Ch 3 - L5C Verb Forms - Past Tense

The past tense base form is made by removing the ن  from the end of the infinitive.
For Example:   کردن  means to do
Past Tense base form is        کرد

Adding a personal ending to the past tense base form shows who or what is performing the action. Eg: he/she/it.

* 3rd person singular has no personal ending when the verb is in past tense (‘He did’).
Negative form - is formed by adding na- ( ن ) to the beginning of all the verb tenses including the Infinitive form.
‘Not to do’ - past tense

Other Examples
nadāshtam نَداشتم (I did not have)
nabudid نَبوديد (you were not)
If the present stem begins with آ the negative prefix is pronounced ' nai '
Example: نیامدم I did not come

Supplementary Exercise 13 shows the conjugation of some commonly used Persian infinitives with the verbal endings for your reference. To go to this exercise click here.

Ch 3 - L5B Verb Forms - Compound Infinitive

The Compound Infinitive is formed by a simple infinitive, preceded by another element usually a noun or an adjective. (This form is also known as a Compound verb.)


Past, Present and imperative forms of compound infinitive is done based on the
conjugation of the Infinitive component. 

Compound Infinitives are mostly made with:

زدن , کردن , شدن , داشتن , بودن , گرداندن , ماندن , آوردن

بردن , رفتن , کشیدن , گرفتن , دادن , رساندن , .... و غیره

Examples :

To Make Happy                                      خوشحال + کردن ===> خوشحال کردن  

To Make Angry                                        عصبانی + کردن ===> عصبانی کردن

To Fill                                                                    پر + کردن ===> پر کردن

To Empty                                                         خالی + کردن ===> خالی کردن

To Become Happy                                  خوشحال + شدن ===> خوشحال شدن

To Become Angry                                    عصبانی + شدن ===> عصبانی شدن

To Be Happy                                           خوشحال + بودن ===> خوشحال بودن

To Be Angry                                            عصبانی + بودن ===> عصبانی بودن

Supplementary Exercise 12 Contains examples of Compound Verbs formed from words related to the human body. To go to this exercise click here.

Supplementary Exercise 12A Contains examples of Compound Infinitives formed with adjectives discussed in Supplementary Exercise 7A plus the infinitive verb forms discussed in Ch 3 - L5A Verb Forms - Infinitive. To go to this exercise click here.

Ch 3 - L5A Verb Forms - Infinitive

5.1 Infinitive

All Farsi verbs end with  ن - (‘-an’). This is called the Infinitive form.

• The infinitive can be used in its full form as a noun, as we do in English when we say for example: This week's Bible reading  خواندَن is taken from…..

• When used as verbs, all verbs must be conjugated from the infinitve form to convey the thought of who or what is performing the action and when the action is performed.

Following are some frequently used verbs and their Farsi equivalent in infinitive form. The present tense of each verb is also included.  As you can see, each Farsi verb has its own unique present-tense base form derived from the Infinitive form of the verb.

English	Persian Infinitive     Present Tense	[ === Pronounciation === ]	==
Acquaint	شناختن		==
	شناس		==
Allow/Place	گذاشتن		==
	گذار		==
Arrive	رسیدن		==
	رس		==
Ask	پرسیدن		==
	پرس		==
Bake	پختن		==
	پز		==
Be	بودن		==
	باش		==
	هست		==
Be able to	توانستن		==
	توان		==
Become	شدن		==
	شو		==
Bring	آوردن		==
	آور		==
Burn	سوختن		==
	سوز		==
Buy	خریدن		==
	خر		==
Carry	بردن		==
	بر		==
Come	آمدن		==
	آ		==
Command	فرمودن		==
	فرما		==
Crush	شکستن		==
	شکن		==
Die	مردن		==
	میر		==
Do	کردن		==
	کن		==
Eat	خوردن		==
	خور		==
Give	دادن		==
	ده		==
Go	رفتن		==
	رَو		==
Have	داشتن		==
	دار		==
Hear	شنیدن		==
	شنو		==
Hit	زدن		==
	زن		==
Kill	کٌشتن		==
	کٌش		==
Know	دانستن		==
	دان		==
Make	ساختن		==
	ساز		==
Pass	گذشتن		==
	گذر		==
Pour	ریختن		==
	ریز		==
Return	برگشتن		==
	برمی گرد		==
Rise	برخاستن		==
	خیز		==
Run	دویدن		==
	دو		==
Say	گفتن		==
	گو		==
See	دیدن		==
	بین		==
Sell	فروختن		==
	فروش		==
Sing	خواندن		==
	خوان		==
Sit	نشستن		==
	نشین		==
Sleep	خوابیدن		==
	خواب		==
Stay	ماندن		==
	مان		==
Take	گرفتن		==
	گیر		==
Teach	آموختن		==
	آموز		==
Throw	انداختن		==
	انداز		==
Want	خواستن		==
	خواه		==
Write	نوشتن		==
	نویس		==

Ch3 - L4 Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns stand in for a person, place or thing that must be referred to in a sentence.

4.1 Exercise

Learn the following demonstrative pronouns.

Ch 3 - L3 Personal Pronouns & Their Related Verb Endings

The following table gives you a list of personal pronouns and their related verb ending:

Adding Personal Endings to a verb makes it clear who or what is performing the action of the verb. Try to learn them off by heart as the meaning of the verb will be lost if you use the wrong ending. In the example below we take the present tense form of the verb:

•  ‘to be’ > (  هست hast)

and show all of the personal verb endings highlighted in red. You will be familiar with this word if you have been listening to the Audio Lessons ( 1, 2, 3, 4) that accompany this course.

to be هست



Note:

The verb ‘to be’ does not follow the normal grammatical rules.

3rd person singular (‘he is’) is not using the personal ending, but uses the word است



Not to be نیست

Note:

The verb ‘not to be’ does not follow the normal grammatical rules.3 rd person singular (‘he is not’) does not use the personal ending.

Note the difference between

هست and است

No need to stress over it - but because many keen students have asked – “What's the

difference?” - We will try to answer them:

است (derived from بودن to be ) conveys the same meaning as ' is '

Example: God’s name is Jehovah. نام خدا یهوه است

The verb هست (from the Infinitive هستن ) indicates presence & existence conveying the meaning : ' there is, exists'.

Example: There is a Bible on the table روي ميز يك كتاب مقدس هست

(As there will sometimes be exceptions to the rule the explanation given may not always be consistent with how these two words appear in every situation you encounter.)



3.1 Exercise

How do you say the following in Farsi:

I am …………. 

YOU are (formal) …………. 

He is …………..

They are not …………

We are  ………

you are (informal) …………

I am not …………

It is not ………………

3.2 Exercise

Circle or highlight the personal pronoun in English that has the correct personal verbal ending written in Farsi. Perhaps use a pencil so you can do the exercise again later.

3.3 Exercise

Read the following out loud:

To try Supplementary Exercise 10 click here.

To try Supplementary Exercise 11 click here.

The supplement document includes a review of the personal pronouns with the verbal endings using the sentence:

I am good, you are good in both formal & everyday speech

Expand on Exercise 3.1 by repeating the exercise & this time add the word good as used in Farsi - Step by Step Supplementary Exercise 11.

Ch 3 - L2 Personal Pronouns

The following table gives the personal pronouns.

In Farsi there is no difference between feminine and masculine, eg. he, she =

اوTo be polite one would say: شُما instead of تو and ايشان instead of او

2.1 Exercise

Make a flashcard for the 6 personal pronouns. Write them in Farsi. On the back write the corresponding English word.

2.2 Exercise

Read the following outloud:

من ما تو شما آنها او اشان او تو آنها من شما آنها اشان

شما او ما من تو او من آنها اشان ما شما من آنها تو او

ما شما تو او من تو او من شما آنها من ما تو شما آنها

2.3 Exercise

Translate Exercise 2.2 into English.

2.4 Exercise

Practise the personal pronouns with the help of your flashcards.

Change the order around. Swap between: English/Farsi; Farsi/English

2.5 How to use personal pronouns

a. Past-tense

b. Accustaive-tense

To try Supplementary Exercise 9 Click here.

c. Possessive-tense (describes ownership)

Ownership can be described in two different ways:

1. By a personal pronoun + a ‘ezâfe’-binding.

In the Persian language we can use a personal pronoun to designate ownership of an object, as shown in the left column in the table below.

2. By a possessive-ending.

Usually a possessive word ending is used, like the ones displayed in the column on the right in the table below. These endings are simply added to the substantive object.

In written form the following rules apply:

Ch 3 - L1 Basic Sentence Structure

Grammar is an important part of any language. Many people think that it is too hard. If that has been your experience, please be assured that with knowledge of a few basic rules you can learn enough to have a simple conversation in Farsi.

The normal sentence structure in Farsi differs from English. It is normally SUBJECT - OBJECT – VERB (Don’t forget that Farsi reads from right to left, so it is subject-object-verb reading from right to left)

To help you see this structure, a simple sentence has been dissected for you below. Each word of the Farsi sentence is literally translated. The verb is the last word in the sentence.

1.1 Nominative

This is God.                                   اين خُدا است


He has a name.                              او یک نام دارد

Note:

Verbs are always placed last in a sentence.

This is the most important and easiest rule to remember from this page.







To try Supplementary Exercise 5 click here. This Exercise will help you build some simple persian sentences.

1.2 Past Tense
God Gave Himself a Name.                                        خدا به خود یک نام داد


or
God Gave Himself the Name Jehovah.        خدا نام یهوه را به خود داد  

                                          خود   = Self, Own

1.3 Accusative Tense
God Gave Himself the Name Jehovah.        خدا نام یهوه را به خود داد  

Note:

The direct object (accusative case) can be one of the two forms:

• Direct – eg., ‘the’ - as in 'the name’
• Indirect  eg., ‘a’ - as in 'a name’

The specified direct object of the transitive verb is followed by the particle . را

Personal pronouns,

آن (”that”) or اين ( ‘this’), nouns preceded by آن and اين or nouns followed by possessive pronouns are examples of specified direct objects & must be followed by  را as shown in the following sentences:

• I like you                                              من شما را دوست دارم
• I like this                                               من این را دوست دارم
• I like this book                           من این کتاب را دوست دارم
• I like your book                        من کتاب شما را دوست دارم

را is usually avoided when the direct object is indefinite, general or collective:

• I like books                                من کتاب ها را دوست دارم
• He is reading a book                                او کتاب می خواند

1.4 Ezâfe – Connections (join words together by using ‘- e’)

• Is the addition of an ‘e’ linking a qualifying word to any noun. (Usually it is not written – see point (e))
• The qualifying word usually comes second & carries the word stress. With nouns ending in -h ( ه or  Connected  ه) the ezâfe is represented by a hamzeh. Note the word order in the examples below: Noun followed by the adjective

a. "Belonging to" - the Genitive (expresses ownership)



















Note:
The genitive case is expressed by using ezâfe (‘-e’) between the two words for the owner and the owned. The order of the word for the owner & the owned object is reverse to English as shown in the eg. above.

b. Adjectives - Added to the noun when described by an adjective













c. ezâfe– Chains (combining a chain of words with ezâfe)

Our God’s great name is Jehovah.  


If a possessive-pronoun is used in the sentence, it is always located last in the chain. In the above sentence the possessive -pronoun is our = ما

The Great and Fear Inspiring Day of Jehovah  


Note how Jehovah's Name that comes at the name does not have an ezâfe.

d. Replacement of the word 'of'

the country of Iran              Keshvar-e-Irân                       کشور ایران
the city of Toronto             Shahr-e-Torento                   شهر تورنتو
Mrs Harwood                    Khânom-e-Hârwood             خانم هاروود

e. When the noun ends in the letters –a ( ا) or –u ( و), the ezâfe becomes a written letter ‘i’ (ی)

Mr Ali                       âghâ-ye Ali                                             آقای علی
our God                   khodâ-ye mâ                                            خدای ما  
over the water         ru-ye âb                                                    روی آب
Gold of That land    talâie ân zamin                            طلای آن زمین

Supplementary Exercise 6 provides the Farsi words for family relationships. It also helps with practicing the use of Ezâfe - connections - in a sentence. To go to supplementary exercise 6, click here.

1.5 Comparative & Superlative



















The Comparative form adds the suffix تر ‘tar’ to the adjective & the 2 words are joined by an ezâfé.

When an adjective is used as a Superlative (e.g., ‘biggest’), it is located before the word that it describes, & the two words are not joined together by the ezâfe - the suffix ترين ' tarin ' is added to the adjective.











Adverbs

• The Comparative form adds the suffix تر ‘tar’ to the adverb & the two  words are joined by an ezâfé.
• The Superlative از همه - az hameh precedes (or may follow) the  comparative form.
  
   ترين ' tarin ' is not used for the superlative of adverbs.

I write well       من خوب می نویسم
You write better   شما بهتر می نویسید
He writes the best (of all) او از همه بهتر می نویسد = او بهتر از همه می نویسد

1.6 Exercise
Please read the following Bible texts outloud. Take note of the adjectives.

1.6 Exercise
Find an expert to check your adjectives from the scriptures above. Make flashcards.

1.7 Exercise
Please read outloud.  Can you find Adjectives and Adverbs and their Comparative and Superlative forms? Can you translate orally?

                                                    او كمتر از همه كار دارد. فرشته گان بزرگ هستند
    عيسي بزرگتر از فرشته گان است. يهوه بزرگترين شخص در آسمان است
          او بزرگتر از همه ديگر است. من كتابي بهتر از كتاب مقدس نخواندم
                  اميدي بهتر از آن نمي شناسم. از بروشورها كدام جالبتر است؟
                                               او جالبترين موضوع را به من نشان داد
                           آيا كتاب زيباي شما، كه آورديد بهتر از كتاب من است؟

Supplementary Exercise 7 is an extra document explaining comparisons with examples of the verbs ‘can’ & ‘want’ in the present tense. To go to Supplementary Exercise 7, click here.

Supplementary Exercise 7A provides comparative and superlative form of some common Persian adjectives. To go to Supplementary Exercise 7A, click here.

Supplemetary Exercise 8 provides opposite adjectives in farsi. To go to Supplementary Exercise 8, click here. Choose Adjectives from Supplemetary Exercise 8 the fill the following document.

1.8 Exercise

Now make some simple sentences for practise with any of the adjectives that you selected above.