Lesson 1
Say who you are
What you will practice
- Who is speaking or being described?
- Say a name and who someone is
What you will notice
Who is speaking or being described?
من means I, تو you (one person you know well), او he or she (Persian has one word for both), ما we, شما you (more than one person, or one person you address politely) and آنها they. The verb to be changes with the person: من هستم, تو هستی, او است, ما هستیم, شما هستید, آنها هستند. The verb comes last in the sentence. There is no he/she difference and no a/the. In speech, است is often joined to the word before it (اینجاست); this lesson writes it as its own word so each piece stays visible.
- من اینجا هستم.I am here.
- تو اینجا هستی.You are here.
- او اینجا است.He or she is here.
- ما اینجا هستیم.We are here.
- شما اینجا هستید.You are all here.
- آنها اینجا هستند.They are here.
Say a name and who someone is
Name the person and put the verb last: علی معلم است, Ali is a teacher. A job word does not change for a man or a woman: معلم is a teacher of either sex. To say a name, put اسم (name) first and the person after it: اسم من سارا است means My name is Sara, literally name of me Sara is. A pronoun after a noun means my, your, his or her: اسم من, اسم تو, اسم او. The linking sound -e is spoken but not written. After ما the job word stays singular: ما دانشجو هستیم means We are students.
- علی معلم است.Ali is a teacher.
- مریم معلم است.Maryam is a teacher.
- اسم من سارا است.My name is Sara.
- اسم تو علی است.Your name is Ali.
- اسم او رضا است.His name is Reza.
- ما دانشجو هستیم.We are students.
Words in this lesson
- علیAli (a name)
- ساراSara (a name)
- رضاReza (a name)
- مریمMaryam (a name)
- منI
- توyou (one person, informal)
- اوhe or she
- ماwe
- شماyou (more than one person, or polite)
- آنهاthey
- هستمam (with من)
- هستیare (with تو)
- استis (with او and a name)
- هستیمare (with ما)
- هستیدare (with شما)
- هستندare (with آنها)
- اینجاhere
- اسمname
- معلمteacher
- دانشجوstudent