.;.,,
hezdr o no!Jsad o chahdrda!J.

~!
"J
holiday-½" 'eid solar (Iranian) year Jl~
sun ..,..L:.:.;T a/tab, .;.-::--:,J_,> khorshtd ._s.J.-::--:,J.,> sal--e-khorshtdt
New Year's Day (1st Farvardin) Zoroastrian ._....:..>Jj zardoshtt
jJJ.Jj .J.-:f-'eid-e-n(} ruz Jew(ish) ._s.>..w._ yahudt
M:oslem .,;l..L.... mosalman Jesus§ ..s-=" 'tsa,
::hristian ,.s.,~~s: 'tsavt <.S~ . : : . , ~ hazrat-e-'tsa

§ .::.,~ hazrat =Lord; Christ is honoured as a prophet by

\foslems. Similarly: r,o\.;..~~ .::.,_,.;,... hazrat--e-peighambar the Lord
~rophet (i.e. Mahomet .J...,.
mohammad).
I :J.,:.i~

- JL.., J) JJ.J £ .;....I JJ.JJj -¥ JL.., -¥ ,y,,fa.Jj_ .:il..;;,I _).)

µ... - ..1.,;,4 Jl..;;,I £ ~.Y' JJ.J er.I _).) . .til 13 .t.. cr.,.).JJJ; JJI _).)
1

:L: -5.):;,_ J.,.) er.I_).)~> -½.4 ,.)~ -¥- ..s~ J _;:;.).)J ..s~
 206 MODERN PERSIAN

'-'-½.~ ~ £ <S'.J • .)~t.. .J .J"'; '-'-½'.~ ..G.J..r:4 J.J\ .J ~.J--". .:.,\::...,.J~ '-'-½.~
l
£ ~)~ .::..,-,.J~ .J..(AjT ~}"\ -(..J~ <->l:;-.J _;,,.if,.:.,~\ 4 -½.4 L. -½.l,,.. L.
.~_:i:;,,, C.:,_); .)~ ~ <f""' ~ ~.J--". ~.Y' '-'-½.~ J.J\ _j_J.J u-!.\ .)~ ,.\j~-

JU;'\ t.l'lt' -~.J--". '-'-½'.~ (•L. (Y..~.J.J) ~~~ _j_J.J Li J.J\ _jl) JL.., J.J\ _j.J.J

- ~ J;. h~ .:.,\::...,J'f't ~ J~ .)~ £ F ~ r-;~· ~) ;.;:;1 i.!

J\,,, <->1--".n .;..,,,I .-1,;, o.::,;;__,; i.r!,.J.J £ (.:""A:-' ~__,) ..::.,.Jl) ~ er;
.((~ ,/Jp ~~ (r') fl,:...J i.;4 (r') fl,:...J t;T ..,j

~;
~

card .:..Jlf ktirt to be born ~\0 .J _,; tavallod

sweets ._2~ shtrtnt ytiftan c.:,......:.) cl~J~ -1)_,:.:,.
send (-~~ .J'-) .:,~\:.:~ _,.; feresttidan, motovalled b., sh.
-ferest- this year JL..... 1 emstil
congratulate, send best wishes last year Jl~Jt, ptirstil
:.r,f ~.J~' tabrtk goftan ~.r.' the day after tomorrow b_ri-1,
.:,~J </'? tabrtk 'arz k. pasfard{i
within (time) J_,l.J~ dar zarf-e- the day before yesterday jJ.Jc.J!.
sometimes .,... lf gtiM partruz
visit ~ J c>-'c~ dtdan raftan new (year) J; n/Ju
religion .:r..~ dtn ':"'"".i. maz'f1ab last night ~~ dtshab
birthday .J _,; jJ) ruz-e-tavallod the night before last ..,..~~.J?
partshab

I.
(f..J.s:

: -½,!l..J'": y),~
f J.;:;\ i.! S Ji--:,1 (...,Z .)~ ~ 0!.fa.Jj_
f ~ ~ (f..1 r' r
f ;.;:;1 i.J S <->~ r...,z .)~ Ji--:,1 JL.., J.JI _j.J.J I"
f ~ 08.;,~ fµ ~ .:.,µ_.
'!' •V LESSON TWENTY-SIX A 207
f ~.Ll ..u_,:.. ,S J~ '-:'~ b

J~ Y~ jl ·i.Ll ..u__,::.. ..s__,_;;p ''In· Jt,... "-!..J..J i'!'. j_,.J ·~ f

f ~ j;j!,.,:- 4. fa.Jj,_
f ~.Jb ..:.,...,_,~ ~ ~ 4, ..sl;- V

f .cil <.J ,S .:i~t; J.,ai J_,I j..,.J Ji..,:,I (...,Z .J~ A

~.::,...Js Jl,... .J~ .t..-1.::;- 'I

~Jt,....J~ _, ~..:.,...,I ~ Jl,... JL....I \.

II. Complete :
~ .~-('!') j..,..,:_~ _, ..:.,...,l-(1) b) ,..:.,...,1 ~ j_,_,...I
I~.).-;.~ .u,l,.>-(t) .:AA ~l; _j_,.J.I jl .~ -(f) jJ..,:,Y.
-~! .u,.!,.>--(b)

III.

,. ,, ,r ' ,. 11 ,r' r ,. ,, ,r '

q £1r- '1,\ ~
. 1"~
'I ~rr
A
y
f ,\ t
0 y " V 0
"t 0 't
f '!'

[V. Write in full words:

:~fa. Li,;.;>- i~
r•-A(f) \V-t('!') '!'•-f(I) :(~l,...)
lfff/1 •/f• (b) \ffb/A/'!'• (t) :(Jl..,:,1 (...,Z),
 208 MODERN PERSIAN

LESSON 27
W ordbuilding. Suffixes-continued.
(xii) We often use a suffix <->- -£ (J- -'£ after vowels,
J- -g£ after vocalic • h) to form adjectives from other
parts of speech :
-::.l. mellat nation J.. melU national
.l.!..i.,,.L.:; shaJ1ensha!J, emperor c/'l.!..i.,,.L.:; sha!J,ensha!J,£ imperial
01.;:.I £ran Iran Jl.;:.I £ran£ Iranian
Jlr- 'eragh Iraq cilr 'eraght Iraqi
'-:'.r 'arab an Arab er. .r 'arab£ Arab, Arabic, a
Arabian r
'-:"".\.. maz!J,ab religion ~.\.. maz!J,ab£ religious
.J--"Y'; jomhur republic <.>.J--"Y'; jomhur£ republican
~ shab evening, .._,...!:, shab£ evening's,
night nocturnal
~ hafte week ,._,~ hajteg£ }
~ 3 :. dohajteg£ bi-weekly
,._,~..r' harhajteg£ weekly
(r
Adjectives and Adverbs are usually identical in form:
bad(ly) -½ bad ; good/well '-:' ~ khub ; better ~ be!J,tar ; ru
· but certain adverbs, usually of Manner or Time, borrowed
from Arabic, keep their Arabic form ending in the curious
r
orthography or " -an.
This is not a Persian letter ; it is an Arabic double
letter, and all we need to know about it is that it is
pronounced -an, short a even if there is an I alef there.
Learn these essential ones, derived from adjectives:
J) avval first \ 13 1 avvalan firstly
J_,...... ma' amul£ general ~':JJ...,.. ma' amulan generally
~\... sabegh former "~1_.., sabeghan formerly
 LESSON TWENTY-SEVEN 209
J::.. mesl-e similar to \I!:.. masalan for example
J...;fe'l fact \w fe' Zan in fact
J.,., I asl origin ")1..,.,1 aslan actually
&-y,a> khosusi special "L,y,a> khosusan specially
Persian abstract nouns in • -e and u , -at come from
~rabic nouns ending in :; (• dotted and pronounced -at).
[n some cases the Persians have dropped the dots • and
>ronounce O -e :
Arabic W.) daf' at a time, Persian .,.,;.) daj' e
,nd in others they have kept the pronunciation -at and
e-spelled with .:., :
Arabic ii_;-li nodrat rarity, Persian u_;-li nodrat
The original Arabic forms also make adverbs as above :
"..,.;.) daj'atan suddenly ":;_;.,(j nodratan rarely
Remember to keep the -an short in all these adverbs.
The adverb for at last,!jnally is the Arabic •.r:14 belakhere
nedial I alef short here):
Compound Nouns and Adjectives are often formed by
inning together a noun +
a Present Stem :
~ khosh pleasant } P..:,r khoshgu sweet-tongued, full of
,,,f gu say sweet speech
bad } --
y
i.;., gu
bad
, say
J':i'.;., badgu evil-mouthed, slanderous
·
.r' sar head } _;4f'"' sarbdz soldie~ (one who risks his
_;4 bdz game head, his life)
dT ash stew }
~T ashpaz cook
_;; paz cook
f'"' sar head } J:S'.r' sarkash obstinate, stubborn, head-
;S" kash pull strong (used especially of horses)
210 MODERN PERSIAN 'I' I•

il.w pe£ghdm message}

·• b pl.w peighdmbar prophet
J. ar carry · ··•
Jl; ghat£ carpet} . . • , , ,
• . r. , h II ..,:;..i.J.i.,,Jl; ghaliforush carpet-seller
,.Y.J.J' ;OYUS se
~ shal:Jr city } ).:,.J~ shaf:Jrddr municipality
).:, ddr possess <.S).:,.J~ shaf:Jrddr£ civic
.:il.!..i.:, danddn tooth}
., , k jl....i\.J..i.:, danddnsdz dentist
.Jc,.., saz ma e
&.J rang colour} --
.. t .k .:ifa.J rangzan painter (of houses, etc.)
u_; zan s n e
J 6.:.,;.. ~lS' kdghaz-e-khoshk-kon
6.:.,;.. khoshk dry}
J kon do blotting-paper
6" L, pak clean }
: , ·t ..r.!_,:S"L, paknev£s fair copy
<.r!.Y nevis wn e • •

Nouns of agent are formed by adding the suffix __;5' -kar,

.Jr -gar, .)lS" -kdr, or .)lf -gdr :
.J.J.:> derou harvest: f..i.J.:> derougar harvester
u-"T dhan iron : pT dhangar ironmonger,' blacksmith
.JlS' kdr work: f.JlS' kdrgar worker, workman
~..,..T dmukhtan to teach: .Jlf..i..,..T amuzegar primary teacher
The prefix __,, ham- (cognate with Latin " cum") gives
us the additional meaning " together " :
.JlS' kdr work : .:i.:._; <.S.Jl.SJ> hamkdr1 k. co-operate.
"-1.L.., saye shade, shadow: ...,_w
hamsdye neighbour (i.e.
one who shares the same shade).
~ chon£n like this : ~ hamchon1n just like this,
likewise, also, as well (as).
__,, ham- is also used as an intensifying prefix in :
0!' ham1n this very one, the same
n, LESSON TWENTY-SEVEN 211
.:,t..,> haman that very one, the same
~ haminja just here
l.,fl..,> hamanja just there
Its meaning as a word is (i) emphatic, as above :
-1:,ilc, -½.4 r-"µ J.., i -'J'.:" r-" <)"
manham mfram vati shomaham bayad bemunid
I'm going, but you've got to stay
~;s-
r-" .r.,1 ~il-lS'" _;ts'" 4:;- 4 J_,.c...,., .r.,1 jl
az in sandugh-e-kob,ne che kar konam ? kodam ? inham
What am I to do with this old box ? Which one ? This one.
(ii) already :
They had already left. ham rafte budand .Li~ ci_; r-"
[iii) also :
I'm going too. man ham m£ravam i-' J'.:" r-" <J"
All. There are v<3-rious ways of translating all into
Persian:
(i) meaning " everything " : ):;,;- .._;, hame ch£z or ,_µ,
hamash.
(ii) meaning " the whole of " : rlc" tamam-l-.
(iii) meaning " all " in the plural : v hame-ye-.
(iv) meaning " each " in the singular : ..r" har or 4-J> hame
(with no ezaje).
Examples of these :
(i) He forgot everything
~_; _;_,..[_.; ):;,;- 4-J>
hame ch£z f aramush kard
(ii) The whole world loves peace
~_;1~ .:.,....._,~2"' v~
rli
tamam-e-donya solb, dust darad
212 MODERN PERSIAN

(iii) All the boys were sorry to see you go

~4 ci.J ..G~i ....:.....l:.. .:i~ V
hame-ye-pesaran mota' assef budand rafte bashfd
(iv) Each of these workmen complained
::>_? .:.,,,l52:. .:iL,f.JlS' ~:'.I _jl (Si..r>) 4.J>
hame (har yekf) az fn kargeran shekayat kard
Time-continued. Time after the half hour is given by
using ~ be " to " followed by the next hour, as in English :
1.45 3 ::, ~ (!_.J 6-;. yek rob' be do
3.52 .)~ ~ ~::, .:;.,..!.J, hasht daghtghe be chahar
Or else we can use the phrase.;:.;;,£' ... _jl az . .. gozashte
" past ... " with the last hour, as in English :
4.50 a_::,.::,£' .J~ JI "-;,J::, o ~ panjab, daghfghi az chahar
gozashte
This construction is used equally often for time before the (i
half hour:
6.07 .;:.;;,£' ,_;:,.:;. _jl ~::, ..:...» haft daghfghe az shesh gozashte
8.15 .;:.;;,lS" ..:,,.!.J, _jl ..::.&l,... (!_.J rob' sa' at az hasht gozashte
tl
Arabic Plurals. We do not propose to spend long la
describing the complications of Arabic plurals which occur
in Persian. As we have said before, it is always acceptable
to suffix a Persian plural in Lo.- -ha or .:ii- -an to an Arabic
us
word borrowed into Persian. Here, briefly, are some of
PE
the commonest Arabic plural forms used in Persian :
(i) u 1- -at (after -e, u~- -jat) :
O

cl!.,,,,- heivan animal u L; !.,,,,- heivanat

~=-- mfve fruit u~~ mfvejat
COJ

,.,,l,;_j_;_J ruzname newspaper .:..,~,.,,l,;_j_;.) ruznamejat

.:.,~:,I ~~I:, daneshkade-ye-adabfyat Faculty of Letters Th
 LESSON TWENTY-SEVEN 213

(ii) medial -1- -d- (sometimes also an initial I short a) :

.;.;_, vaght time .:...l.i_,I oughat
,.j), taraf direction ,.j~I atrdf
~masjed mosque ~L. masdjed
J;. manzel house J_jl.:.. mandzel
~ shakhs fellow <..!""WI ashkhds
_),..:. khatar danger .; lk>-1 akhtdr
~ sabab cause, yl;..-1 asbab, which
reason means " luggage "
iii) medial -_,- -u- :
,.jJ; zarf pot, bowl ,.j_,J; zoruj
,.jr harj letter ,.j_,..,... horuf
J--.,.;fasl season
)
J__,..,...; fosul
v) ,.:r..- -£n :
.)L. mosdfer traveller ~_;L. mosdfer£n
Orthographic Signs. We learned, as long ago as Lesson 11,
Le last of the letters used to write Persian. We have also,
ter in the book, met the sign ! hamze :
..\Jh m£gu'£d you say dnhd'£ke .s:::Jt;T those who
There are a few other signs, none of them in common
e ; you should always rely on reading and writing
:rsian without their help.
First, three short vowels. They are:
(i) _ e or e, called kasre. It is placed just below the
1sonant it follows :
J=:.- mesl similar u::"" senn age
e only time you are likely to see it used is to mark an
214 MODERN PERSIAN

izafi after a final consonant (the e we marked with an

* asterisk in the texts earlier in this book) :
.Ll J!.-. mesl-e-sha!J like an emperor
e.)
~ cf.\ - j J;. manzel-e-bozorg-e-£n shakhs
- this. -fellow's big house
Even so, it is rarely used.
(ii) (This and the signs following are even more rarely
used.)
- short a, called fatb,e and written just over the con-
sonant it follows :
~;.. mard man ,;. man I c/j zan woman
(iii) • o, called zamme, and written just over the con-
sonant which it follows :
__,; por full J:5' koll chief J; pol bridge
(iv) · or • called sokun, or jazm. It shows that the
consonant over which it is written has no vowel pro-
nounced after it, but runs straight into the next consonant:
:;..::s- kashU boat ~".r mard man
(v) • called tashd£d. It shows that the consonant over
which it is placed is doubled in pronunciation. It is not
important to write the· tashd£d, but it is most important
to pronounce the consonant doubled, as in Italian :
(..\ am-ma but ~ ban-na carpenter
.J~ naj-jar carpenter
.
. '.J "
u.J
I. Form adjectives from :
)~~.,. JG .. r ~
.;_;,.J,r ~ .J..W: .)l
 LESSON TWENTY-SEVEN 215

II. Give the Persian for:

1. bi-weekly 6. in fact
2. monthly 7. worker
3. former, formerly 8. slanderous
4. finally 9. a fruit-seller
5. for example 10. a greengrocer

III.
1. This man is both rich and happy.
2. The Prophet teaches us to love God.§
3. They travelled in the same bus as I.
4. Persia is a land full of beautiful buildings.
5. Now that you cad speak Persian, you must visit
Iran and read as much as (.J-li "-;- .r harclzeghadr)
you can-newspapers, books, anything ( = every-
thing).
§ God-Arabic <lJ1 alla!J, Persian 1..,,;.. khoda. The Persian is
more common in everyday speech.

:V. Give the two plural forms for ea,ch of these important
words. They are not all Arabic words :
J_j;.o f ~ I' -1::-o '
.,.t..; jJ.) t
.j_); V

V. These are Arabic plurals of words familiar to you.

Give (a) the singular, (b) the meaning, singular and
plural, of:
k.,,:.I I) y~I J_,_; f <.Ji._)L. r .;:,t.;.JI l
216 MODERN PERSIAN

VI. Write in the signs kasre, Jat°!Je, zamme, ana.

• tashdM:
.::.... I r..S~ <.SY:;" ._,..,1.;:;T L--'11, 1
f .::.....1 •-½,,-,_; _j__,.JAI 4-ol.i _j__,..) r
~fa. .J ~!,~ ~ <.S")_; 0 4j -1:jb~· !r;- 1'"'1'-4c· I'
.::.....1 r-i--- .., 6".Jj_ 1.5l.o,0..)LP jl .J; 0½-.i,..I .J-r-! t

KEY TO EXERCISES

LESSON 1
II. (a) 0Li 0T (b) ._,..,T 0T (c) ~ 0T (d) 0Li 4 (e) ._,..,T l,
V. (a) That carpenter with that water.
(b) That water with that bread.
(c) with the carpenter.
(d) water with bread.

LESSON 2

II. (a) J-ili (b) 0W.Li (c) 0Li 4 .;T (d) J..i....
V. (a) his stew. (c) water, his water.
(b) their bread. (d) water with his bread.

LESSON 3

II. (a) ._;..::, (b) ._;..Li (c) 01.!L;; (d) 0l.!Jli (e) (L;; (f) 0LcT
V. (a) The carpenter came with that water.
(b) my age, his age, our age, their age.
(c) my water, his water, our water.
(d) his name, their name.
(e) my dinner, his dinner, our dinner, their dinner.
nv KEY TO EXERCISES 217
LESSON 4

II. (a) r.lz. (b) ~L:,.

V. (a) I am coming to that water.
_(b) He is coming to this water.
(c) water with this stew.
(d) This carpenter is coming, that carpenter came.

LESSON 5

II. (a) .;....,I .::.f' (~ (b) .;.... I -½ .:.il.i ..:,,,.1

(c) ~ Jl..,:_I .::._, . .:.iT (d) ~ yT
III. (a) I have a horse. (c) This horse isn't Iranian.
(b) I saw a horse. (d) That is a door.
(e) This bread is bad.
(/) I am coming with you a§ far as the door.
(g) The water is cold.

LESSON 6

II. (a) .;....,I .::.j.::. .::....,~ cr..1 (b) i..i..T r'.J.::. '-:"""I 4
(c) i~.::. .::._, . .:.iT <>.J.J (d) .::..~j Jl..,:_1 .::.. .,~ ..:,,,,1 <J_j

(e) r.l::-- .:.ii.,:. 4

III. (a) I have some cold water.
(b) That horse isn't bad.
(c) Why did he come ?
(d) This horse's name is Rustam.
(e) This man's friend came.

LESSON 7

II. (a) i~.::. ...,-r-:, .).::. I_-:: jl ...., y, (b) .;....,I ~ .;.....,.::, .).::. .J.::,.
(c) ~ yT .:r- 4 .).::. (d) .::.).::. yT 4 y,
H
218 MODERN PERSIAN
J
III. (a) On the left hand is my mother and on the right ·
hand is my father.
(b) I am giving you everything.
(c) Our brother comes to town every month.
LESSON 8
II. (a) ~('""'-½-- <l-:;-.J4 .:,.- (b) ('""'-½-- .,;.., cJLi ..,4
(c) ..I./.~ ~ ~ .J.;.~ .J~ ..,1 (d) ~)~ .J\5' J__, ..; ~ ~)~ J.x ..,1
III. (a) He came to work.
(b) This flower is in the water.
(c) Everyone comes to town on horseback.
(d) I have no money.
LESSON 9
II. (a) {.~ yy .:,.- (b) ..:....-1 -½ ~ 0T
(c) ~~)~ ..:....-~ .J~ ~ <I-:;- ..,I (d) ~ i_J' yT
III. (a) I have a request. (c) This man is very good.
(b) Tomorrow is Friday. (d) This is a good place.
(e) The sum of three and four is seven.
LESSON 10
II. 1. ..:....-l,;i J.x
2. ~)~ ~r yT 1.; ..,~ .., ~)~ i .Jf' yT 4 1.; e..-
3. i~b .,;.., cJLi ..,4
4. ~)~ cJLi \j e.- ..:....-~ .)~
III. 1. Six and four are ten. 3. Everybody came.
2. I have three flowers. 4. He wanted warm water.
LESSON 11
II. (a) .., .) ..i .J ~ ~ I (b) z: J; ~ ~ s: i f ..:.,
t:.b h:c. (c) (i) er (ii) j (iii) ..:..,
(iv) • i. (d) I (e) consonant. (/) =
 KEY TO EXERCISES 219

III. 1. ..i...T ~ r'-':i 2. (.~ µ jl J:i &-

3. :.r::;- ci_--:f> f i:ib ..J;-:;- "-':;- ..,4 &- 4. :i):i -,,T.., .:iu
VI. 1. I gave you these three loaves of bread and that
water.
2. I have none other than this (nothing but this).
3. A friend came from Tehran.
4. In this town the water isn't good OR there is no
good water.
5. He will come to the bridge with some money
tomorrow.

LESSON 12
II. 1. -½.:ii:, .:iu :i..1A ~ µ 2: r.~:i .;~I 4 .::-,. ,_,:, 6:.,...1~ .J:, l..
3. .:;j..f yT.., .:iu ..,1 4. ..u:i.Jy- \,,S--4 .:iu 0~1
5. i:il:i Y::;- ..1"' ..,4
V. 1. I saw a horse in town.
2. We ate fish with water and bread and butter.
3. That man got three horses in town.
4. They ate and drank that water and bread.
5. The carpenter took some money.
6. We saw a horse.
7. I gave some money to the man.
8. This horse drank some water.
9. I saw everything in Tehran.
10. They saw two people.

LESSON 12a
.
I. 1. ;;..: r- ;:;__t ~.) {'?.J
2. 0..t ¼
. '..}) -1.?.J -1.?.J
 y

220 MODERN PERSIAN rr• I

3.{ ci.J'
ci.J'
.ti.J'
ci.J'
ci_;
ci_;
.ti_;
ci_;
II. 1. i..l.T ..r f...l.T L. i~ u-4 {.~ l.. (-~)
2. --½...l.Tµ -½..A..T µ --½.-:,, µ --½.-:,, µ
.A..T ..,1 ..u..l.T cJ~I
3.{ .w 0T .w t,.:T
~ ..,1
~ .:ii
-li~ cJ~I
-:,, L;T
V.
..w --':.~ <.Y'J:YI .., -:,, i _;f J.:,;. 01,.; _;~ l,.,, -?.J --':.~ fl-½ ..r jn_~
·i~.JJ> it; . .., ?.) J.:,:...:_ u-4 ~
LESSON 13
I. 1. ~1..u J..,; <r. i .J"';
2. ~1..u G JY. .:re.
3. ,::,j_j ~ ~~ i_;~l...i: j_,.J'_~
4. r~1..u ~ ~~ ..,4
5. ~1..u ~ ~ i J-"¥'; i_;~l..
6. .A..½,j fl-½ .;...;.., ~~ J,;>-~
7. ,::,j_j ~ ~
8. .A..T --':.~ _;;-½ J,_;-l; j_,-"..~
9. -1,.l,,..i ~..,J .;...;.., ~~ <.Y'Y.YI 0T
10. (.-½.~ <.Y'--''--''I L. -i--½.~ G<.Y'Y.YI
II. 1. I gave him nothing.
2. Did you come by bus ?
3. The weather wasn't very warm.
4. I have never been in this town.
5. He went to Iran.
6. I saw nobody in town.
7. You didn't eat dinner.
8. I never took his money.
 KEY TO EXERCISES 221
9. His daughter and his brother were in town
yesterday.
10. They didn't see this thing anywhere.
IV. 1. ?fa 0-- ~fa I.. i~_;~ 0-- ('.?.JJ;: I..
2. ~fa P ~fa P -½_~_;..,.:: l_; -½.~_;~ µ
3 ·{. cifa ..,I ti fa 0~1 ~_;..,.:: _,I -Li~_;~Z.,~I
.;..;fa .:,T .;..;fa t;T ~_;~ .:iT ~_;~ t;T ,,:
I ,I
V. 1. . il.C ~ 2. .::.;.., ~ 3. l:- ~
. 4. ~ ~-:-" 5. ~
LESSON 13a
IV. 1. f ..L.l:-i crS' ~ .3..,--:.~
2. ci_; 4:T f ci_; ~ . ci_; ~ j-½.~
3. ~t; 4 .., <Y.>!YI 4 :ti_; _;_,k.:;I f tiJ\J;c_ _;_,b;-
4. f-½_-:,! 4:T µ ·i~:J 0!,.; _;~ .::.;.., ~ '.r
5. f ~. 0T 4. ~ er.I f ~. f µ <Y.>!YI il.C
6 . .::.;_,~ 4:T 0-- ·i½-Li .::.;..,~ ;;~ _;~ L ~ 0-1.I 0--
-1.J-Li ~
i. < -
7. -:,! 0!,.; _;~ .::.;.., .:,T _;~ .}_;~I--: f-:,! ~ .::.;.., .:,T _;~ .}_;~I..,_

LESSON 14

I. - W - ~4 - ~_;~ - Y::.. - 0lf-L0; - (~J) 0Uj

- ½--'.>!YI - L,,,4~ - 04_ L;T - ½-:l:S' - u;_. (JJl:...) - L..~1-L.
- Lo.4,.}' .:,T - ~ er.I - ½-.. . I - L..4,_;f - ½b. - t_;~L.
. t;T - ~I
II. 1. -Li..L.T ~I .:,4t;T er.I 2. f ~_,.; L.. ..... l.i p
~..,j .:,l::..,_,-½ L,,,.,_.Li .'.J~I .~_,:J L,,,.,_.l_i I.. 4j
3. -Li~b 0L~ ½-:l:S' 4. -Li~~ .:,~·L~I--: (J.3L:...) Li);._;~
5. ~_,.; L.. ..... u ~-.., ti_; 0G~ z.,~·l::..-..,~
6. (-Li-)-:,! -½ J:,,:- ~ er.I 7. ~..,;-½ J:,,:- L....r;
 222 MODERN PERSIAN rn
8. -:.,; Ll,:.._p 01..t_LiA .):,
9. -:.,; 4..? J.:.:.. u;. .-:.,; 6'.Jj_ J.:,:- ~4
10. •-:Ji -½ J.:.:.. L,,.., \.j (f. I s>Li,6:-
(...li ¥ 1;1.,,, ... 1.; .,._; f-½_..lil,,:.. i;L;,:Tl..! -r...li!J..i
III. 1. .L;,_1 fl; L,,..,L; ii.JS' f-1,>...lil,,:.. I; L,,..,\.j \...!
2. -:.,~ 6'.Jj_ J.:,:- r.Li:l::5"
3. :,-". _;;,..\; :,I..L. .J ~lS' ;; )
4. ~ J,.1 f ..,L; ii.JS' .;.:,__,j ..,I.; ~ - J.JJ_:,
5. f <Jfl.. 4 4. <.f"Y.YI 4 ..li..L.1' .JJ~ . ..li..L.T .;:_:, L,,,~ J..I
6. -:.,i 4 _.? t.; T J.J -:.,i .5.) j_ 1.,,,J_;. er.. I
7 . i"':-:, I; 0lf ..li..:; t.;:,:...J:, .):,
8. ..li~ I; .&,, 0T i:,-½ ->1.,,,..,....~ J..1
9. ~ .b:- &:.;_ 6'.Jj_ :,I..L. ~ 4
10. ( ti.J) ..::..,.) 0li-4 p L. s;_f .J JS.,,,
VI. 1. -:.,i 2. ( ..li-) ..L.T 3. ..::,..;.) 4. .:.,..::,_,.:.;
5. 6. ti.J 7. ~ 8. ~..,j

9. 10 . ..L.T \..li..L.T
VII. 1. e. 2. ye. 3. e. 4. e. 5. ye.
VIII. 1. unwritten. 2. ->- 3. unwritten.
4. ->- 5. unwritten.

LESSON 14a
III. 1. ..li-:.,i 3. -:Ji 4. f ..li-:.,; 5. -:.,;
IV. 1. ~ _;;;:, .J:, :,.JJ u-- \:,_}
2. rl:, J;. .):, 1.;T .J:, J.J.;:_:,
3. f~\:, 1...!-rl..li I; J.J-; u-4
4. :,):, 4l;.;_,;, ~r 1.,,,~~ _:,):,.):,~ .J ~.J~..:;u.1(f.1
5. i-½...li ta:- ~--:"> I; L;,:T f .:...-1.;S -~ (.L,,yl::5" L;,_1
 KEY TO EXERCISES 223

V. 1. ~ ("'.J:, :,_,. . cr..1

3. ~~l~_;J.,>-.)-o
4. ~~ yT 5. ~ Jl--"..I

LESSON 15

I. 1. Jl:_; 2. JliT 3. J_;_; 4. .J>lf 5. ~

6. <.S"' l:S' 7. ~_;:, 8. ~I"';§ or½-§ 9. ~~
10. ~:,_,... 11. ~ or ~I.';', 12. J..c....,

II. 1. ..:....::b <.S"'l:S' _:.....:, _;:, -i~:, j_;y_:, L:,J~ .:,T

2. , .:....I-"..:, ½-'JU'! .J>tf - i~..G ~ .1...T J.:, i..r'JU'I ii.()
.:,_;j .J>lf
3. J..T J~. Jl.iT j_;_rl
4. ?fa_; i~JJ ~ e--:-" LoT..; f0}" ~~~ jl µ
5. .:....I _h:, ~ ~ J;_;:,I.J'. f ~ cr..1 "
V. 1. Is there anybody else in this house? No sir, there
is nobody else.
2. Why does this man have no friends ? This man is
a bad man and nobody is his friend.
3. I went nowhere else from the office yesterday.
4. Why didn't you go home ? I hadn't any time.
5. Have you got a good book? What book? I haven't
got any book.

LESSON 15a

I. 1. ¥ 2. .
0l.!..,-
.
0

D :,>- 3. ¥ 4. ¥ 5. ¥
II. 1. ..:....::..if J:¥ t._4 jl 2. ?,..if cfa4 _;I I

3. ?,..if i¥ t.4 jl 4. ..:....::..if ~4 jl I

5. ..:....::..if cfa4 jl I

I
I I
 1'
224 MODERN PERSIAN I
LESSON 16
I. 1. .;..,..,I 01_,_I ,J.. * 6J4 * JL. ~ * 8.;j_ * ..::..,_;l.r .:,:I
2. ~ .:.,l,.J -s-.;Li * 04j
3.
4.
5.
6. .::.....o. ~ 4j * -st... .:if L. 0 I,.; * J-r-! * u.l::~ * -s t_...:., 4 l:>- .) ~
7 . .;...-,I _;tfjyT .:,:I* _;~I_,_* JL. f .::.-.4' * JL. '"="',..,I ,y,_I
8. .;...-,I yy- ~ <..Y'~ .J ,s-';-).f ~
9. t-½.~ .::..,;...)~ .)~ 8_; j_ ~.JJ.;:, 6:,.
10.
III. 1. S,. .:.iT f il..\S"' f .::.-.4' JL. .:,fl. .:.,T
2 . .;...-,I &_; .;:_..i.J .:,fl. .:.,T
3. .;...-,I 8.;j_ _s~ _.;...-,I 0l.;:I ~4 .:ii_;
4. .::.....0. ~4..i 4
§ _sl..>o~ J_; ~ 8_; ). _sl..>J-r-! ~4..i .:.,l_,_I _;~
5. (.-½.~ ~_jj Jls -s:r:;- ..:...!.i.f 0li,.i...,,I _sL>04l:>- jl .:,fl. 0_y;-

IV.
Apposition Noun+ Adjective Possession

*0->- * u_;l.r .:,:I r *~I r

_}y' .:.~ ·8_; j_ t;T .:,:I
* __,.,I r * _sli,;.L,.,;- t
.;...-,I~ .:,f L. ,y,_ I
~._;w /)

LESSON 16a
I. 1. ii <I:..> 2. f~..,=-::-,
3. ~"'/..J..!;4 4. JJI_,;...;
n'i) KEY TO EXERCISES 225

5. r-1w.
r 6 . ..U.J-1;°
7. ..li..W 8. f ~ S
9. f~.J~ "";- 10. -½,J>-½:,o
II. 1. i .J -I;° 2. .,.__.
{.""··
3. f~.J~ s 4. ..U.J..,;.::-6
.wl.
5. -l-J.
•.>-::-- 6. -~ 7. ~
8. ~_., -I;° 9. .A:.JI.!.J;..._.
" 10. ~~
III. 1. i~ (..~ F r-~'::+.-'
2. -½.~ -½.~ ~ ~
~J'_~ ..li~ 4.::-- ~
3;{
~~ ~~ ~ ~

IV. 1. ii o_jl, 2. ..li""4 " .

3. (,'. ..L,jl,.S
4. ..t;_;T .)~ 5. r..l ~
V. 1. .i.;.; ½::-6 2. ~_., -I;° 3. r--'~ 4. ~.)~ 5. ..li!,~·
\
LESSON 17
I. 1. .:;_;, cl~ .f.>../. .J ~.)lS"' ~- y ~ .f.>../. ~ <.>J.!
2. f..::.,...I ~.f.>../.~;"";-
3. (.>_,; _} .::..-,,, t4
~ J.;A cl_J~ ,.::..-,,, .)li ..... J.:,;A u-/.1 _)~
..::.,...[$ t4
4. ·i.ys- 0_.,~ L clT J_., ~ .)~ .)~ ~ f-½.-½.~ .)~ .)~ L ..1¥ µ
5. f-½.~ "";- _j_.,.J .J" I_;, ).,,,U <->I--".
6. cl~<.>_,; _jl <.>~ cll::...$jl .)~ f-½..J.>¥. ~ JL::.;;IJ 4 µ
(...!.>¥. cll,J <->-'' _jl L clT cllJ_I .)~ J_., ..u.J.>¥.
7. f~~I .J~ ~ S
8. r-½.~ cr.J-t; 4 r¥ . ::.,. ._.,~ _j_.,J_~
9. f.:,$' I_;,<->-'~ L y,,I
10. a cl_.,~ J¥ cl\::...._.,..t; ...;
11. ,:;_)> ~4._j ~lsl J~ u-/.1 J.,:-1~
12 . ..:.,...I (:'.~ u)A.-> ~~; _.,I J~
 r
226 MODERN PERSIAN I
13. yy-- U _; .J.:4 J..c..,., _jl ~.;....I ..::.,.J~ "'; _jl _;I ~l;I
I
14. .;....I 6-i.::.:j (er <..><) er 0J.1;...9I
~ J...9 ::....9J:4 .J~
15 . .;....I ~~ Y.J::, ..:....!.; "--4 ~.;....I ~~ Y.J::, .!>./_::.j lS.J~
16. ?.) ~ ._jfa.) ._j~ (
17 . ..;:..;I::. yl::.S'" ~ .;....,::, .J::, .~; ~ 6;4 J>-1::. j.J::,I.J'.
18. j )..G .-}S' -:;.;__,~ f ' lS.J.J
19. ~..;:..;If t~
J _ _j ~~ 6-i.::.;-.J!,,,.::. 0T lS.J.J G._;..; S
20. ~l..iS" ~,,:. J__,? 01 .;:._j _; r-;:;)-- Jt; lS.J.J _jl ~:;;-JU I..
21. .;.....µ lSI.J'. 6'.Jj_ yl,,,:. .::2 y,_I .J ..::... .... µ JU,I y,_I .
II. 2. Jt1I * l>--'' ye. 3. 0-_j * ..i:._j ) e. 4. t..,,~ c:r..' * 0L: • .)::, e.
6. o..il,;I * 0...9.I; e. 7. Y.J::, * ..:....!.;) e. 8. 0!_; * ._jfa. e.

LESSON 17a
II. 1. .::.j__.J:4 0~ lSJ' .J ::..J.:4~· 6..t:. _; ...,.,T ::..) T
.::.~ _;.;T lS.J.J Gc:r..l
2. ~, .... .)::, 6-i.::.;
3. ::,_j..J--+.' YY- cfaT
4. ~ ~ . J h G 0T ~ ~ . "'; µ
5. ::._j__,.~ (S".Jt.; 04_j er~ ·r~
G: ._.,. 0T
6. rbJ? G 0T j ¥ ~..:.,;.I.(;! 0...9..1:: G~~ y,_I ~
7. ::.):_...9~ .J!,;.::. lS.J.J G..;..;
8. ~..::,..,,:....9_.,.; G.}¥ ~1.. S
III. 1. ~_j\::,_.,.~ 2. ::,_j__,-:\-' 3. r-~· 4. ;~, ....
5. ::,~ 6. ..G_jl..i.:,,.. 7. ..G.)...9~ 8. tf.Jh

LESSON 18
I. 1. ~-h 0~1 2. ~-½.~ s 3. r!l-'-::-
4. ~~ 5. ~,01..A, 6. ~h
7.
~ w· 8. ~h/ 9. ~l.._jTj
 nv KEY TO EXERCISES 227

III. 1. f ..tJL°J-4::-' 2. ..\:.,.½:"·

4 . r-'L. 5. ..tJh
LESSON 18a
I. (a) f = I' X 1' (b) \•=rX,+fYr (c) i" .J rv rt
II. (a) ~ (b) J.il (c) 1_i:, (d) iY''
. III. 1. L; \ \J 2. L; 3. _,...; 4. _,...; 5. L;

LESSON 19

I. 1. j.J.J'. ,2. (. Li. 3. '½-'~ 4. ~

5. -½.J~ 6. r..)
_,;,i 7. ~fa. 8. ~
9. r.JI:,_,.~ 10. :,.r.1
II. 1. r.iJ 3. -1::~.,.i 4. ~
5. J.J..fa 7. r.~~ 9. r._jl:,_,.i
III. 2. r,:l:; 6. (..JJ~ 8. -l.:.s:::i 10. :,~
IV. 1. f 1.iJ. 0.i~ 2. fr.~"':;"
3 . ..yl:, ~I 4. f :,.JJ, l.:,.S" _ii
5.~ 6. J.J..~ G...;JY.
7. :,~ GJ,¥ JY. 8. ~ 0,- 4 G.:,,.I
9. J.J...r.1 J..:, l_,11..:; ..,_:..I 10. f I jl:,_,.i ~
V. 1. 2. ;...r c?.
4. ~: ..?...J.J 5. :,_i _; ..?..Y
VI. 1. Why didn't you do it ? 3. Don't tell him.
2. I said to him. 4. It was on that.
5. Let him not go into the room.

LESSON 19a
II. 1. ~,}......,I£ {1-½:,c·
2. f j.J-';4 l.:,.S" £ d lJ
 I'
228 MODERN PERSIAN n'A !
3. -½..J.J'. -½l'~ J.i 4. i-½_.:io.:,_;.:,~,S'.::.,.Z~

.::-.-O) -s- r'-1.:,-c· J.,

I
5. -½l'A L 0 l::; L;_..:i .S- -½~~ J.!
III. 1. (a) I asked him "Why are you here? "
(b) I asked him why he was here/there.
2. (a) He commanded them " Come ".
(b) He commanded them to come.
3. (a) The man thought " This fellow is mad ".
(b) The man thought that the fellow was mad.
4. (a) He said " It is late ".
(b) He said that it was late.
5. (a) Today we learned "Some years ago Iran was
the centre of civilization ".
(b) Today we learned that some years ago Iran was
the centre of civilization.

LESSON 20
I. 1. ..(j\_,,,::. .J; f -l-U~ <Y_;t_; ..(jl.f:::.. _,I
2. ..u.l,;..:,-e· .._j f .:i_jyl::: L '-"'·' ..u.~ .,1
3. f J_i_:4 ¼'~ ~) µ
4. f.-'~ ._,.,T 0.,-½ r1:::,-e· ~.:i
5. f 4. L µ J_;.. .,1 ¼-l,;..:,-e. i_.,;-
6. -½.~ .r. L er.I ..:...-ii_,;:; ._yS" ~
7. f ¼'~ :Jl,.. ii.;
8. .:;.._j _!,;:; J., -½ J;<; -::...-l,,:-
9. .:i_;~ ..:-ii_,;:; .J;':'; ~ .J ~ u~.r J.:> jn_.:i
10. f r-H~ .:i_,_j f-½½~! Lt.. ~!.,,:- S µ
II. 1. ~ 2. f.-'~ 3. f J.)1-½
4. r--'~ ., rJ;<; 5. Po
 KEY TO EXERCISES 229
III. (a) 1. ~ ~I ..:.-!,.,,:- 2. i.)~ ~Ip yT ~
4. . . ·r!>)
• ·1 ..
~ 5. ·--~~\pyl::S"..:,,.I.J:.
(b) 3. ~-½,.ii-½ ..y,~ "-';

LESSON 20a

II. 1. :,J" .::S_;:- 2. -IS .::Sr 3. ~ f" ~ ,:r,

4. 6. r ·b. Iu i L:; 5. f~_J;. l.:-5' µ
III. 1. i~
4. ~~
IV. 1. ..:.-!,.,,:- ~ ,jo jl
2. ~ ~L.., .5' -½--'..t; ,jo jl
3. ~ J;. l:S .5' -½--'~ ._;jl
4. . J.,.1,¥ JJ{
5. ..:.-!,.,,:- :.l;_j .}¥ ~ <.SI_;;

LESSON 21

1. 1. .J_y, 4 . :, . Ai - .J_y, 4~ 2. uth-h

3. ~1:.-~I:, 4. _;s- - _;s-
<.)!.

5. <,J!.faJ.J - ;.:..:,J.)
II. 1. ~~ ..i.:.. .::.JJ:. ..:,,.~ :._r ~ ..:,,.1 .):.
2. ..L.::..J,
• -l:..::l J
:, ~ J.,;..
•• . J ..:.-I ..i.:.. .::.J:,
I~• ! J 1-
'.J,y-
3 . ..:.-I 4:o;-_ij J.li ~ J:,,:- i _,.., J,a.i jl r-":.jl;_ J,a.i
4. ~~ u!.M yl::S" i1.c
5 . ..l:..il..t,,.. ~ .:,t.;1,,:- jl i:,..r' ..J.:?
6. jJ_;; oL µ JI ;:.JJ r!f:::-.
,:r, I i

7. ~-Y>-½ ..:,,.1 JI _;j 0) S,. -l:-i!f:::-. ,y.

8. \..\,..,.J::' ~:, .):, ;:.Jj ~~ µ jl
~:,):, µ JL. jl ;:.Jj ~l.. t.,J
9. ~~ J-1:-...,, ..:,,.;.:..-L (<.SJ.J) .):. ..!.:? ..,__}' ~
 r
I
230 MODERN PERSIAN

LESSON 21a

I. 1. .Y.-½ .c
.:r. -½...1/•..r=- ~ l::S-
2. ci_; ..(jl.y' cr5" '(-!_-:I" .C Jl..:;
3 . .;...,I &::.i (...1/•..r=- .C Ji.,:.I c;_;ts:::),t.s-
4. .:..-,\.;I.:, .::....f' J.,I ~..:._.,...
5. .J.:.::...,b ,:r,- .J-1!, ..(jJ..T .C Jl.iT
II. 1. ~4_; 2 . .C JG:- 3. 4~l,.
4. ~.i.:.,., 5 . .,s:;t;T
III. 1. Give me the book you bought.
2. He went to a place which nobody knows.
3. The Iranian mosaic we bought is beautiful.
4. The man who said this is wise.
5. The gentleman who came is Hassan's father.
1. The language I am speaking is Persian.
2. The place he went to is Esfahan.
3. You didn't tell me the time when I can come.
4. I saw the chair which is broken.
5. The ones you saw are the best of the lot.
IV. 1. f .::.... l.:,S' .::.......0 L ~, ~..r-?
2. ~ 'c)~~ "'/.J.J;' JG:-_;"' .c
3. ~ .:._; J..(j_; :f'.r .C cs"'\.;;.:.l; <f..;-½ 0t.s-_;~ _;~ --':'I
4. J.;.::;;._,.) .;...,I 6:..:;j ~ µ .C ~ j 0T
5. ~ ; r'-'.:. ~ 0T ~,.:._.,...
LESSON 22

I. 1. f .;....,l.:,S' -½_.:._;S- l-1::; L J..I 0T c;_..,; .C ~l::5"

2 . .:.).:. &::.i J4 ~ J_;.. L.f T if ~J_;..
3. ~; ..i:.d_,.:, J:,;_ ~ 0.J...c" :J> 01.,:.1 ~..,
n"\ KEY TO EXERCISES 231
4. ~ ~ cJ....-,1 ~.J.);° 4:T 01.:i..r; ~I V_J..\..
~-liJyl:-, s;
.J r.s".J.J ,.sL;4J 4:T £ S-,.. 0T
5. .J~ .)~ J.JJ.~ ~5 ~ .):,_,,;.. 4-,\..i .)~ ._;jl .JI £ ~

6. ~ 0 ~ jl (.J.J~ I.. ,S' c,l

7. ~Jyl:-, Gi ..r; £ ..:...,I J1..;T JI.. ~ ~ JI.. J;, 0T
8. 0T 4. i~1~ 0\..t.i ~ £ S-,. 0T -½.)~ ..:....,.J~ ~ S-,.. ii.ls-'
~-½.~51¾ S-,..
9. r) _µ -li~ _)l) cr..1 4 ..:..--J .)..\.4jT £ Jli4 r)~ J.,.
10. _j_,J..~ I..£ ~ <.S~ £ J4:T ~)~ ,.s~.)~ ..;:,_,,;.. ,.s~ .)~
,S'

q
I
Ii
I,

~ ~I~ .).J _, r.~5 I¾

LESSON 22a
r. 1. r~ - r~.)~ J;. 2. ~ j-½.~ - ~.);°
3. ~ J_,1 4. f..li~j 6'.;j - -½.~.)__,;..,..
5. ..::j.) .J ..:j.)f

II. 1. f-½.)~ ..:....,.J~ Gt_4 ,.sj1 0~5 .)~ l-=,

2. ..:...,I 0L..T ~
3. ~~ .::..,.\J J.,,;.. J\..:ll:,,I 04j 0-lil,.>- jl
4 . ..\..,,.J:° ;J.~ ~L.. 6:,_ -½.½- j_.J:> JI £ r.s"Y.YI •..1..:..,J .I.. .)~
LESSON 23
II. 1. ~ _,,.:;:; J;. J~ yl.:.;,- 0_y;- (.~· J~ yl.:.;,- ,.s_,~ 1~_; ·~
.
..\.J, .) 1-li

2. f .i,,.~_; 0l.!.!,4 "'; 3. (.~ { ~ ·~ i~5 <.Y".r

4 . ..:,..t ~p 0~4 ·~ -li~.); J-<,!.,,;.. .J -li~.).JT ~_,,.:;:; liT cr..1
r-"-½ J~ yl.:.;,- Jl~
5. ~ f _,,.,.;~ ·~ ..l}l...).4::-- J.,. "'; J~ yl.:.;,- il.;. ,.sl--".
 r
232 MODERN PERSIAN rn
III. 1. .)~ (0!r.>- er.;..+') ~..;, jl 0~ o:.::,jj ~.)..,~ .)~ C _;,:,
~ 0~..J' u)L.. <->I.J'. !"+' .).AAjT ~l:.. -:,: 04L.::
2. -½..JJY. ~__;- ~ C J-1:...,.,,
3. f-½.~..J' u)L.. ~_,,s::,,.. ~ erjl _,I C ~.!:S' .)~ µ
4. jf°/a ~ .~~ cr._;G jl ~ JJ-½.f' jn_~ ~ er.I

LESSON 23a
I.

L.,.0j.., C ..:..,..,!.,;..,,.. J.,,:- ~ o~..J' e, .)j iLc" l;4 ~ 4..,

cr.1 jl -1.-; . ~ L 0T -w~ ~1 <.>1.J'. -1.!4 "~.)..,r er¥ 4 ~ ~ ..,
Llj.)~1.J'. J~. .1..T Y.r erfa. ~ o~.,S-fa ..::.;.., ~ cr.4 cL C
~ ~.1... (-:,: u=Jj .)~1.J'. r1 C) J..-a.o -~~ u0j_, \j' ~..,.J'. er¥
-~ L¥ .)j ci.) 0 L ~.., -1.,1,-1: L L.,.Lij..,.., ~..,4
-:,: o~..J' ilc" er¥ .)j L ) ~ ~ ..s:::,.1 jl -1.-; -1.-; ~l-, ~
C o~_!,jl.,,:.. (y.,> jl J..-a.o ~I~.., 4 .J-:l:,.-1 4 .::.,.,;.f'.1 J..-a.o J~
-:,; ciJf ~ jl L ~ ~I jl -1.-; • .:..,;;I~· ..:..,..,_,~ .L ..,1 ~ ~
i Jl..:; ..:..,..,\::S LlLl.Jj C -I}~ .r. ~ -1..u.J'. ~I jl chiii : d
.)j v -lil--:,, _;j ~ er.I .)~ 0~ -l}l,,., -1..:... .::,J_,~ J.,,:- <->~.r µ
f4 0l...::::,..,_,~ _, 0U.J~1.J'. ~ ~I 4 _, .;.....,I ol..;,~¼ JI... (.Jj iw·)
c1.~-1: LJL!j LJ\j'¥ .)j .:rc. µ ~1 0..,-1: r...,~ rl-1:-- ~ /a
II. 1. (a) f4 0.1..T (b) (.~
2. (a) -1.!4 O:.::,__,j (b) ~..,=-:
3. (a) -1.!4 oJ.,,.....) (b) . \. , ~:
4. (a) f.;4 o.l,.~ r- .
(b) '\._j
5. (a) ~4 o-:,.,) ojl:-1 (b) -1}\...J~ ~l:-1
Hf KEY TO EXERCISES 233

LESSON 24
I. Elevated Colloquial

1. anja mtravam unja miram

2. namUavanand nimUunand
3. zud m£ayad zud m£ad/m£ad
4. bashad baske
5. namManestam nim£dunestam
ii
6. nakonad nakone
7. eke m£gu'£d ? eke m£g£d?
8. bande bayad biravam bande bayad btram
9. nam£konand nlm£konand
10. karetan asan ast karetun asun e

II. 1. f ~ ($".Ju y~ r~
2. (""'!,;..,,.
3. )) )) )) -½.4
4. )) )) -½.Ll
5. II II ~4
• I.
6. )) II r~
7. )) II ;_j!f:.:,..
8. II ~Lt.
9. f4 °:.5' )) -½4
10. I) )) )) -1:Ll
III. 1. This man killed himself.
2. Do you speak Persian yourself ?
3. We must arrange it ourselves.
4. Perhaps they have gone themselves (he ... himself).
5. Don't deceive yourself.
234 MODERN PERSIAN

LESSON 24a

I. 1. But when he opened his teeth, so that he might get

the bone seen in the water, the bone fell into the
water and was lost-and instead of having got a
second bone, he lost the one he had.
II. 1. -½i.~ 2. -c::4
4. (-1:.5") ~ }i 5 . .!.; __/

LESSON 25
I. 1. ..:;..;I.:. r."Y- 2 . ..:;..;I.if ..u,y.
4. .:>.)} .J.:..o,l,>- ~? 5. ..::..i.) ..u,y.
II. 1. (>~ 2. ~.::,

4. !~ 5. (S.J .J'_ 6. (S.J.f

7. ! _;4 .:>_Jj 8. !~-

9. ~J..,~ "";" 10. d'!J;..._,..
III. Elevated Colloquial
1. bekon bokon
2. namztavdnam nimitunam
3. bigozarzm bogozarzm
4. btgu'zd bJgzd
5. naravzd narU
IV. 1 . .:._j' ~ .J.=:--.- .).:. (~") -½~
2. (..::.,,....1) -?A,_;~ 4J £ d -:,~· J.J .:,_j' ~ ~ Ll_½-
3. .:..J' L .)lS"" cr..l S d 0~·
4. d t.J.).:, ~~
5. ((O~)) d -½4 ~d (((.}")) (>~ -½,4 "';"
rn KEY TO EXERCISES 235
TEST PAPER-VERBS
A. 1. o:;};,~ 0 o-l.! t o.:._.f' I" ci4 I' ...:..,.!,>-
2. o.J.:..ij 0 o-lij_,.J f o..\:JJ I" "~-~ I' 0-li..9_; I
3. .:,_.f' J..o,.!,>- 0 ~) t :._;_)I I" -:,, I' ,.::...i.) I
4. 1 r.ho r-''ho• I i~l:-- (.~½· I'
2 ~ho ~ho . ..;::- L
..lJ" . .;::- L.
..l.,"

-½ho .J.:.,,i,:,,.. .:,~l:-, -u·.;::- L.

3{ -½.l-:,,.. .:,~l:-,
1 r~
.. -½ho
r-;_!..i......,
. . I" i_;I.:,
.:,~L:-,
r.).:, t
2 -I:,½~ ~ -½).:, -½.;I:.
~::-° ~ .:,).:, -li).:,
3{ ~ ~ .:,).:, :,_;I:,
1 i~ r.~ 0
2 -½.~ -½~
.:,~ -li~
3{ .:,~ .:,~

5. ~To ¼.ls/..:..;t; t ~-:,, S I" J..?; r i-½f"

6. (a) ii ~ O ii o.:._r-=, t ii o-li.!,> I" ii ci_}' I' ii o.:,_.f' \
(b) i-:,: o.:,_r-=, f i-:,: o-li .!,> I" i-:,: ci_}' I' i~ o.:,_.f'
i-:,: ~ 0
(c) f4 o.:,_;,._;. t f4 o-lil_,,;. r f 4 ci_;f r f 4 o.:._;S-:
f4 ~ 0 .
B. 1. i..1.,T 2. :._;.f. 3. -li.!,> 4. ~1.::.....-
5. -l.!4/.::.....l-d 6. ~r--:
1. ~-½...lo½j 8. f' ~
9. -l.! cl..9 ~ 10. ..\....;::-- -u/r./.:./-1:/i/~..,=-:
C. (a) d t_..9.;.:. (b) ~ t_..9.;.:, (c) -½~ t_..9.;.:.
(d) ~ b_;.:, (e) -½J~ b.;:.
1, e. 2, d. 3, b. 4, a. 5, c.
236 MODERN PERSIAN

D. 1. until I come ; so that I should come.

2. we shall see; we wish to see.
3. if he goes ; if he had gone.
4. I must say; one must say.
5. I may be mistaken; I may have been mistaken.
6. he lost ; he was lost.
7. I have seen ; I am seen.
8. don't ! ; that you may not do.
9. they couldn't come ; one couldn't come.
10. past, passed; put, placed.

LESSON 26
I. 1. 0~4 2. 04_;.:. 3. 0L;.-4 4. 0l::...J.f
5. <J~y 6. <W L;i l-i-, 7.• K.;;4 8 .• ~\.:,
9. <.>_;fi 10. J½-<-4 11. J J:JL 12. cf-::.-?
13. ..,~ / Y;".J ..:.-~ 14 . ..,f .J d/~
II. 1. connexion, -gi abstract.
2. university, -gdh place.
3. to do the painting, -i abstract of activity made into
a Compound Verb.
4. show, -esh abstract.
5. to be registered, -i abstract, Passive Compound
Verb.
III. 1. 0.:...,S- <.>_;fi 2. 0..1..'.; ~l.ii
3. J.,;,~ 0~1 ~ .0.:...,S-..,~ - ~
4. ..i;.J-1..T/.::...i_;.J-1..T .J4.J~ .0l~.... 4
5. 0\.::...,_xJ _4j~l::5" •• ~Le-
n-v KEY TO-EXERCISES 237

LESSON 26a

II. 1. ~ 2 .......... 3. .
~ .. 4. ~
5. ~.J::,

III. 1. _;::, ..::...,,L...

2. "-'J::, d .J ~ .J . _; ..::...,,l...,
3. (i.J .J ~ ..::...,,l...,
IV. 1. "-'J::, ~.J....., .::..,;,L...
2. "-'J::, .~ .J.)l~ ..::...,,l...,
3. ~ .J ~ ~L..,
4. d .J <.S" .J ~ .J .)I;,,, .1.. (041) 04T ~ J.J.J
5. ,_;.::, .J <.S" .J ~ .J .Ji;,,, o\.. <.S::, (...,, j_;.)

LESSON 27

I. 1. J. 2. c.i[r , 3. <.S)::,J;,-!, 4. <.S.JJ-Y": 5. <.S~.Jr

II. 1. ~_;::, 2. LS"'\.. 3. ~L... ,~l...
4. ~'i4 5. "*· 6. ")1..,..1 7. .J')S'
8._,f-½ 9 . .}_;.) ~ 10 . .}_;.) <.SY;-'"
III. 1. ..:.....1 JL,..~>- r"" .c... .;:.J_;::, r"" ::,.r er.I
2. Gl-1.,:. ::,J_,..L:,.) ::,J_,..L:,. l-1.,:. ~1::, ..:....._;::, Le. --':'l....:; '-'..r">'
(rf 4 .c,;I::, .::.,...,,_;::,
3. -li::,f u.)L. u-4 4 ._,..,Y._,.;I 0L> .J::,
4. ~ (>\..o,.:..,.)l.r _jl _;; ~.)J;S 01..,:.1
5. "-';.r> .J -½..J..1'. 0-½_::, G01..,:.1 -½.4 .i.;S' ~ <,S".J!.i -½ii_,::,,.. tS' 'it...
~ ./' ½:LS 1..o, ..... t.; J_;.) - -½ii_,::,,.. tS' -½-i¥. .)-li
IV. 1. lo,"':-- ~L. 2 . .:..,~ ~::-' lo,~::-' 3. J_jl.:... u.;.
4. .:..,~4.ol.i_j_;.) Lo, ..... L:j_;.) 5. yl:,...I ~ 6. <.l"'WI L ~
7. y); 0_;); 8. 0Gl,I y), 9. Yr 0_;r
V. 1. (a) ci_; (b) time, times.
2. (a) .)L. (b) traveller, travellers.
238 MODERN PERSIAN

3. (a) J-..,.; (b) chapter/season, chapters/seasons.

4. (~) ~ (b) cause/reason, luggage.
5. (a) ),..,:.. (b) danger, dangers.
VI. 1. .;....,T ~ <> Y::; yl::.T ,t.->D,
2. f .:... . T o-½,---__; -3.J..r"! L\J_j3_; r
3. ~.J:::1-.J -1:.j!_,½ ~ <5'_)~ _0 4J ~!.,~::..C' ~:';" I'":.;~ I"
4. .:.....,1 - ~ '.J D_;';i <..SL,,0~l-:"' ) _;:; .:.,~! _.J.;_;, t
VOCABULARIES

In the following Vocabularies, all numbers and most

proper names have been omitted, as they can be found
through the Index. The abbreviations mean : k. 0::.5
kardan (and forming a passive with 0-l!; shodan) ; b. 0~
budan; a .:.,_i.J amadan; d . .:;;::1::. dashtan; dd. <)::,\::, dadan;
ksh. 0.J..j:S' kasMdan-which are the verbs used to form
Compound Verbs from the words given, thus: "oj~I ejaze
permission dd." means that o_j~I ejaze means permission,
and that 0::.I::. oj~I ejaze dadan means to give permission,
to permit.

'-

J
J
 · llll

PERSIAN-ENGLISH
,./ ab water
. j !), I atrdf directions
!,... .J yT -o hava climate y t.::;T a/tab sun
<.S""!T -£ blue
0~_)T dfar£dan create
.faT atesh fire 0.il::;I oftadan fall
0.il::;I JU;-1 ettefagh oftadan tsT agha Mr., gentleman
happen )"I agar if
cr'Y._,j'I otobus bus
-.:)I albatte certainly
.;·lfl aJas£ye furniture ..::.,U::JI eltefat kindness
•Jl:-1 ejaze permission dd. L.I amma but
~rT rT akher, -£n last 0-1..T amadan come
'!.!I.ii edare office
J.J_.,,..I emruz today
.fa) artesh army
JL.I emsal this year
;uT drd flour
~ I emshab tonight
:iu) arzan cheap .:;;,;.__,..T amukhtan teach
jl az from, than, by
~T am£khtan mix
:,~JT azmudan test J.,:-,1 om£d hope
:, L.J asan easy .) ~J.,:., I -var -hopeful
.,......1 asb horse .:,Tan that, it
~½-'"I asbabluggage Lf I anja there
)1..,1 eslam Islam
.:;;,;.1-lil andakhtan throw
... I esm name
.)_,k;T antour like that
;Tash stew .).l.A.iT anghadr so (much)
~T-paz cook [;,'. T anha those, they
~I eshteba!J error k. .JI u he, she
....,I asl origin
0.i.).JT avardan bring
)1....,1 -an actually ..:.,ls.JI oughdt times
l11, otagh room J.J I avval first
239
 240 MODERN PERSIAN rt .
·:1.J1 -an firstly 0-½,-!.~ bakhsh£dan excuse
.:;.;.::. } av£khtan hang -½ bad bad
...::...,,,T aheste slowly c!J..\; bedun-e without
4 \ ahamm£yat importance ~.\ <JJ-\, -£nke unless
cr'T iihan iron _;.:.I.J'. bariidar brother
4T aya whether <->\..!'. barii-ye for
0.:.~\ £stiidan stand, stop .5ql <.>\.J'. -£nke so that, because
0 ~. I £shiin they .:;._.L,;.. .J'. bar khastan arise
-1. I £l tribe 0.:._i: bordan carry
cY., I £n this ....:,.J'. barf snow
~\ £nja here J .J'. bargh lightning,
o.J.:.;J ayande next electricity
_;y~I £nt6ur like this 8.;: barg leaf
_;J..i:,.1 £nghadr so (much) ~ .J'. bar gashtan return
Li M with t.J'. berenj rice, brass
.5ql 4 -£nke although <J..\;, .J'. bor£dan cut
.:.4 bad wind 8_; j_ bozorg big, great 0_)

0G4 bariin rain ~ bas enough

34 baz open k. ?. bastegt d. ba depend on
<->j4 baz£ game ~ bastan close, tie
,l5:.::4 bashgii!J, club _;~ besyiir very
~4 ba'es cause y ~ boshghiib plate
t_4 bagh garden i.l..., .I...; ba' ad , -an afterwards
~4 bajtan weave j\ .I...; -az after (preposition)
o_,.>- :14 belakhere lastly .5ql jl .1...; -az £nke after (con-
u~4 bahush intelligent junction) <.SZ

yiJ; j I .I...; -az zo!J,r afternoon Li,

-½. Li bayad must • J

<->4': bejii-ye instead of ~ ba' az£ some

~ bachche child ~ bagh£ye remainder
<.>.J~ bokhiir£ stove Jl, balad knowledgeable
H\ PERSIAN-ENGLISH 241
.t:..4 boland tall, -k. raise 0'½-,-4 pasban watchman
~ bale yes .!.S'\ pak clean
~ banna carpenter ~¼ pa-ye-takht capital
_;.C., bandar port (city)
,.c., bande (slave) I .'.i:!4 pa'tz Autumn
.,~ benazar a. appear ~4Pa'tn low
,~ bongab, society ~ pokhtan cook
~ bu smell k. .J-1; pedar father
!~/ budan be
.;,;.J'..-½ paztroftan receive
i be to (guests)
i: baha price J por full k.
'½: bahar Spring
~ beb,tar better
.
}.:.1.l..f pardakhtan pay
•.i_;;, parde curtain
~~ -tn best 0-½:--..I'., porstdan ask
,., M without •..u_;;, parande bird
4Y. Mahan desert 0~ _;;, parUan jump, fly
~ Mchare poor J.J.J'...J'., partruz day before
I-½:-! Mdar awake k. yesterday
, ~ Mrun-e outside ~ _;;, partshab night before
-k. throw out last
~ Mshtar more .x:,_, pezeshk doctor
~ -tn most ~pas then
-½ Mfab,m stupid ~post post
:..-_;hi Mmarestan hospital .r; pesar boy, son
bein-e between 1.i~ pasfarda day after
! Mn£ nose tomorrow
M foot ~ posht-e behind
.)4 padeshab, king i4 ~ -bam roof
,4 parche cloth r!; pashm wool
:i 4parsal last year J; pot bridge
242 MODERN PERSIAN

~ pambe cotton 0~; tars£dan fear

~~ panjere window J>-..:::S tashakkor k. thank
~ pan£r cheese ._j.:,L.; tasadof (road)
JY, pul money accident
c!~.J; pushfdan wear ~ ta' ajjob surprise, -k. be
<.>_J~ pahlu-ye at, " chez " surprised
~ pab,n wide k. ~ ta' am£r k. repair
o.:, ½; p£ade on foot ~ taghy£r k. alter
~p£ch screw &...:; tofang rifle
0 ~ p£ch£dan turn, wrap r...w taghd£m gift
I¾ peida k. find r.__,Z taghv£m calendar
-'.;; p£r-e old it;· tamam complete k.
~ p£sh-e before ~- tambr stamp
.:,l.,~ p£shnehad k. suggest ,y,__;· tamrin exercise k.
c ) ~ peimudan measure ~ tambal lazy
i¾ peigham message ~ tang tight
.J:A¾ -bar prophet t.; tanha alone
\,j" ta piece, until, so that __,; to thou
0~l:i tabestan Summer .:r-il,; tavanestan be able
c!-\,; l:," tab£dan twist, shine "":-__,; tavaJj"ob, attention k.
t\;l:i tar£kh history c)~j tufan storm
~_;l:i tar£k dark ;;4. .t!_,, tavallod birth yaftan
.;_;L:; tajtan v. 0--½,;G 01..y toman = 10 rials (is.)
o_jG taze new <.>.Jj tu-ye inside
~- ~ tabr£k congratulations .:,· tab, end, bottom
'-:-' I_,,:- ~ takht-e-khab bed ..,,_;is san£ye a second
~ tokhm seed ~ ja place
t.r ~ -e-morgh egg I~ J·oda separate k .
.::..~ .;: tarb£yat culture -½.~ jad£d new
"--'": _;: tarjomi translation k. j::- joz besides
 PERSIAN,-ENGLISH 243
~ jostan seek '}b.. hdld now
<.>J~ jelou-ye in front of .::S_r harakat k. move off
e, jam' together, sum, ...:,.r harf letter (of the
-k. collect alphabet)
.J-'1-"": jomhur republic j.Jf" horuf letters
~ jens kind, sort er"" hess feeling k.
4jangwar yL- hesdb reckoning k.
y ..,.:,:- jonub South ~ hefz k. protect
yl,,:- javdb answer dd. J..,.._ hoghugh wages
iJl,,:- javdn young ~ hagh£ghat truth
iJ~ jdhdn world it..-- hammdm bath
~Lo;- chdi tea 01:>- heivdn animal
'v";" chap left-hand
~';" cherd why
~_;l,;. }f .
khdrej
ore1gn
"":-.Jl,;. khdreje
~I_,:; cherdgh lamp .;_.t.,;. khdstan rise :

• ..1';" charm leather 6t.,;. khdk dust 11

~ cheshm eye JL,;. khdlt empty k.
)Jb;- chetour how ._;_,..t.,;. khdmush out (lights)
; ~ cheghadr how much/ (t.,;. khdnom Mrs., Miss, lady
many o.:..!,jl,;. khdnevdde family
~ chegune what sort of .,_; l,;. khdne house
:;~ ~ chand, -td how .::.!L:-,:- khejdlat ksh. be
many, a few ashamed
J~ changdl fork I.(,:. khodd God
;-'-";" chub wood ~b- I.(,:. -hdfez goodbye
!,a;- chun as .;._...(,;. khedmat service k.
a;- che what yl_r;- khardb destroyed k.
I-½:';" ch£dan arrange 0..i,,._,,:- khartdan buy
i::;- ch£z thing · 0.::...:,:. khaste tired

,._;b.. hazer ready k. 6,..!.,;.. khoshk dry

244 MODERN PERSIAN

cr'.J.-;... khosus special cl~ .J::, dar mfdn-e among

L~ -an specially .J4.J::, darbdr court
.k,;. khatt line, writing ..::..,,:..J::, derakht tree

..16:. khatar danger ::,.J::, dard pain

cl-½,..L:;.. khand£dan laugh <.Y.J::, dars lesson, k. study,

y 1,-> khab sleep dd. teach

cl¼,l,.> khaMdan sleep ..:.....,.J::, dorost correct, k.

y J> khub good arrange

cl.':J.J.J> khordan eat, drink t._J.).':J dorugh a lie

.;....1,-> khastan want 4,.J::, daryd sea

cl.Ul,.> khandan read ::,_j::, dozd thief

.r1,-> khahar sister cl-½,;;_j::, dozd£dan steal
cr"'l,.> khahesh request k. ..:.....,::, dast hand
¥ khod own, self Ji_:..,;; -mdl handkerchief
~.J.J> khorshfd sun ..::...,:;::, dasht a plain
J~J> <Y.J> khosh, -hdl happy _;.;::, dajtar office
cl 4l,,,:- khfdbdn street e
-w::, daj' a time
..I:.,;.. kheir no ..:.iJ::, dagMghe a minute
J,>- kheiU very cliS°::, dokkdn shop
J.,:-1::, ddkhel-e inside J::, del heart
cl::,I::, dddan give i::, dom tail
.;_:;1::, ddshtan have cll.U::, danddn tooth
t_l;; ddgh hot (food) lJ::, donyd world
Lib ddnd wise ~::, davd medicine
.;._; b ddnestan know .)_J.':J dur far

~::, dokhtar girl, daughter '!) _J.':J doure space of time

.J::, dar door ..:.....,.J::, dust friend, d. like

.J::, dar in -d. enter ..:..J.J::, doulat government

cl.':J.J} .J::, dar dvardan produce cl-½..J::, dav£dan run

....:,_,l; .J.':J dar zarf-e within o::, deh village
 PERSIAN-ENGLISH 245
0.,p dtdan see ... l.ij_.,_, -name newspaper
~_, '-'-½.) -rajtan visit Y,.N roushan bright, alight k.
_;;_.) dtr late <.>.J-1 ru-ye upon
j .J-':..) dtruz yesterday JI.._, rtdl =approx.lid.
~.) dishab last night ~_, rikhtan pour
_,~.p digar more, other ,r:':tJ ra'is director
<.JI,.) din religion 04_, zaban tongue, language
_,4.) dinar 1/100 rial ..::...;-j zab,mat trouble, -ksh .
.-,l,...) dtvar wall take trouble
d.i l,...) divane mad <.J.)j zadan strike
"" tl" L raje' be concerning .-,j zar gold
.::....-L rahat comfortable .)_, j zard yellow
.;.....,L rast right 0l::.....j zemestan Winter
<S"" L razi satisfied k. <J:"j zamin ground
0-liL randan drive 0j zan woman
•L rab, road J -lij zendegi life k.
<.'.r"T •L -e-ahan railway &j zang bell
~_, o L -rajtan walk <.J.)j &j -zadan ring
(:!_-' rob' quarter .)_.,j zud early, soon, quick(ly)
0-lil...,_, rasandan }b . .)4j ziad very much, too
rmgup
<.)~l...,_, rasantdan (much)
'-'-½:----1 rastdan reach, arrive l:-!.j ziba beautiful
).::!_, rajtar behaviour _;;_j zfr-e under
~_, rajtan go Jil..., sabegh former
C.,::-!J rojtan sweep L..,l. . -an formerly
_,....;_, raghs dance k. .;,;._1..., sakhtan make
&_, rang colour ~I..., sa' at hour, clock, watch
J_) ru face JL.., sal year
ij\.,:..)_.,_, .)_J_) rud, -khane river "-:'. L.., saye shadow
;_.,_, ruz day ~ sabab reason
246 MODERN PERSIAN
7
.::;.... sabz green y I,.;; sharab wine
o.:r;.... sabze grass .:.S.r sherkat company
t~ ... sabok thin t.-' .r shoru' beginning k.
.;,,.;..,,, sakht hard ;_;_::, shostan wash
.r sar head ~lD shekayat complaint k .
j4 .r -bdz soldier ~ shekastan break
~.r sard cold J.:; shol loose
<5"" sa'1, k. try µ shoma you
.:.,.JU..., sefdrat embassy '!)µ shomare number
~ sejfd white Jµ shomal North
&:... sag dog .:.i~J...:; shomordan count
r-~ i'}..... salam 'aleikom good- ~u shenakhtan know
morning J4J~ shalJ,rbdnf police
0..., senn age <.S)~~ shalJ,rdarf muni-
..r:.~. . sangin heavy cipality
~Y sukhtan burn .:.,l;:...,J~ shalJ,restan county
.Jl,.... savar mounted, aboard ~!. .ff shMn1, sweets
0-½-iG->.... suzanfdan burn 4 shfshe glass
0 l,,.... sfalJ, black c.lyil...., sabun soap
~ sib apple ~l...., saheb owner
~ j ~ -e-zamfn1, potato r:- soblJ, morning
iL:; sham dinner --":"-"' sabr k. wait
oL:: sha!J king, emperor ~ sohbat talk k.
o~L:: -enshd/J emperor l..i....., seda voice, -k. call
-1,.Ll shayad perhaps ..,,._;_.., safhepage (..

~ shab night ~ sollJ, peace

;.::, shotor camel J.J.:-..... sandal£ chair I.
~ shakhs person J...9.J.:-..... sandugh box
~ -f private 0), taraf direction, -e u
0.J..:; shodan become towards
 rtv PERSIAN-ENGLISH 247
t_,ll. tolu' sunrise k . 0~) jarmudan command
.J.), tour manner< .lf ~.,_; jorudgdb, airport
J_,1. tul ksh. to last &>.i) f orukhtan sell
0_); zarjpot ~ ) jarhang education,
....:,_,_); zoruj pots
* zob,r noon
JL.o 'dU excellent
vocabulary
~ ) far£jtan deceive
0~p f eshordan press
jl u)-:~ 'ebarat az consisting ~ fasl chapter, season
of J.rd fosul pl. of J..,ag
~ 'aj£b strange J...;je'l fact
<,jP.r 'arz petition k. • ")W -an in fact
):..r 'az£z dear, beloved fa fekr thought k.
~ 'asr evening 0)1.; foldn a certain
~ 'aks photograph 0l::,..:; fenjdn cup
:;_;.J1_r 'emdrat building 0 ~ f ab,m£dan understand
;.,;,_,., 'avaz change k. J.li ghdbel-e worthy of
~ 'eid holiday 4:>;-_,"; J. L; -tavajjob, interesting .
>.J-1:-' '£sav£ Christian _;.;;L; ghdshogh spoon
~ 'einak spectacles JL; ghdU carpet
-;-'J~ ghorub sunset k. ~l,; -che rug
i\_,,f gheir az other than 0_,;L; ghdnun law
S:::..GI~ -az £nke except that jl J:; ghabl az before 1'

;--.Ji.; jars£ Persian language • )I~ ghablan previously

I
I
-1;!.; jdyede advantage yt1; jl J:; ghabl az zob,r a.m.
b--!; fardmush k. forget J.J-:; ghabul k. accept
,!) ferdr k. escape r...; ghad£m ancient
I) f ardd tomorrow ;._; ghermez red
~\.::.....) ferestddan send ..:........i ghesmat share k.
~.) jarsh carpet &.!.i ghashang beautiful
- ) forsat chance JZ ghofl lock k.
 l
l

248 MODERN PERSIAN

f ghalam pen ....l5' kaleme word

.ci ghand lump sugar ~ keUd key
~-ii ghab,ve coffee r kam little, -k. lessen
&_; <.SI~_; -'£ rang brown '65 komak help k.
'-'~ gheich£ scissors _;l.:S' kanar-e beside
.::...,.J gheimat price 0¼.§ kub£dan pound
_;lS" kar work k. 0~ kutab, short
~_;lS" kard knife 4..>) kuchek small
.jlS" kaf£ sufficient "--:';" § kuche lane
J..lS" kamel complete .,;§ kuze jug
•-}...lS" -an completely ,.;::,§ kushesh attempt k .
.::...~yf kebrU a match .;_;§ kujtan V. <J½,yS'°
~lS" kaghaz paper ~ kub, mountain
'-;-' 1.::5' ketab book .S- ke that, who, which
..;~1.::5' -khane library £ kob, V. ~
.::....il!S"' kesajat dirt 4 kob,ne old
4 kes£f dirty S k£ who?
l,:S koja where S kei where?
ii£ kodam which? ~ k£Jbag
0~_;- kardan do _,lf gav ox, cow
._;- kare butter olf gah place
~ crS" kas, -£ person d'lf -£ sometimes
;...:s koshtan kill 1-Af gada beggar
~ kasht£ boat <.)~_; l..\f gozardan }
_;y.::S" keshvar country .;.::1..\f gozashtan place
0 ~ kash£dan draw 0.JJG..\f gozarandan spend
J;-£ kafsh shoe time
JS" koll chief <J~_;..lf gozardan }
,.y-}S° kelas class · :_;.::,..\f gozashtan pass
/
o-}S° kolab, hat 0Gf geran expensive
'
 PERSIAN-ENGLISH 249
~ .l' gorbe cat J l.. mal-e belonging to
cl~.~f gardzdan become cl.!Jl.. mandan remain
~.f gorosne hungry .t.. mah moon, month
<ftf gerejtan get, take cs"l.. mah£ fish
i f garm warm ._:....h. mota' assej sorry
~ gashtan v. cl.J.;.~f ~ motashakker grateful
~ gojtogu argument ~ motavalled born
.;£' gojtan say J=.. mesl-e like
$ gol flower, rose ~ mokhtalef various
c..,';-§' golab£ pear i f ~ makhsus special
~ gom k. lose L~ -an specially
-.4 ganje cupboard ~I..L. medad pencil
.;.;;,,,__,f gusfand sheep ......J..L. madrase school
.;,..,f gush ear, -k. listen .;;, ..L. modfr director
.::..::,__,f gusht meat ~.l.. mazbab religion
.::,__,f gushe corner !r mara me
<Y~ g£las cherry ~.r mard man
i j';/ lazem necessary, -d. cl~.r mordan die
need .:J> markaz centre
<Y \) lebas clothing 6'.r marg death
j.l cl~--". .::.,..U lezzat bordan az <.!"2-!.r marzz ill
enjoy _}L. mosajer traveller
.::.,W loghat words u)L. mosajerat k. travel
d loghat word J.::,,.-- masjed mosque
i J.!,J lavazem necessities !---
cll---1-- moslem, mosalman
.J__,J lule tube Moslem
cl l,J Uvan a glass J.r- mashregh East ! I
l..mawe ~ moshkel difficult ''
.)~l.. madar mother ._j.J.J"-4 ma' aruf well-known
~l.. mashfo car r mo' allem teacher : i
I I
!
250 MODERN PERSIAN r o.
i __,.L... ma'lum known (J Li nan bread
J__,...... ma' amuU general _;l.o,1..i nahdr lunch
·:1__,...... ma' amulan generally ~ nat£je result
• 1 A •
&'"° ma am meanmg _;~ najjar carpenter
y fa maghreb West yj nakheir no
.:...L. mellat nation ~.:,j' nazd'ik-e near
~ magas a fly _;..,T .1,l..::..i neshatavar pleasant
...sJ.. maleke queen (Jl..::..i neshdn dd. show
J. melt£ national Jl..::..i neshdn'i address
.:;~ momken possible ~ neshastan sit
.::..s:::1.t mamlakat country ._:._,.,j nesfhalf
t_-.,:.i mamnu' forbidden ,_}l...i naghghdsh painter
(J__,:.i mamnun grateful ,_;...; naghsh picture
,:r-man I ~ noghre silver
J_:,;.. manzel house, -k. live .\5:; negah k. look
,.;..,.. mush mouse o_y:' nomre number
.,";!,-- movaffagh successful ~- namak salt
& moughe' moment (J~· namudan show

04-* me!J.rabdn kind j..,_;__,; nouruz Iranian New

ri-' mohemm important Year
(J ~1-" me!J,man guest .;_:;__,; neveshtan write
(Jl:,-_;.:, dar m£an-e v. _;.:, __f'__,; noukar servant
b m£kh nail ...; nano
0\-\:,- meiddn a square ~ n£z also
.i;- m£z table r} n£m half
J.,.. meil d. to like to do .., va, o and
~ m£ve fruit ~~ vaghe' situated
Jl.::.!\; ndshta'£ breakfast _;.., var d. remove
i\j nam name ,.}j_;.., varzesh sport
4.o\..j name letter ..:.,_;G.., vezdrat ministry
 - - - - ·----·--··--···-~-----··- --------

PERSIAN-ENGLISH 251
.:,_;_, vazn weight ( "-"' hame every
.;:_ _; J vaz£r minister V hame-ye all of
' '¾-'J vas£le means ~ ham£she always
.;.,,;_, vaght time (.r!' hamzn this same
~_, -£kewhen - ; ... _;_,:.,, hanuz ... na- not
J_, vat£ but yet
y, har every _!,,. hava air, weather
.}'> hargez never 1.-::;1"' -peima aeroplane
o.::,QJ> hafte week ~ Mch no, none
~ ham just, also 4. ya or
.:,~ haman that same ~4. yad d. remember
..
~ hamchon£n as well
..w hamsaye neighbour
t;yakh ice
S,.yekt a, one
-s...,ts::> hamkarz k. co-operate .;l,; yavash slow(ly)
 ENGLISH-PERSIAN

Note: The words given here in Persian are transliterated,

in Persian alphabetical order, in the Persian-English part.
about ~ c-G appear cl..l.T fa.
accept cl:>._? J~ apple ._,..::-"
accident .j::,L,aj arrange cl-'-::~
actually •':YW arrive cl"'::-"J
address JL:J as cl_,~
advantage ""'~ \.; be ashamed of j\ cl~ c::J~
aeroplane l-::;~
·1..l..,
.
ask .;...l,> \ cl"'::-"y .
at <>.J½;
after(wards) ·
~ . attention k. 4":'_.,:i
after (~I) j\ ~ autumn~~
-noon J.,J; j\ ~ awake k. )½,
age ,:r,, bad-½
air~ bag~
-port .lf ::>.;_) bank 6:;4
alight k. ,Y.J.J bath it;...
allV\i\l be cl~
alone L;:; beautiful~ 'L, • •• .J.

also t"' \ ~ because~\ <>\.J'.

although ~\ 4 become cl.t;.;
always ·4.> bedyl,> .::.,;i
among cl½:4 .J::> before (~I) j\ ~
ancient r.:.u beginning k. t_J.,.;
and J
animal cl l,::>- bell ~ j
.
behind..::,.:..,

answer dd. y\_,,:- belonging to J L.

252
r~r ENGLISH-PERSIAN 253
beside .; l:S" by jl
-s .r. calendar r...,Z
best 0-1.-M. call .:,~_J"I.J...,.,
better x. camel;::.
between 0- can .:,::...J_[,;
big 8_;.j; car .:;fl..
bird •..u~ .) t.i.
birth .u_; carpent er~
black.~ J:,)
carpet JI,;
blue ~T
boat~ carry .:,~J'.
book yl.::5" cause ~4
born~ cat..,__}'"
bottom ,lj certainly 41
box J_,J.:...,., a certain C:,-J,;
boy~ chair JJ.:...,.,
bread C:,li chance.:.......,,)
break.;.s:..::. t.Y'..P
change k. .•
-fast Jl::.:,li .J;:.:"'
bridge~ chapterµ
bright Y,..i.; cheap C:,[j_;I
bring C:,~_; .,T cheese~
brother _;~ G: cherry <J""-J,$
brown &.; c.SI~~ chief JS"
building .::.,_;\..<- child~
burn (y>-y Christian c.S~
bus <J"'Y._;I class <J""-JS'
but J_, ~ t..l clean k. 6¼
butter -5 climate~ _, yT
buy cJ-½_r clock~\....
 I
254 MODERN PERSIAN

close~ cut <.J,½.;:

cloth ~_;4 dance k. ~_;
clothing U"'l) danger).,:-
club .K.:;4 dark ~_;l;
coffee~ daughter _;;.::,
cold ::,r day _j.J.J
collect 0::,§· e, dear .%.r : 0Gf
colour&_; death§_,...
come 0.1..T deceive~.)
comfortable ..:..,...L depend on 4 .;_;;1::, ~
command 0-3/j desert 04~
company .::.S.r- die 0::,_,...
complaint k . .::...,,_tS:..:; difficult p
complete J..lS"" dinner il..::,
-ly'')...lS"" direction ._j),
congratulations ~ ~
director ~_;
consisting of _jl ..:..,_;\~ .;;...Lo
conversation ~ dirt .,:..;l:S'
cook~~ : ~ -y4°
corner a.!~ do 0::,_}°'
correct k . .;......,_;::, doctor .!.D_i;
cotton'½-'? dog D-,,,
count 0::,_r-=: door_;::,
country ..::S1: : _;..,.:S draw 0-t;S
county 0\.::...._rr-;; drink-0::,_;_,,;..
cow .JG" drive 0-liL
create 0,½;T dry6..::,,;..
culture 4-; dust .5t,;.
cup 0L:,..;.; ear.}~
curtain o::,_;:, early ::,.J_j
r~~ ENGLISH-PERSIAN 255
East J_,.!.., afewJ
easy c.1L...T find c.1:,)'°\¾
eat c.1:,.J.r fire .faT
education&_; first J.J\
egg tr ~ -ly '';I.JI
electricity J .J'. fish ._J>l.
embassy .:.,.JU... flower§'
empty k. Jl..:- fly c.1-l/_ ..I'.,
enjoy jl c.1:,.J'. .:.,jJ a fly~
c.r. foot 4
enoug h __ii.(
for r.5\.J'.
c.i.W .):, forbidden t_...,:..t
enter c.1-1,.;, J,;-b \..:..
escape c.1:,)'")) foreign~ 1..:-
.:J

every-.> \ _r forget c.1:,)'" <Y>"!)

excellent JI.,:. fork J!~
except for;,;- former ~l-,
excuse c.1~ . . -ly 'u/....
exercise k. ,j/.y/ friend .:;,,...,,.J:,
expensive c.1!,,f from jl
eye ("!.; in front of r.5_,1:,-
face .J.J fruit~
fact J...;
in-·'iw
full k. J .
furniture ~t;\
fall c.1:,l::.i\ game k. r.5j4
family o:,_l,j\..:.. garden t4
far .J.J:, general J_,...,...
father .J-1; -ly'';I_,...,...
fear c.1~; gentleman 1.;T
feeling k. ~ get .:;.;_t
256 MODERN PERSIAN

gift r...w heart J::,

girl~::, heavy~
give.:,::,\::, helpk . .!SS'
glass 4 here ~.I
a glass 0!.,:,l high.J.:..4
go .:;_;.J history t;_;li
God l..1.>- hit <)::,_j
gold _;_j holiday-½:<'
good Yr hope -½,.-1
-bye ~b. l..1.>- -ful .J~-½,.-1
-morning ~ i),\..., horse -,-,I
government .:,J_,::, hospital 0l::,..,_;l-::!
grass o.J:"' hot t_b
.:,_µ hour.::...,,\....,
grateful ~ house J_:,:.. \oJl.,,:..
greenj,v,, how _;__,k.,;-
ground <J:4.J -much
guest 0\n-- -many.) ..IA>-'-1.:.>-
., · .,
....:.....a.; hungry .;.,,,f
half .
f..' I o~ \._:,..
hand..::..,..,::, ice t;
-kerchief Jl..::,..,::, if)"\
hang~} ill~_,,..
happen .:,::,\;:;I JWI importance .::..:1>1
happy JWr important l'"1'"'
hard.::,.;..,..., in_;::,
hat o-J.S" increase .:,::,_,j\
have ~b in order to ~ I <>I.J'. \ Li
he _,I inside j.,;-\::,
head .r in spite of ~_,4
 '(/:iV ENGLISH-PERSIAN 257
instead of tS~ lazyJ:,u
intelligent .fY"4 leaf 6'.1.
interesting "-':-.Y J.1.; leather i J";
iron <.J">T left-hand '-;";
Islam i')\..,\ lesson cr"J.:,
it .:iT letter ~.r
jug~§ a lie t_. u.:.
jump cl.I/.--"., life k. '-l J.jj
just r-" like J!..
key .y5' to like ,;;,1.:. .::-,_;.:.
kill~ line .k,,:.
kind .:i 4ft" listen .:i.:.~ ._;__t'
-ness ..::..,U::J\ little~§

a k'm d _;_,1, \ ~
a little J
Jy;- lock k. Ji,
king .1.;,.:.4 \ .1.;, long~
knife .:._;15' look at .:i.:.~ .~
know .;:.:. ~ \ .;.,.j \.:, look for~
known i__,.L... loose J.:;
well-known ~.JJ"-4 lose .:i.:.~ f
lady rl.,,:.. low .:1¼
lane~§ luggage yl:,.-1
lamp t_l,.,;- lunch _;L..l.i
language .:i 4j mad..Jl,,_.:.
last .:,1,..,,.:-T \ __,,.:-T match .:;..;.Jf
-ly ~':l4 me!,...
to last .:i.yS J_,J.,
.
meanmg<S"-"
.
late --"...:, means ~.J
laugh .:i.1.;,.J..:.,:. measure .:i~
law .:i_,.;1.; meat ,:_;;,yf
258 MODERN PERSIAN
7
medicine~~ necessary i j;/
message r¼ necessities i j!.,J
minister ---:J...i need .;,:. b i j ;/
ministry .::.., _; U_, neighbour "-!.l...J>
minute 0~ never ..:.....,~ \ § .Y'
Miss fl,:. new-½.~ \~G'
mistake k. ,[pi newspaper -...1.ij_,_;
mix~ next ,-1.:.JJ
moment iJ:" night~
money J~ no~ \yj- \Yf- \.._;
month, ,l.. noonyil;
moon North Ji_...:;
more~ not yet . _; ... j_,~
morning C:"""" now ;It.-
number ,_;i_...:; \ 'J.1:·
Moslem r'µ_. office ,)~\ \ ;i~
mosque J..:..-- old~ \4
most cY.A; a one~-
mother _;~l.. open k. J4
mountain ~ \ .S- or 4.
mouse__;__,.. other .J~-~
move off 0~.J" .::.Sr out (lights) __;__,..1.,:.
Mr. l..T outside 0..,--':!
Mrs. (i.,:. own¥
must -½-4 owner ~L,
nail~ page~
nam~rl \ili pain~_;~
nation ..::.1. painter __;tz
-al J.. paper JJ,l)
near 6.,.~:; pass .;,:.JS'
a'I ENGLISH-PERSIAN 259
pay ~b--:, quarter C!_.J
peace & queen~
penp_ quick(ly) .:,_,_j
pencil .)IJ... railway ~T •L
perhaps .i.,,,L;:. rain 0L4
permission dd. ~~I raise cJ.:>_? J:..4
Persian language &).i reach 0.J.,:.-_;
person~ read 0.JJ_!,,:.
photograph ~ ready k. __,...;L,...
picture~ reason'-:"':""
place~ receive (guests) .:,'.:;-':.,½
a plain.::..,.:;.) reckoning k. '-:"L.-
plate'-:"~ red;...}
pleasant _;_,T .kW religion ~.i... : .:r..:,
point J...,I remain 0.JJL.
police J4~ remainder~
poor '!.l~ remember ~b .:,4
I
port _;-1:-, remove ~b .JJ
possible §.1 repair k. ~
post.:....-; republic .JJ1,A";
pot...:,_); request k. er-"¥
potato ~_j ":"':-"' result~
pour~_; return ~ Y .
press cJ.)? rice t..J'.
price ..::.-} : l.r right ..:....,L
private~ ring 0.:,j D'..;_j
produce 0.:,_;_,T _;.:> rise .:;_.,t.,;....J'.
prophet -':'¾ river ,.;L,;...:,_,_; : .:,_, _;
protect k . .tk- road •L
put ~1..\f .
roof it,. .::.ii
260 MODERN PERSIAN '(f.

room JU.I ;_,~·

show. • , ,.
rose$ u:i 1:i ui..::.J

rug -~\.i silver~

run 0.J..;,3:i sister ..r'lr
salt~- sit.;._.:.;
satisfied k. <S" L situated~~
say~ .....,)_,,;.
school ......,_;..I..
sleep ;-L,--~1
•

scissors '-><;,) slow(ly) Jl,,.

screw0~ : ~ smell k. Ji
sea 4_;:i snow .j.J'.
seasonµ so .JJk:.;.1
a second ¾,i\.; -much _;.\A;.,\
see 0..1;.:i -many ..
seed~ - that ~.I <.>I.J'. : l;
self~ soldier j4 f '
sell ~ 3 _; some ~
send 0:i\.::...._) -times t.l'~
separate k. IJ..:- son ..r-;
servant _}'J; soon :i3j
service k . .::,...,J.,;. sorry ..;.,...,L.
shadow '½.t..., sort _;_), : er"':'"
sound . j r
share k . .;.......;
South y ..f-=:-
she 3\
special LY'~
sheep J.;J...,,Jf
-lyL~
shine .:;;;l; spectacles ~
shoe._;;5" spend (time) 0-1jL.iS'
shop 0\S" :i spoon ._;;t.;
short .l;§ sport Jjn
'l'f \ ENGLISH::_PERSIAN 261

spring J½: teach .;:.,;._.,..T

square 0l-½4 -err--
stamp Y'!. test 03/JT
stand c>~l::.../.1 than jl
station o~I thanks k. _µ
steal c>J.pj~ that~ :0T
stew J;T then~
stop 0~~1 there ~T
stori:n c>~ these Y..I
stove <.SJ~ they t.;,:T \ 0~1
strange~ thief ~J~
street 04~ thin~
study 0~..f' (.)"'J~ thing~
stupid-~ LS-:! think 0~..f'fa
successful ~Y this <.Y-1
sugar .i.;; those t.;.:T
suggestion k. ~t.i:¾ throw .;:.,;.1.ul
summer 0~\:i -out 0~..f' 03 J.:!
sun yl::..T \ ~JJ> tie~
-rise k. t_P tight&;
-set k. '-:-'JJi- time ..:.;J
surprise . tired-.::....;.
be-dk. '-:"':""' to ~
sweep .;;J today J 3 .r1
sweet(s) ~uf, tomorrow b)
table .;::o tongue 04J
tail i~ tonight ~ I
take .;;Jr too (much) (many) ~4.J
talk 0~..f' ~ tooth 0l.u~
tea<->~ towards<->),
262 MODERN PERSIAN
l
translation k. ,...._; war4 11
travel k. u)L. warm t..!
-ler )L. wash~
tree ..:..,:._p watch~\...,
tribe J;,I water yT
trouble .:...a--j we\..
take - ksh. wear 0.1):...i;
try k . .;.,;,§ \IS"" weather l,»
tube .J__,J weave ~4
. ~;\; week.;:;,,,,
twist <.)J...,.....,
. weight 0j..,
.. ,: . ,:

under ...>;_J West y_;...

-stand0~ what Y::;" °"; \°";
unless ~I cJ..i-½ when4..i \S i
upon <>J.J where l.:S ::;1
until\; whether 4J
various ~

very L..i
J.,,:-
.)

village,.:,
...
which ii£
white -½).....
who.S- :S
why½
I
visit ~.J 0-1,,.:, wide0-t;
vocabulary & ) wind .:,4
voice \.L,.,, window'::~
wages J J-4>" wine y\_,J
wait 0.:,_j'~ winter 0l::....,j
~ ,.:,w wise ub
walk / ...
0<-'.J 'G with 4
wall .J~.:, -in ....:,_);.J.:,
;_;,1.:, J.:.. -out cJ..i-½ \ .,r,
want.· 1 . woman 0j
<.Jl-"'!J>"
 ENGLISH-PERSIAN 263
woody~ write.:,;;..::_;
wool r
word ~ \ d ·
year J\...,
yellow .:,_;_j
work k . .;lS'.: yesterday _j.J.f...:,
world ~.:, \ cl¼-'; youµ
worthy of cH L. young cl l,,;-
wrap cl~
 INDEX
(numbers refer to pages)
Adjectives, 85, 134-5, 152-4, Pronouns, 43-4, 46, 65, 80-2,
170, 208-210. 114, 132.
Adverbs, 134-5, 208-9. Questions, 55-7, 78, 118-121.
Alef, dummy, 12, 14, 15, 18, Reflexive, 168-9.
94-5, 101. Relative, 139-141, 148-150,
Alphabet, 1-38. 155-7. I

Arabic Forms, 34-6, 61-2, 84, Short Vowels, 5-7, 11-13, 23,
99, 166, 208-9, 212-13. 213-14.
Calendar, 203-5. Speech, 119-121.
Colloquial Pronunciation, 172-4, Stress, 5, 50, 62, 93, 110, 113,
189-190, 200. 186.
Conjunctions, 164-6, 175-7. Thou, 186-9.
Demonstratives, 56-7, 64. Time, 170, 202-3, 212.
Doubled Letters, 5, 10, 214. Verbs:
Emphatic, 169, 211. Auxiliary, 125-7, 161-2,
Expressi,ons, 108, 142. 170-2, 184-6.
Ezafe, 19-21, 23, 59, 64, 74, 78, Causative, 201-2.
81, 85-8, 97-8, 110-11, 115, Compound, 130-2, 147, 158,
213-14. 178-9.
Glottal Stop, 30, 75-6, 94, 107, Future, 185-7.
140. Imperative, 114, 130-2, 188.
H, vocalic, 23-4, 61, 76, 86-7, Imperfect, 151-2, 159.
94-5, 197,208,209,212. Impersonal, 170-,-2, 184-5.
HamzrJ, 75-6, 87, 94, 107, 140, Infinitive, 43, 46, 152, 183-7.
147, 213. Interrogative-see Questions.
Indefinite, 74-8, 86. Irregular (see also . Present),
Negatives, 17, 50-2, 55-7, 70-2, 92-3, 101-2, 105-.:3, 122-3,
77, 93, 113-14, 131, 162, 129, 141-2, 154, 190.
173-4, 178, 187. Participles :
Numbers, 33, 109-111, 135-6, Past, 161-2, 169-170, 178.
180-1. Present, 153-4.
Object: Passive, 177-180.
Direct, 51-3, 58, 63-4, 77, 87, Past, 43-6, 48-9, 70-1, 151.
115, 127, 132, 152, 155-6, Perfects, 161-3, 171-2.
169, 179-180, 190, 202. Present (see also Irregular),
Indirect, 53, 179-180. 69-72, 90-5, 101, 105-8,
Plurals, 60-5, 153. 148, 151.
Polite Speech,·108, 143-4, 157-8. Subjunctive, 112-14, 116,
Possessives, 7, 10, 63-4, 80-2, 125-7, 130-1, 147-8, 162-4,
149-150, 168. 170-3.
Prepositions, 13-14, 53, 97-8, Wordbuilding, 197-202, 208-
114-16, 148-9, 164-6. 211.
264