Persian grammar
Persian grammar explained in plain words. One verb root for every tense, “I have” is a single word, and “he” and “she” are written the same. What is harder: the ezafe — a short “e” gluing words together where English uses “of” and “my” — and the verb “to be”, which attaches to the end of the word.
Notes
- 📐Time word plus bekheyr: how the greetings are builtEvery greeting here is a little wish: a time word plus bekheyr, "without grief". Sobh bekheyr — good morning; asr…
- 📐Thank you, please and you are welcomeThanks is mamnun — literally "obliged", said with a smile. The polite answer to thanks is khahesh mikonam, literally "I…
- 📐The "is" glues onto the end of the wordThere is no separate word for "am" in the present. The link verb is a small ending stuck to the word before it. Man rus…
- 📐To be in the present: the hast- familyWhere English needs "there is" or "I am at home", this language reaches for one small verb: hast. Man dar khune hastam…
- 📐Ezafe: the glue between wordsThere is no word for "of" and none for "which is". Two nouns, or a noun and an adjective, are joined by a little -e…
- 📐To want by person: mi- plus khaahOne pattern builds the whole present: mi- in front of the stem, the person ending after it. Mikhaam — I want; mikhay…
- 📐Not: ne- for the present, na- for the pastNegation lives inside the verb. The present takes ne- before the mi-: nemifahmam — I do not understand. The past takes…
- 📐The plural: -ha, one ending for everythingEnglish counts men, oxen, children; this language has one plural and it always works: stick -ha on the noun. Doost…
- 📐More expensive, cheaper, better: the -tar endingComparisons need no extra word: -tar goes on the adjective, and az pulls in the standard. In geran-tar ast — this one…
- 📐My, your, his: the possessive tailsPossession rides on the end of the owned thing: -am, -at, -ash, then -maan, -taan, -shaan. Khetab-e man, my book…
- 📐Dar and be: where and where toTwo little prepositions split staying from going. Dar puts you inside: dar Tehran — in Tehran; dar khune cha mikhaam…
- 📐The past: one stem, six endingsThe past is the friendliest corner of the grammar: take the past stem, add the person, done. Raftan, to go, has the…
- 📐Request and command: be-, bia and konThe command is the present stem with a be- in front: bero — go; kon — do; bekhor — eat. Irregulars are few and old…
- 📐The future: the present speaks about tomorrowThere is a bookish future with a long helper word. Living speech does something simpler: it uses the present and lets…
- 📐My without the word "my": -am on the endPossession is a tail, not a word: -am, -at, -ash and the longer plural set. Ketaabam — my book; otaqham bozorg ast — my…
- 📐Known or some: yek and the -i of indefinitenessThere are no articles. "A room" is simply otaqh; "the room" is the same word, and the sentence decides. When "some ...…
- 📐The past: the same root, -id and the person on the endEvery verb keeps two stems, and the past one is the generous one: add the person ending and the word is done. Khandan…
- 📐Must, can, may not: bayad and mitunamObligation is impersonal: bayad never changes, and the person lives in the verb after it — bayad ghaza bepozam, I must…
- 📐This and that, with the "is" on the endTwo pointers cover all distance: in — this, near; aan — that, far. They stand before the noun as-is: in telefon-e man…
- 📐Mine on the end: ketaabe man and ketaabamTwo ways to say "my book", and both are alive. The tail way: ketaabam, one word. The full way: ketaab-e man — book-of…
- 📐Kheili, kami, ziyaad — and the hedges: shaayad, hatmanQuantity words sit before the adjective or verb they boost. Kheili — very; kami — a little; ziyaad — much, many; kheili…
- 📐No person in sight: bayad beravam, sard ast, sardam astWeather and feelings avoid the pronoun entirely. Sard ast — it is cold; who is cold, the air says nothing. To pin it on…
- 📐Ke, chonke, agar, vaqti: two thoughts in one sentenceOne small word, ke, fastens a second thought to the first: midaanam ke farda mi-aayi — I know that you will come…
- 📐Ezafe: two words glue into oneThe chain of nouns builds with one little sound: the unstressed -e called ezafe, written nowhere and heard everywhere.…
- 📐Ziyaad and kam: much and littleQuantity stands before what it counts and agrees with nothing. Pool-e ziyaad kharjam kardam — I spent much money…
- 📐Bayad plus beravam: must, can and ifThe needs of the day take an unchanged bayad plus a verb in the wishing shape. Bayad be bank beravam — I must go to the…
- 📐-tar and -tarin: bigger and the biggestComparison is an ending, not a word: bozorg — big, bozorg-tar — bigger, bozorg-tarin — biggest. The standard of…
- 📐The belonging tail: my, your, hisPossession is a tail glued to the thing owned: khune plus -am gives khunam — my home. The six tails run -am, -at, -ash…
- 📐One root, two tenses: raftam and mi-ramA verb here is one root wearing two faces. The past face takes the person straight: raftam — I went. The present face…
- 📐Other people’s words: goft ke — and the tense stands stillReporting is kind to memory: ke fastens the quoted thought, and the tense inside does not step back. Migan ke parvaaz…
- 📐Paper ezafe: chains of three words and the prepositionsOfficial language loves chains: tarjome-ye madrak — the translation of the document. Each link carries its own -e.…
- 📐Bridges between thoughts: chon, baraaye hamin, harcandCause is chon — since; consequence is baraaye hamin — for this very reason; blame is be-khaater-e — because of.…
- 📐The word order: the verb always comes lastThe skeleton of the sentence is subject, then everything else, then the verb at the very end. Man maoolan too khune…
- 📐The adjective after the word: degrees on -tarThe adjective follows its noun and is joined by ezafe: maadar-e saboor — a patient mother. Degrees are endings again…
- 📐-am, -at, -ash: the tails of "my" and "your"Belonging is a one-letter affair: khoonam — my house, khoonet — your house, khoonesh — his, hers. The colloquial set…
- 📐Kitchen commands: command and forbiddingRecipes speak in the you-form: bezaan — stir; na- plus the present forbids: nariz — do not pour. The polite you adds…
- 📐What it is made of: az and the material adjectiveMaterial answers to az — from: in kapchin az pashm ast — this jacket is from wool. The adjective of material is the…
- 📐One root, two tenses: zadam and mi-zanamThe striker verb zadan shows the two-face pattern at its cleanest. Past face: zadam — I struck, I did it: diruz ghaza…
- 📐The weather: baaroon mi-baare, hava abrie, meh boodWeather verbs need no sky-subject. Baaroon mi-baare — the rain rains, it is raining; barf mi-baare — it is snowing. The…
- 📐Where and where to: dar, to and ezafe instead of a prepositionWhere something stands is said with a preposition plus ezafe: roo-ye sandali — on the chair, literally "the face of the…
- 📐Bildam and mitunam: know-how and canSkill is something you "hold": shenaa bildam — I hold swimming, I can swim. Negation wraps it: raanandegi bild nistam…
- 📐Three tenses from one root: raftanOne verb carries the whole tense system. The past is the bare stem plus the person: raftam, rafti, raft. The present…
- 📐Lotfan, mishe, movaazeb: how requests are softenedPoliteness is built from small hinges. Lotfan — please — attaches to any command. Mishe turns a command into an…
- 📐Who does what: how the trades are built hereTrades are compounds, and the recipe is visible in each word. A doer takes -kar: barg, electricity, gives barg-kar…
- 📐Ezafe chains: whose what, of what, for whomPaper language stacks ezafe links into chains. Mahal-e kaar-e man — the place of work of me, my workplace. Gharardaad-e…
- 📐Many people: -ha and -aanPeople have two plurals. The old -aan serves the dignified words for human kinds: mard — mardaan, zan — zanaan, doost…
- 📐The infinitive is both an action and a thingThe -an form of the verb does double duty: it is the action named, and a noun you can put anywhere. Aks gereftan dar…
- 📐Play, train, cheer: what stands next to whatGames are "played": futbol baazi mikonam — I do football-playing. Exercise is varzesh kardan: sobh varzesh mikonam.…
- 📐Do metr, se metr, panj metr: the number and the nounAfter a number the noun stays singular: do metr — two meter; panj kilometr — five kilometer. No endings and no…
- 📐Kamar-am dard mikone: where the "my" of pain livesThe aching part takes the possessive tail and does the aching. Sar-am dard mikone — my head does pain; kamar-am — my…
- 📐Baraaye, dar, be-monaasebat: which word for which occasionOccasions pick their prepositions. Purpose and gifts take baraaye: baraaye tavalod — for the birthday; baraaye mehmooni…
- 📐Mi-gooyand ke, be gofte-ye: how other words are passed onRumor has its own grammar of distance. Mi-gooyand ke — they say that — reports without vouching: mi-gooyand ke barf…
- 📐Behtar and behtarin: -tar and -tarin instead of long wordsAdverbs climb the ladder of the adjectives: khub — well, behtar — better, behtarin — best. Sakht — hard, sakht-tar…
- 📐In, on, under: the prepositions of placeEvery place is a preposition plus ezafe. Dar-e jabbe — in the box; roo-ye miz — on the table, the face of the table…
- 📐Broken, dusty, faded: what became of the thingStates of things are participles with no tense at all. Shishe shekaste ast — the glass is broken; piraaan chirook ast…
- 📐The word ja: the place that is given and takenJa — place — builds a whole family. Ja daashtan — to have room: in otaqh dah nafar ja daarad. Ja gereftan — to take…
- 📐Did and am doing: one past, one with mi-The two faces of the verb stand in one sentence: diruz sakhtam, emrooz mi-saazam — yesterday I built, today I build.…
- 📐Half, a third, twice: shares and timesShares have their words: nesf — half, nesf-e noon — half a loaf; yek sevvom — a third; yek chahaarom — a quarter.…
- 📐The doer hidden: sakhte mishevaad and kharab shodWhere the doer does not matter, the participle plus shodan speaks. Sakhte mishevaad — it is being made; jaado mishevand…
- 📐From word to idea: emni, khoonsoordi, tanbaliIdeas are nouns grown from qualities by a tail. -i makes the state: emn — safe, emni — safety; baraabari — equality…
- 📐Vaqti ke, ta vaqti ke, ghabl az inke: time as a clauseTime clauses lean on ke, and one small choice matters. Vaqti ke — when — takes the plain verb: vaqti bargh oomad, hame…
- 📐Where ra stands: the object before the verbThe definite object takes ra and stands before the verb: ketaabesh raa khaand — the book, he read. Oon harfesh raa goft…
- 📐Other people’s words: goft ke biaam — the request in reported speechStatements are reported with ke: goft ke mi-aayad — he said that he is coming. The tense stands still. Questions keep…
What works differently from what you know
Persian has no grammatical gender: u means both “he” and “she”. You cannot learn a person's gender from the conversation unless the speaker names it outright — the same trait Armenian and Turkish have.
G. Lazard, «Grammaire du persan contemporain», 1957
What is hard about Persian and what comes for free
Hard: the ezafe — a short “e” gluing words together where English uses “of” and “my” — and the verb “to be”, which attaches to the end of the word.
Easy: one verb root for every tense, “I have” is a single word, and “he” and “she” are written the same.
This is not a verdict on the language but a hint on where to spend effort. The hard parts are best taken a little at a time and often; the easy parts — left alone while they work by themselves.
Frequently asked
Is the grammar of Persian complicated?
The ezafe — a short “e” gluing words together where English uses “of” and “my” — and the verb “to be”, which attaches to the end of the word is the main difficulty. In return, one verb root for every tense, “I have” is a single word, and “he” and “she” are written the same.
Should grammar be learned separately?
Not as a separate course. A rule learned before you need it is forgotten before you meet it. It is more useful to work it out at the moment you stumble over it.