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Some Rules & Items

Like any of other languages, Persian has some grammatical rules which can be shown when writing or reading it in Pársik (IPA2). It means that there are some points you should know in order to be able to read and write Persian in its best way. This part is the last part you should learn and after that you need a little practice in order to get an expert in Pársik-writing. So read the instructions below carefully.

Definiteness and Indefiniteness
In English, we usually use the to show a noun is definite and a/an to show it is indefinite. We call these determiners "definite and indefinite articles".
In Persian, we also have such determiners but there are two forms of usage: formal and informal.
In formal usage, Persian-speakers either use nothing or a demonstrative pronoun (in, án, ...) before the noun phrase to express its definiteness. To express indefiniteness, usually an "i" sound is added to the end of the word (which can be the adjective of the indefinite noun as well). This "i" sound was originally "ęw" in Middle Persian (Pahlavi) (meaning: a/an/one) and it came after the words to show usually indefiniteness (rôt ęw= a river). A form of this "ęw" (meaning ONE) was "ęwak" in Middle Persian which has changed as a word to "yek" in Modern Persian. Thus, in Pársik, we write "iy" to represent this "ęw" and also the sound "i" ("y" represents "yek" as in its original form). Writing "iy" also helps you understand that you should shift the stress one syllable back. (See note.)
In informal usage, Persian-speakers add an "(h)e" sound to the end of the word to express its definiteness. We use "(h)éh" in Pársik to show this determiner (the final "h" is not pronounced). To express indefiniteness, either the formal "iy" is added to the end of the word or "yek" (usually abbreviated to "ye'") is used before the word. Using both ("yek/ye'" before and "iy" after the noun) is also possible.
In the following table, the word daftar (notebook) is seen in the above-mentioned forms.

 

formal informal
definite án (in, ...) daftar
daftar
daftaréh
daftar
indefinite daftariy
yek daftar
ye' daftar
ye' daftariy
daftariy

NOTE: Using "iy" not only helps you put the stress one syllable back, but also it prevents mixing up this "i" sound with the "i" sound which is part of the word: ábi (blue), tohi (empty), xáli (empty), jári (current), máhi (fish),... .

Final "á"
When writing, you may write "a" instead of "á" if it comes as the final letter of a word (except "má" and "ná" and "vá"); because almost all the words in Persian do not end in "a" (am) (except "ma" and "na" and "va"); i.e. you should not write "má" (we) and "ná" (non-, in-, a-; power, energy) and "vá" (open; re-, again; de-, back) like "ma" and "na" and "va" because the reader may confuse them with "ma" and "na" (both meaning "not") and "va" (and):
Example: má xorim in scaráb ra. (we [shall] drink this wine.)
             ma xorim in scaráb ra. (we [shan't] drink this wine.)

             ná dári? (have you any energy?)
             na dári? (haven't you got? don't you have?)

             vá dádi? (you gave in? / you gave up?)
             va dádi? (and you gave? / and did you give?)

Omission and Contraction
We use apostrophe (') to represent sounds which are omitted during contraction and conversation.

Examples:
yek > ye'
mi ravim > mi r'im
mi xáham > mi xá'm
na gozásctam > na g'zásctam (or) na 'zásctam
nemi andázi > nemi 'ndázi

Genitive Construction
We use "e" (of) separately or "é" immediately after the genitive word to have a genitive construction. The accepted rule is that we write "e" separately in all cases and use "é" only in special cases:  if we have a compound word or are going to make a compound word, we use "é" between two words with no space; in compound (genitive) prepositions, we also CAN use "é", but with space before the next word. In the latter cases, "é" may be omitted after sometime in a well-defined process*.

Examples:
áb e limu (the juice of the lemon)
ábélimu > *áblimu (the lemon/lime juice)

haqq e rŕy dádan (the right to vote)
haqqérŕy dádan (to franchise, to grant a franchise)

prepositions: ruyé (on), ziré (under), bálaé (above), páiné (below), tuyé (in), ...
NOTE: in all these prepositions, if we omit "é" or "e", we use apostrophe ('). [see "omission and contraction"]: ru', bála', tu', ...

RA
RA or "rá" is used after a word or phrase to show it is the (direct) object of the verb (ketáb ra be man bedeh: give me the book). In literary Persian, it may show an indirect object as well (to ra hadyeiy dád: he gave you a gift/ he gave a gift to you).
In colloquial Persian, "ra" is changed to "ro" (after a vowel-ending word) and "'o" [apostrophe "o"] (after a consonant-ending word).

Examples:
Sib ra be to na dád. (He did not give you the apple.)
Sibéh ro be to na dád. (He didn't give you the apple.)

Medád'o bedeh be Afscin. (Give the pencil to Afshin.)

VA
"Va" (and) is a formal word and, in informal usage, Persian-speakers usually say "(v)o" (it comes from Old Persian "ud" (and); Cf. German "und"). "O" is written separately unless we mean a compound word. In this case, we write it like "ó".

Examples:
scir o scekar / scir va scekar (milk and sugar)
sciróscekar (seersucker)
kasck o bádenján / kasck va bádenján (dried whey and aubergine)
kasckóbádenjĺn (a very famous dish among Persians)

 

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Last updated: 14-02-05.