Persian (Descriptive Grammars)

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title: Persian Descriptive Grammars

author: Mahootian, Shahrzad.; Gebhardt, Lewis.
publisher: Taylor & Francis Routledge
isbn10 | asin: 0415023114
print isbn13: 9780415023115
ebook isbn13: 9780203192887
language: English
subject Persian language--Textbooks for foreign speakers--English.
publication date: 1997
lcc: PK6233.M336 1997eb
ddc: 491.5582421
subject: Persian language--Textbooks for foreign speakers--English.
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Page i
PERSIAN
Persian is a comprehensive account of the major grammatical aspects of contemporary standard Persian, the national
language of Iran.
Persian is divided into five main sections: syntax; morphology; phonology; interjections and the basic lexicon of the
language. Each feature of the language is presented, explained and made clear with examples from conversational
Persian, which is analyzed morpheme by morpheme and translated into English.
This work will be of interest to linguists, students and scholars, especially those interested in language typology,
comparative linguistics and language universals.
Shahrzad Mahootian is assistant professor of linguistics at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago.
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Page ii
DESCRIPTIVE GRAMMARS
Series Editor: Bernard Comrie
University of Southern California
ADVISORY BOARD
W.S.Allen, Cambridge University
J.T.Bendor Samuel, Summer Institute of Linguistics
D.C.Derbyshire, Summer Institute of Linguistics
R.M.W.Dixon, Australian National University
M.E.Krauss, University of Alaska
B.Krishnamurti, Osmania University
Y.Lastra, National Autonomous University of Mexico
S.A.Wurm, Australian National University
ABKHAZ
B.G.Hewitt
KOBON
J.Davies
MANGARAYI
F.Merlan
TAMIL
R.E.Asher
WEST GREENLANDIC
M.Fortescue
JAPANESE
J.Hinds
RUMANIAN
G.Mallison
MODERN GREEK
B.D.Joseph and
I.Philippaki-Warburton
AMELE
J.Roberts
BASQUE
M.Saltarelli
GULF ARABIC
Clive Holes
KANNADA
S.N.Sridhar
FINNISH
H.Sulkala and M.Karjalainen
CATALAN
José Ignacio Hualde
PUNJABI
Tej K.Bhatia
MAORI
Winifred Bauer
KOREAN
Ho-min Sohn
NDYUKA
George L.Huttar and
Mary L.Huttar
RAPANUI
Veronica Du Feu
NIGERIAN PIDGIN
Nicholas G.Faraclas
WARI’
Daniel L.Everettand
Barbara Kern
EVENKI
Igor Nedjalkov
MALTESE
Albert Borg and
Marie Azzopardi-Alexander
KASHMIRI
Kashi Wali and
Omkar N.Koul
KOROMFE
John R.Rennison
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EDITORIAL STATEMENT
Until quite recently, work on theoretical linguistics and work on language description proceeded almost entirely in
isolation from one another. Work on theoretical linguistics, especially in syntax, concentrated primarily on English,
and its results were felt to be inapplicable to those interested in describing other languages. Work on describing
individual languages was almost deliberately isolationist, with the development of a different framework and
terminology for each language or language group, and no feeding of the achievements of language description into
linguistic theory. Within the last few years, however, a major rapprochement has taken place between theoretical
and descriptive linguistics. In particular, the rise of language typology and the study of language universals have
produced a large number of theoreticians who require accurate, well-formulated descriptive data from a wide range
of languages, and have shown descriptive linguists that they can both derive benefit from and contribute to the
development of linguistic theory. Even within generative syntax, long the bastion of linguistic anglo-centrism, there is
an increased interest in the relation between syntactic theory and a wide range of language types.
For a really fruitful interaction between theoretical and descriptive linguistics, it is essential that descriptions of
different languages should be comparable. The Questionnaire of the present series (originally published as Lingua,
vol. 42 (1977), no. 1) provides a framework for the description of a language that is (a) sufficiently comprehensive
to cover the major structures of any language that are likely to be of theoretical interest; (b) sufficiently explicit to
make cross-language comparisons a feasible undertaking (in particular, through the detailed numbering key); and (c)
sufficiently flexible to encompass the range of variety that is found in human language. The volumes that were
published in the predecessor to the present series, the Lingua Descriptive Studies (now available from Routledge),
succeeded in bridging the gap between theory and description: authors include both theoreticians who are also
interested in description and field-workers with an interest in theory.
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Editorial statement
The aim of the Descriptive Grammars is thus to provide descriptions of a wide range of languages according to the
format set out in the Questionnaire. Each language will be covered in a single volume. The first priority of the series
is grammars of languages for which detailed descriptions are not at present available. However, the series will also
encompass descriptions of better-known languages with the series framework providing more detailed descriptions
of such languages than are currently available (as with the monographs on West Greenlandic and Kannada).
Bernard Comrie
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PERSIAN
Shahrzad Mahootian
with the assistance of Lewis Gebhardt
London and New York
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Page vi
First published 1997
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks
please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
© 1997 Shahrzad Mahootian
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by
any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known
or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-203-19288-5 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-32874-4 (OEB Format)
ISBN 0-415-02311-4 (hbk)
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Page vii
For Parvin and Nasser Mahootian
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CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xx
ABBREVIATIONS xxi
INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER 1. SYNTAX 5
1.1 GENERAL PROPERTIES 5
1.1.1 Sentence types 7
1.1.1.1 Direct and indirect speech 8
1.1.1.2 Interrogative sentences 9
1.1.1.3 Imperative sentences 27
1.1.1.4 Other distinct sentence types 28
1.1.1.5 Indirect speech acts 28
1.1.2 Subordination 29
1.1.2.1 General markers of subordination 29
1.1.2.2 Noun clauses 30
1.1.2.3 Adjective clauses (relative clauses) 32
1.1.2.4 Adverbial clauses 37
1.1.2.5 Sequence of tenses 43
1.2 STRUCTURAL QUESTIONS 44
1.2.1 Internal structure of the sentence 44
1.2.1.1 Copular sentences 44
1.2.1.2 Verbal sentences 48
1.2.1.3 Adverbials 51
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1.2.2 Adjective phrases 53
1.2.2.1 Operational definition for adjective phrases 53
1.2.2.2 Adjectivals with arguments 54
1.2.2.3 Adverbial modification of adjectives 55
1.2.2.4 Order of adjectives, arguments and adverbials 56
1.2.3 Adverbial phrases 58
1.2.3.1 Operational definition for adverbial phrases 58
1.2.3.2 Adverbial modification of adverbials 58
1.2.3.3 Relative order of modifying and modified adverbials 59
1.2.3.4 Restrictions on modifying adverbials 59
1.2.4 Prepositional phrases 59
1.2.4.1 Operational definition for prepositional phrases 60
1.2.4.2 Prepositional phrases and their arguments 61
1.2.4.3 Modifiers of prepositions 62
1.2.4.4–5 Prepositions governing more than one case 62
1.2.5 Noun phrases 62
1.2.5.1 Operational definition of noun phrases 62
1.2.5.2 Modifiers in a noun phrase 63
1.2.5.3 Cooccurrence of the same type of modifier 70
1.2.5.4 Nonadmissable combinations of types of modifiers 72
1.2.5.5 Order of the head and various modifiers 72
1.3 COORDINATION 72
1.3.1.1 Sentence coordination 72
1.3.1.2 Number of coordinators and elements coordinated 77
1.3.1.3 Coordinating the major categories of the sentence 78
1.3.1.4 Coordination and accompaniment 81
1.3.1.5 Structural parallelism and coordination 81
1.3.2.1–2 Omission of sentence under identity in coordination 83
1.3.3.3 Omission of elements in major constituents 85
1.4 NEGATION 87
1.4.1 Sentence negation 87
1.4.2 Constituent negation 88
1.4.3 Double/multiple negation 89
1.4.4 Negation and coordination 90
1.4.5 Negation and subordination 90
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1.5 ANAPHORA 91
1.5.1 Means of expressing anaphora 91
1.5.1.1–3 Pronouns and deletion of pronouns 91
1.5.1.4 Reflexive pronouns 92
1.5.1.5 Special anaphoric pronouns 93
1.5.1.6 Other means of expressing anaphora 93
1.5.2 Domain of anaphora 93
1.5.2.1 Within the clause 93
1.5.2.2 Anaphora between coordinate clauses 94
1.5.2.3 Anaphora between superordinate and subordinate clauses 94
1.5.2.4 Anaphora between different subordinate clauses 95
1.5.2.5 Anaphora between different sentences 95
1.5.3 Subordinating conjunctions and anaphoric processes 96
1.6 REFLEXIVES 96
1.6.1 Means of expressing reflexivity 96
1.6.1.1–4 Invariable and variable reflexive pronouns 96
1.6.2 Scope of reflexivity 96
1.6.3 Reflexive element as verbal affix 96
1.6.4 Position of the reflexive element 97
1.6.5 Relationship between antecedent and reflexive 97
1.6.5.1 Antecedent subject/reflexive direct object 97
1.6.5.2 Antecedent subject/reflexive modifier of direct object 97
1.6.5.3–4 Antecedent subject/reflexive indirect object (zero or case marking) 97
1.6.5.5 Antecedent subject/reflexive indirect object (adposition marking) 97
1.6.5.6 Antecedent subject/reflexive modifier of indirect object 97
1.6.5.7 Antecedent subject/reflexive copular complement 97
1.6.5.8 Antecedent subject/reflexive modifier of copular complement 98
1.6.5.9–10 Antecedent subject/reflexive subject complement and modifier of subject complement 98
1.6.5.11–12 Antecedent subject/reflexive object complement and modifier of object complement 98
1.6.5.13 Antecedent subject/reflexive object of adjective 98
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1.6.5.14 Antecedent subject/reflexive modifier of object of adjective 98
1.6.5.15 Antecedent subject/reflexive agent in passive constructions 98
1.6.5.16 Antecedent subject/reflexive modifier of passive agent 98
1.6.5.17 Antecedent subject/reflexive in other prepositional phrase 99
1.6.5.18 Antecedent subject/reflexive modifier of other prepositional phrase 99
1.6.5.19–36 Modifier of subject as antecedent/reflexive direct object 99
1.6.5.37 Direct object antecedent/reflexive subject 99
1.6.5.38 Direct object antecedent/reflexive modifier of subject 99
1.6.5.39–40 Direct object antecedent/reflexive case-marked indirect object or modifier of such indirect object 100
1.6.5.41 Direct object antecedent/reflexive indirect object (preposition marking) 100
1.6.5.42 Direct object antecedent/reflexive modifier of indirect object (preposition marking) 100
1.6.5.43–46 Direct object antecedent/reflexive copular or subject complement or modifier of copular or 100
subject complement
1.6.5.47–48 Direct object antecedent/reflexive object complement or modifier of object complement 100
1.6.5.49–50 Direct object antecedent/reflexive object of adjective or its modifier 100
1.6.5.51–52 Direct object antecedent/reflexive agent in passive or modifier of such agent 101
1.6.5.53 Direct object antecedent/reflexive element in other prepositional phrase 101
1.6.5.54 Direct object antecedent/reflexive modifier of element in other prepositional phrase 101
1.6.5.55–72 Modifier of direct object antecedent 101
1.6.5.73–104 Case-/zero-marked indirect object antecedent 101
1.6.5.105–136 Indirect object antecedent 102
1.6.5.137–212 Other antecedents 102
1.6.6 Reflexive relations within nominalized clauses 102
1.6.7 Reflexive relations within noun phrases 102
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1.6.8 Reflexives without overt antecedents 103
1.7 RECIPROCALS 103
1.7.1 Means of expressing reciprocity 103
1.7.2 Scope of reciprocity 103
1.7.3 Verbal affix 104
1.7.4 Positional possibilities of reciprocals within the clause 104
1.7.5.1–18 Relation between subject antecedent and reciprocal 104
1.7.5.19–36 Relation between modifier of subject antecedent and reciprocals 106
1.7.5.37–54 Relation between direct object antecedent and reciprocal element 106
1.7.5.55–72 Relationship between modifier of direct object antecedent and reciprocal element 107
1.7.5.73–104 Relationship between case-marked indirect object antecedent and reciprocal element 107
1.7.5.105–120 Relationship between prepositional indirect object antecedent and reciprocal element 107
1.7.5.121–212 Relationship between antecedents in other categories and reciprocal elements 108
1.7.6 Reciprocal relations within nominalized clauses 108
1.7.7 Reciprocal relations within noun phrases 108
1.7.8 Reciprocal structures without antecedents 108
1.8 COMPARISON 108
1.8.1 Expressing comparison 108
1.8.1.1–4 Means of expressing comparison 108
1.8.2–4 Deletion of identical elements in comparative structures 109
1.8.5 Two types of comparative structures 110
1.8.6 Correlative comparison 110
1.9 EQUATIVE 110
1.9.1 Expressing equality 110
1.9.1.1–4 Means of expressing equality 110
1.9.2–4 Deletion of identical elements in equative structures 111
1.10 POSSESSION 111
1.10.1 Sentences expressing possession 112
1.10.2–4 Types of possession or possessor 112
1.10.5 Present and past possession 113
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1.11 EMPHASIS 113
1.11.1 Sentence emphasis 113
1.11.2 Constituent emphasis 115
1.11.2.1 Contrastive and noncontrastive constituent emphasis 115
1.11.2.2 Elements that may be emphasized 119
1.11.3 Focus of yes-no questions 121
1.12 TOPIC 121
1.12.1 Means of indicating topic of a sentence 121
1.12.1.1 Particles 121
1.12.1.2 Movement without dislocation 122
1.12.1.3 Dislocation 124
1.12.1.4 Verb agreement 125
1.12.1.5–6 Combinations of the above 125
1.12.2 Elements that may be topicalized 125
1.12.3 Optionality of topicalization 127
1.13 HEAVY SHIFT 127
1.13.2.1 Adjective phrases 128
1.13.2.2 Direct and indirect object noun phrases 128
1.13.2.3 Adverb phrases 128
1.14 OTHER MOVEMENT RULES 129
1.14.1 Scrambling 129
1.14.2 Postposing 129
1.14.3 Verb-preposing 130
1.15 MINOR SENTENCE TYPES 130
1.15.1 Exclamatory/interjectional 130
1.15.2 Vocatives 130
1.15.3 Elliptical 131
1.16 WORD CLASSES 131
1.16.1 Noun 131
1.16.2 Pronoun 132
1.16.3 Verb 132
1.16.4 Adjective 132
1.16.5 Preposition 133
1.16.6 Number and quantifier 133
1.16.7 Pronominal clitic 134
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CHAPTER 2. MORPHOLOGY 135
2.1 INFLECTIONAL MORPHOLOGY 135
2.1.1 Noun inflection 135
2.1.1.1 Expressing syntactic/semantic functions of noun phrases 135
2.1.1.2 Expressions of syntactic functions 135
2.1.1.3 Syntactic functions in relation to nonfinite and nominalized verb forms 144
2.1.1.4 Means of expressing nonlocal semantic functions 147
2.1.1.5 Local semantic functions 165
2.1.1.6 Location in time 181
2.1.1.7 Double case-marking 190
2.1.1.8 Number-marking system 190
2.1.1.9 Gender and noun classes 195
2.1.1.10 Definiteness in noun phrases 196
2.1.1.11 Indefiniteness in noun phrases 203
2.1.1.12 Referential and nonreferential indefiniteness 205
2.1.1.13 Genericness 205
2.1.1.14 Degree of importance of actor 205
2.1.2 Pronouns 205
2.1.2.1 Personal pronouns 205
2.1.2.2 Reflexive pronouns 213
2.1.2.3 Reciprocal pronouns 215
2.1.2.4 Possessive pronouns 216
2.1.2.5 Demonstrative pronouns 217
2.1.2.6 Interrogative pronouns and other question words 219
2.1.2.7 Relative pronouns and other relative words 221
2.1.3 Verb morphology 222
2.1.3.1 Voice 222
2.1.3.2 Tense 226
2.1.3.3 Aspect 239
2.1.3.4 Mood 244
2.1.3.5 Finite and nonfinite forms 252
2.1.3.6 Agreement (numbers, persons, etc.) 253
2.1.3.7 Change or loss of features in a string of verbs 258
2.1.4 Adjectives 259
2.1.4.1 Predicative/attributive forms 259
2.1.4.2 Absolute/contingent distinction 259
2.1.4.3 Adjective agreement 259
2.1.4.4 Comparisons 259
2.1.4.5 Degrees of quality 261
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2.1.4.6 Predicate adjectives and verbal morphology 262
2.1.5 Prepositions 262
2.1.5.1 List of prepositions 262
2.1.5.2 Prepositions and agreement 264
2.1.5.3 Combinations of prepositions and pronouns 265
2.1.5.4 Combinations of prepositions and articles 265
2.1.6 Numerals/quantifiers 266
2.1.6.1 Forms of numerals 266
2.1.6.2 Cardinal numerals as attributes 267
2.1.6.3 Counting different kinds of objects 267
2.1.6.4 Ordinal numerals 267
2.1.6.5 Other derivatives of numerals 268
2.1.6.6 Quantifiers 268
2.1.7 Adverbs 269
2.1.7.1 Comparison 269
2.1.7.2 Degrees of quality 270
2.1.8 Clitics and particles 271
2.2 DERIVATIONAL MORPHOLOGY 271
2.2.1 Derivation of nouns 271
2.2.1.1 Nouns from nouns 271
2.2.1.2 Nouns from verbs 272
2.2.1.3 Nouns from adjectives 273
2.2.1.4 Nouns from adverbs 274
2.2.2 Derivation of verbs 274
2.2.2.1 Verbs from nouns 274
2.2.2.2 Verbs from verbs 274
2.2.2.3–5 Verbs from adjectives, adverbs and other categories 276
2.2.3 Derivation of adjectives 276
2.2.3.1 Adjectives from nouns 276
2.2.3.2 Adjectives from verbs 277
2.2.3.3 Adjectives from adjectives 277
2.2.3.4 Adjectives from adverbs 278
2.2.4 Derivation of adverbs 278
2.2.4.1 Adverbs from nouns 278
2.2.4.2 Adverbs from verbs 279
2.2.4.3 Adverbs from adjectives 279
2.2.4.4 Adverbs from adverbs 280
2.2.5 Derivation of prepositions 280
2.2.5.1 Forming complex prepositions 280
2.2.6 Compound morphology 281
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2.2.6.1 Compound nouns 281
2.2.6.2 Compound verbs 283
2.2.6.3 Compound adjectives 284
CHAPTER 3. PHONOLOGY 286
3.1 PHONOLOGICAL UNITS 286
3.1.1 Distinctive segments 286
3.1.2 Phonetic characteristics 287
3.1.2.1 Nonsyllabics 287
3.1.2.2 Syllables 294
3.1.2.3 Restriction of vowels to loanwords 296
3.1.2.4 Restriction of vowels to word classes 297
3.2 PHONOTACTICS 297
3.2.1 Distribution of nonsyllabic segments 297
3.2.1.1 Word-final consonants 297
3.2.1.2 Word-initial consonants 297
3.2.2.1 Consonant clusters 297
3.2.2.2 Description of consonant clusters 300
3.2.3. Admissible vowels 300
3.2.3.1 Word-final vowels 300
3.2.3.2 Word-initial vowels 300
3.2.3.3 Sequences of vowels 301
3.2.4 Structure of lexical morphemes 303
3.2.5 Syllable structure 303
3.2.5.1 Consonant clusters and syllables 304
3.2.6. Co-occurrence restrictions 306
3.2.6.1 Word/syllable initial elements 306
3.2.6.2 Word/syllable-final elements 306
3.2.6.3 Initial-final restrictions 306
3.2.6.4 Vowel harmony 306
3.2.6.5 Consonant harmony 308
3.2.6.6 Restrictions between adjacent or nonadjacent segments 308
3.2.6.7 Phonotactic patterns with different word classes 308
3.3 SUPRASEGMENTALS 308
3.3.1 Length distinction 308
3.3.1.1 Vowel length 308
3.3.1.2 Length in other syllables 309
3.3.1.3 Length in glides/semivowels 309
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3.3.1.4–7 Length in liquids, nasals, fricatives and plosives 309
3.3.2 Stress 310
3.3.2.1 Role of stress 310
3.3.2.2 Phonetic correlates of stress 310
3.3.2.3 Levels of stress 310
3.3.2.4 Position of stress 311
3.3.2.5–6 Predictability of stress 315
3.3.3 Tone 316
3.3.4 Intonation 316
3.3.4.1 Major intonation patterns 316
3.3.4.2 Intonation peak 320
3.3.4.3–4 Emphatic intonation and contrastive stress 321
3.3.4.5 Subtypes of intonation patterns 323
3.3.4.6 Interaction of intonations patterns with tone height 323
3.4 MORPHOPHONOLOGY (SEGMENTAL) 323
3.4.1 Morphophonology 323
3.4.1.1 Assimilatory processes 323
3.4.1.2 Dissimilation 326
3.4.1.3 Other alternations between segments 327
3.4.2 Metathesis 328
3.4.3 Coalescense and split 328
3.4.4 Deletion and insertion 328
3.4.4.1 Deletion processes 328
3.4.4.2 Insertion processes 338
3.4.5 Reduplication 340
3.4.6 Other processes 340
3.4.6.1 Geminate simplification 340
3.4.6.2 Deaspiration 340
3.5 SUPRASEGMENTAL MORPHOPHONOLOGY
3.5.1–2 Stress and morphological processes and compounding 341
3.5.3–4 Stress and phonological structure 342
3.5.2 Tonal structure and changes 342
CHAPTER 4. IDEOPHONES 343
4.1 IDEOPHONES 343
4.2 INTERJECTIONS 344
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CHAPTER 5. LEXICON 346
5.1 STRUCTURAL SEMANTIC FIELD 346
5.1.1 Kinship Terms 346
5.1.1.1 The immediate family 346
5.1.1.2 The extended family 347
5.1.1.3 In-laws 348
5.1.1.4 Kinship by adoption/affiliation 349
5.1.2 Color terminology 350
5.1.3 Body parts 351
5.1.4 Cooking terminology 354
5.1.4.1 Ingredients and utensils 354
5.1.4.2 Methods of cooking 356
5.1.4.3 Typical foods 357
5.1.5 Agriculture 358
5.1.5.1 Crops grown in the area 358
5.1.5.2 Agricultural implements 359
5.1.5.3 Agricultural activities 359
5.1.5.4 Animals 359
5.1.5.5 Time 360
5.2 BASIC VOCABULARY 361
BIBLIOGRAPHY 367
INDEX 373
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book would not have been possible without the full support and assistance of Lewis Gebhardt, who was
essential in every aspect of this grammar, from research to the final writing and editing stages.
This grammar has been labor, but of a language and culture I love. While I recognize that it is far from being a
complete description of Persian, I hope this volume, which owes so much to previous scholars’ work on Persian,
contributes to the tradition of this series of descriptive grammars. Writing such a work has been more educational
for us than we had imagined it would be. It’s often said that in order to learn about one’s own language one should
study another. In trying to describe some of the finer points of Persian grammar, we’ve come to the conclusion that
in order to learn about Language, one should try to objectively, dispassionately describe one’s own language.
I am very grateful to Bernard Comrie, the editor of this series, for giving me the opportunity to participate in this
project. I am indebted to Professor Comrie for his attention and care to the details of our description of Persian and
his recommendations for improvement.
Several other people deserve special mention for helping us complete this grammar. Special thanks are in order for
Louisa Semlyen and Miranda Filbee at Routledge who were always available and responsive to our questions. In
addition, our task would have been infinitely more difficult without the techinical assistance of the staff of Academic
Computing at Northeastern Illinois University. Darren McMahon was particularly generous with his time and
expertise.
Also, I extend my gratitude to family, friends and colleagues who have supported our efforts. Many thanks to my
daughter for her support, and to our friends the Redfield-Pipperts, who fed us on several weekends when we might
otherwise have forgone comestibles. And, thanks to Lewis’s parents, who never failed to inquire on the progress of
“the book”.
Finally, more thanks and appreciation than I can express go to my parents, who were patient and accommodating
beyond the call of duty with our questions and remained excited and involved until the end.
Shahrzad Mahootian
Chicago, 1996
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ABBREVIATIONS
ATTR attributive suffix (-i, -in)
CL number classifier suffix (-ta)
COMPR comparative suffix (-tær)
DEF definite suffix (-e)
DEM demonstrative suffix (-i)
DUR durative prefix (mi-)
DO direct object
EZ ezafe particle (-e, -ye)
IMP imperative prefix (be-/bo-)
IND indefinite suffix (-i)
INTER interrogative particle (aya)
IO indirect object
NEG negative prefix (næ-, ne-)
NOM nominalizer (-i)
O object
OM object marker ( -ra suffix, with -o and -ro variants)
PL plural suffix (-ha, -a, -an, -yan)
PP prepositional phrase
PRPT present participle (-an)
PSPT past participle suffix (-e)
S subject
SBJN subjunctive prefix (be-/bo-)
SUPR superlative suffix (-tærin)
V verb
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Agreement inflections
1S first person singular verbal inflection (-æm)
1P first person plural verbal inflection (-im)
2S second person singular verbal inflection (-i)
2P second person plural verbal inflection (-id)
3S third person singular verbal inflection ( -e, Ø (past tense only))
3P third person plural verbal inflection (-æn)
Pronominal clitics
1S.PC first person singular pronominal clitic (-æm)
1P.PC first person plural pronominal clitic (-(e)mun)
2S.PC second person singular pronominal clitic (-et)
2P.PC second person plural pronominal clitic (-(e)tun)
3S.PC third person singular pronominal clitic (-eš)
3P.PC third person plural pronominal clitic (-(e)šun)
Note that in the above examples we use a single period ‘.’ to join the parts of English glosses comprising more than
two pieces. Another example:
mina raje be kar-eš negæran-e
Mina about to work-3S.PC worried-is
‘Mina is worried about her job.’
The single dash ‘-’ joins morphemes into words when they translate more or less one-to-one from Persian to
English.
in gol-a-ro bæra-ye to gereft-æm
this flower-PL-OM for you got-1S
‘I got these flowers for you.’
The double dash ‘--’ joins parts of compound verbs, as in the case of the compound verb æziyæt--kærdæn ‘to
bother’:
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xorxor kærdæn-æm to-ro æziyæt--mi-kon-e?
snore do.INF-1S.PC you-OM bother--DUR-do-3S
‘Does my snoring bother you?’
One note on phonetic symbols. As a result of an idiosyncrasy of fonts in the word-processing program we used, the
ash, æ, in italic looks like the o-e ligature. Therefore, æ should not be construed as indicating a mid front rounded
vowel. Since Persian has no front rounded vowels there should be no confusion.
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INTRODUCTION
Persian is the most-spoken of the modern Iranian languages, which, according to traditional classification, with the
Indo-Aryan languages constitute the Indo-Iranian group within the Satem branch of the Indo-European family. Such
words as bæradær ‘brother’, pedær ‘father’, madær ‘mother’, the pronouns mæn ‘I/me’ and to ‘you’, agreement
suffixes -im (1P) and -ænd(3P) attest to Persian’s genetic relationship with English, Latin and other Indo-European
languages.
Although Persian is the national language of Iran, it is the first language of only about half of the 62 million
inhabitants of that country (Moseley and Asher 1994:45; Kindersley 1994 280ff). Related Iranian languages, with
Kurdish and Pashto having the most speakers, are spoken not only in Iran but also in Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan,
Pakistan, along the old Silk Route to China as well as in the Caucasus and southern Russia. Iran also hosts many
speakers of non-Iranian languages, with Azerbaijani being the most important in terms of number of speakers.
The modern Iranian languages may be classified into four groups (Payne 1990). The South-West group includes
Persian, Dari, Tajiki, Luri, Bakhtiari, Kumzari, as well as several non-Persian dialects of Fars province and Tati. North-
West Iranian includes Kurdish, Talishi, Balochi, Galaki, Mazandarani, Zaza, Gurani, Bashkardi, Parachi, Ormuri,
Semnani, Zanjan, Qazvin, Saveh, Vafsi, Ashtiyani, as well as several dialects of central Iran. South-East Iranian
languages include Pashto, Yazgulami, Shughni, Roshani, Bartangi, Oroshori, Sarikoli, Ishkashmi, Sanglechi, Zebaki,
Wakhi, Munji and Yidgha. North-East Iranian comprises Ossete and Yaghnobi.
Modern Persian traces to Old Persian, the language of the famous Achaemenid kings Darius and Xerxes of the 6th to
5th

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centuries B.C. Old Persian was written in a cuneiform script. Avestan, the language of the Zoroastrian texts, also
dates from roughly the same period (7th to 5th centuries B.C.) but has no modern descendants. As the language of
sacred texts, Avestan likely represents an older form of Iranian language than Old Persian. Middle Persian, also
called Pahlavi and written in an Aramaic alphabet, spans the period of the Sassanid dynasty from the 3rd to 7th
centuries A.D. Official records are more scant from the 7th to the 10th centuries, when Arabic became both a state
and literary language of Persia. What can be identified as modern Persian begins to appear from the 9th century,
with a rich Persian literary tradition, written in Arabic script, developing from the 10th to 15th centuries.
While Old Iranian still retained considerable inflection inherited from Indo-European, through Middle Persian and
Modern Persian, the language, as many Indo-European languages, lost much inflection on nouns, verbs and
adjectives. Early Modern Persian inherited from Arabic not only the writing system but much vocabulary. Much as
English retains a heavy lexical debt to French, Persian still hosts thousands of commonly used words of Arabic origin.
Persian is written right-to-left in the Arabic alphabet (see the chart below), with a few modifications. There are 32
letters in the Persian alphabet, 28 of these common to Arabic and four Persian letters representing the phonemes
/p/, /c/, /g/ and /ž/, which don’t exist in Arabic. Eight of the 32 Persian letters appear primarily in Arabic loanwords:
which represent distinct sounds in Arabic but are redundant in Persian.
Three letters of the alphabet do double duty in representing both consonants and vowels: (/h/, /v/, /y/),
doubling, as /e/ (word-finally), /u/ and /I/ respectively. Typically, short vowels are not written, though they may be
indicated with diacritics. As in Arabic, the Persian letters vary in form, having as many as four forms depending on
whether the letter stands alone or is connected word-initially, word-medially or word-finally.
The Persian orthographic system also includes a number of diacritics, most of which are not used in either formal or
informal contemporary writing. They appear in older texts and occasionally in modern writing to disambiguate certain
spellings. The diacritic one is most likely to come across is the hamze which, although not a Persian letter, is
sometimes listed in alphabet charts.
***

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A word about speaking register and what this grammar describes. While colloquial style is the rule among friends
and family, a more formal speaking style is quite commonly used in public situations such as public speaking,
lectures, broadcast news and most written contexts. The register we attempt to transcribe in this grammar might be
called “careful colloquial” speech of educated Iranians in the capital city, Tehran.
We generally adopt a phonemic transcription that reflects some sounds that are typically deleted in natural speech.
The major advantage of this for linguists lies in the transparent morphology. For example, although rah ‘walk, path’
is usually pronounced [ra], we transcribe it as the formal, phonemic form /rah/. On the other hand, our transcription
does take phonological rules into account by reflecting common insertion rules, such as glide insertion between some
vowel. Thus we transcribe the verb ‘she comes’ phonetically as [miyad] rather than phonemically as /miad/.
The choice to transcribe phonemically with regard to deleted sounds and phonetically with inserted sounds is not as
arbitrary as is might seem. The insertion rules are for the most part obligatory, not a function of how careful or
colloquial the register. The deletion rules, in contrast, while particularly common in colloquial speech, remain
optional.
There remains the problem of how to transcribe the a/u alternation. Words such as nan ‘bread’ are pronounced
[nun] in most spoken contexts. However, Iranians tend to use a standard form if directly asked for a lexical item,
asked to read from a word list, etc. If you asked a Tehranian the Persian word for ‘bread’, he or she would probably
respond [nan]. Therefore, in example sentences and phrases we transcribe the word as ‘nun’ while in Chapter 5 on
the lexicon we transcribe the word as ‘nan’.
***

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Page 5
SYNTAX
1.1 GENERAL PROPERTIES
Persian is a pro-drop language with canonical SOV word order. Verbs are marked for tense and aspect and agree
with the subject in person and number.
(1) pærvin bæcce næ-dar-e
Parvin child NEG-have-3S
‘Parvin doesn’t have any children.’
(2) (mæn) name nevešt-æm
(I) letter wrote-1S
‘I wrote a letter.’
Although verb-final, Persian is otherwise head-initial: NGen, NA, PrepN, NRel. Heads are final, according to
traditional classification, in such constructions as DemN. The following are examples of word order in these basic
constructions. Note that modifying elements are connected with the ezafe particle (EZ), the details of which are
discussed in Section 1.2.5.2.10.
Noun-Genitive
(3) bæradær-e mæn
brother-EZ me
‘my brother’

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Noun-Adjective
(4) mašin-e now
car-EZ new
‘(a) new car’
Preposition-Noun
(5) tu hæyat
in courtyard
‘in (the) courtyard’
Noun-Relative Clause
(6) zæn-i ke dust--dar-æm
woman-DEM that friend--have-1S
‘the woman that I love’
Demonstrative-Noun
(7) in danešgah
this university
‘this university’
When a prepositional phrase is present it typically occurs between the subject and the direct object.
(8) æli be minu ab dad
Ali to Minu water gave
‘Ali gave water to Minu.’
Therefore, a more complete description of constituent order is:
(9) (S) (PP) (O) V
An important variation on (S) (PP) (O) V word order occurs when the direct object is definite. A definite direct object,
which is marked with the object marker (OM) -ra/-ro/-o, occurs before the prepositional phrase. See Section
2.1.1.10.1.2 for a discussion of definite direct objects and -ra.

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(10) æli ab-o be minu dad
Ali water-OM to Minu gave
‘Ali gave the water to Minu.’
A number of processes can affect these basic surface orders. For a discussion of scrambling see Section 1.14.1; verb
preposing, Section 1.14.3; postposing, Section 1.14.2; dislocation, Section 1.12.1.3; movement without dislocation,
1.12.1.2; clefting, Section 1.11.2.1.4.–5; heavy shift, Section 1.13. Also see Section 1.1.1.2.2 regarding movement
for focus, Section 1.1 for clefting, pseudoclefting and emphasis, Section 1.12 for topicalization movement.
(11) be mina mæn gol-ra dad-æm
to Mina I flower-OM gave-1S
‘I gave the flower to Mina.’
(12) gol-ra mæn be Mina dad-æm
flower-OM I to Mina gave-1S
Sentence (13) contains, in addition to scrambling, one postposed phrase.
(13) gol-ra mæn dad-æm be Mina
flower-OM I gave-1S to Mina
Verb-preposing is limited to main clauses. In example (14) the verb has moved to the left of the subject. Example
(15) shows verb-preposing and scrambling.
(14) dad-æm mæn be Mina gol-ra
gave-1S I to Mina flower-OM
‘I did give the flower to Mina.’
(15) gol-ra dad-æm mæn be Mina
flower-OM gave-1S I to Mina
‘The flower, I gave to Mina.’
1.1.1 Sentence types
There are three basic sentence types in Persian: declarative,

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interrogative and imperative. Declarative sentences follow the canonical order and permutations described in 1.1.
Declarative wordorder is the base form for direct and indirect speech (section 1.1.1.1), and, with a rising intonation,
the most common way of asking questions (see Section 1.1.1.2).
1.1.1.1 Direct and indirect speech
Quoted material (direct speech) is presented in the form of a sentential complement immediately following the main
clause:
(16) behruz goft, sinema ne-mi-r-æm
Behruz said movie NEG-DUR-go-1S
‘Behruz said, “I won’t go to the movies”.’
(17) tu-ye ketab-æm nevešt ke hærgez færamuš-et
in-EZ book-1S.PC wrote that never forget-2S.PC
ne-mi-kon-æm.
NEG-DUR-do-1S
‘In my book she wrote, “I’ll never forget you”.’
Indirect speech is optionally introduced with the complementizer ke. However, because ke is optional, potential
ambiguity as to whether the subordinate clause is direct or indirect can occur. For example, the sentence in (18) is
clearly indirect:
(18) goft ke ne-mi-ya-d
said-3S that NEG-come-3S
‘She said that she isn’t coming.’
But the sentence in example (19) can either be an instance of indirect speech with the same meaning as the above
example or it may be understood as quoted speech. Of course, context will disambiguate most such instances.
(19) goft ne-mi-ya-d
said-3S NEG-DUR-go-3S
‘She said that she isn’t going.’ (Both third person pronouns refer to the same person.)
‘She said, “She isn’t going”.’ (The third person pronouns refer to two different people.)

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See Section 1.1.2.2.4 regarding indirect questions and 1.1.2.1 on subordination.
1.1.1.2 Interrogative sentences
Persian uses two basic types of interrogative sentence: yes-no questions and question-word questions.
1.1.1.2.1 Yes-no questions
Yes-no questions may be classified as neutral, where no particular answer is expected, and leading, where either an
affirmative or a negative answer is expected.
1.1.1.2.1.1 Neutral yes-no questions
There are two structures associated with neutral yes-no questions. The most common strategy for asking yes-no
questions, for both formal and informal contexts, is to use rising intonation. The word order of a rising-intonation
yes-no question is identical to that of the corresponding declarative sentence.
(20) mive xærid-i (standard intonation)
fruit bought-2S
‘You bought some fruit’
(21) mive xærid-i (rising intonation)
fruit bought-2S
‘Did you buy some fruit?’
A second, though quite formal, neutral yes-no question construction is sentence-initial placement of aya followed by
a declarative sentence with rising intonation. The questioner using aya has no expectation concerning the answer
but is neutrally asking for information in the form of a yes answer or a no answer.
(22) aya in gorbe-ye šoma-st?
INTER this cat-EZ you-is
‘Is this your cat?’

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1.1.1.2.1.2 Leading yes-no questions
The sentence-initial word mæge corresponds roughly to sentence-final tag-question constructions in English such as
‘didn’t he’, or the French n’est-ce pas. Leading questions are formed with mæge in sentence-initial position followed
by a declarative sentence construction uttered with a rising intonation. Question words (discussed in section
1.1.1.2.2.) cannot be used with mæge . A speaker using mæge with a positive sentence assumes the answer will be
negative while using mæge with a negative sentence assumes a positive answer. See Section 1.1.1.2.4.2.1.2
regarding answers to leading questions.
(23) mæge in gorbe-ye to-e?
mæge this cat-EZ you-is
‘Is this cat yours?’ (expecting a negative answer)
(24) mæge un mašin-e to nist?
mæge that car-EZ you isn’t
‘Isn’t that car yours?’ (expecting a positive answer)
1.1.1.2.1.3 Alternative questions
The purpose of alternative questions is to make the respondent choose between two contrasting propositions. As in
yes-no questions, rising intonation is required and answers will either overtly or by implication include ‘yes’ and ‘no’
as part of the response. Alternative questions are optionally introduced with the question word aya, and always end
with the words ya næ, ‘or not’. It should be noted that aya would only be used in formal settings, for example
during an interview.
(25) otaq-et-o tæmiz kærd-i ya næ?
room-2S.PC-OM clean did-2S or no
‘Did you clean your room or not?’
(26) aya in šæxs-o mi-šnas-id ya næ?
INTER this person-OM DUR-know-2P or not
‘Do you know this man or not?’

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1.1.1.2.2 Question-word questions
Question words in Persian comprise a set of interrogative pronouns: ki ‘who’, whom’, ci ‘what’, ke ‘when’, koja
‘where’, cera ‘why’, cænd ‘how much (price)’; and interrogative adjectives: kodum (yek) ‘which (one)’, cænd, cænd-
ta ‘how many’, ceqædr ‘how much’. These uninflected forms can be used as subjects or objects. Again, as with yes-
no questions, a rising intonation at the end of the sentence is required. Examples of interrogative words are given in
(27–32). An interrogative adjectives is shown in (29). In the case of dative, the question word is preceded by a
preposition (example 30). There is no genitive pronoun equivalent to ‘whose’ in Persian. Instead the possessive
relation for the pronoun is conveyed through an ezafe construction linking the noun to the question word (example
31) or an ezafe construction using mal, ‘property’, as shown in examples (32).
(27) ki mi-ya-d?
who DUR-come-3S
‘Who’s coming?’
(28) ci-ro did-ænd?
who-OM saw-3P
‘What did they see?’
(29) in kase cænd-e?
this bowl how much-is
‘How much is this bowl?’
(30) bijæn pul-o be ki dad?
Bijæn money-OM to who gave
‘Who did Bijæn give the money to’
(31) in sæg-e ki-ye?
this dog-EZ who-is
‘Whose dog is this?’
(32) in sæg mal-e ki-ye?
this dog property-EZ who-is
‘Whose dog is this?’

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1.1.1.2.2.1 Elements which can be questioned
Elements in both main clauses and subordinate clauses may be questioned.
1.1.1.2.2.1.1 Main-clause constituents which can be questioned
Any constituent in the main clause may be questioned by using the strategies and question words discussed in
section 1.1.1.2.2. The subject, direct object and indirect object of sentence (33) are questioned in (34), (35) and
(36), respectively:
(33) emruz færiborz bæra-ye širin sobune dorost--kærd
today fariborz for Shirin breakfast made--did
‘Today, Fariborz made breakfast for Shirin.’
(34) emruz ki bæra-ye širin sobune dorost--kærd?
today who for Shirin breakfast made--do
‘Today, who made breakfast for Shirin?’
(35) emruz færiborz bæra-ye širin ci dorost--kærd?
today fariborz for Shirin what made--do
‘Today, what did Fariborz make for Shirin?’
(36) emruz færiborz bæra-ye ki sobune dorost--kærd?
today fariborz for who breakfast made--do?
‘Today, who did Fariborz make breakfast for?’
In (37), (38) and (39) the adverbial emruz ‘today’ and the verb phrase are questioned. Here verb phrase means
verb+direct object, or verb + direct object and prepositional phrase. Consequently, unlike the noun phrases in (34)–
(36), a simple question word cannot be used to replace the verb phrase. Instead, as in many languages, including
English, a phrase is required. In Persian the question word ci ‘what’ and the compound verb kar kærdæn ‘to work’
are used to question the verb phrase:
(37) ke færiborz bæra-ye širin sobune dorost--kærd?
when fariborz for Shirin breakfast fix--did
‘When did Fariborz make breakfast for Shirin?’

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(38) emruz, færiborz bæra-ye širin ci kar--kærd?
today fariborz for Shirin what work--did
‘What did Fariborz do for Shirin today?’
(39) emruz færiborz ci kar kærd?
today fariborz what work did
‘What did Fariborz do today?’
1.1.1.2.2.1.2 Subordinate-clause constituents that can be questioned
Subordinate clauses in Persian are all finite, either indicative or subjunctive, and may be preceded by the optional
relative pronoun ke (that/which). Example (40) shows a subordinated clause in the indicative and (41) shows a
subordinate clause in the subjunctive. The use of the subjunctive reflects desire or a degree of uncertainty.
(40) (mæn) fekr -mi-kon-æm (ke) mæryæm
(I) think--DUR-know-1S (that) Maryam
se-ta mæjele xær-id
three-CL magazine bought
‘I think that Maryam bought three magazines.’
(41) (mæn) mi-x-am (ke) ba to be-r-æm.
(I) DUR-want-1S (that) with you SBJN-go-1S
‘I want to go with you.’
All constituents of a subordinate clause, including the verb phrase, can be questioned. The questions in examples
(42)–(44) are based on the statement in (40).
(42) (to) fekr mi-kon-i (ke) ki se-ta
(you) think DUR-know-2S (that) who three-CL
mæjele xærid?
magazine bought
‘Who do you think bought three magazines?’
(43) (to) fekr mi-kon-i (ke) mæryæm
(you) think DUR-know-2S (that) Maryam
cænd-ta mæjele xærid
how many-CL magazine bought?
‘How many magazines do you think Maryam bought?’

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(44) (to) fekr mi-kon-i (ke) mæryæm
(you) think DUR-know-2S (that) Maryam
se-ta mæjele-ro ci kar kærd?
three-CL magazine-OM what work did
‘What do you think Maryam did with the three magazines?’
1.1.1.2.2.1.2.1 Finite subordinate clauses
See Section 1.1.1.2.2.1.2.
1.1.1.2.2.1.2.2 Nonfinite clauses
As discussed in Section 1.1.1.2.2.1.2, Persian does not have nonfinite subordinate clauses.
1.1.1.2.2.1.3 Noun phrase constituents that can be questioned
A noun phrase may include the following elements: a demonstrative pronoun and/or quantifier which precede the
noun, and modification via the ezafe construction following the noun. The modification may consist of an intensifier
followed by an indefinite number of descriptive elements (including prepositional phrases, other noun phrases), all
connected by ezafe. The final element in a noun phrase is the pronominal possessive suffix.
Demonstrative with and without quantifier
(45) in pesær
this boy
‘this boy’
(46) in se-ta pesær
this three-CL boy
‘these three boys’
(47) un cænd-ta goldun
that many-CL vase
‘those few vases’
(48) kodum pesær?
which boy
‘which boy?’

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Cardinal quantifier
(49) do-ta gorbe
two-NC cat
‘two cats’
(50) cænd-ta gorbe?
how many-NC cat
‘how many cats?’
Ordinal quantifier
(51) dovomin gorbe
second cat
‘the second cat’
(52) cændomin gorbe?
which cat
‘which cat?
Quantifier (proportional numeral)
(53) dæh bærabær meqdar-e pul
ten times amount-EZ money
‘ten times as much money’
(54) cænd bærabær meqdar-e pul?
how much times amount-EZ money
‘How many times as much money?’
Descriptive adjective
(55) yek mænzære-ye xeyli ziba
a view-EZ very beautiful
‘a very beautiful view’
(56) ce-jur mænzære-i?
what-kind view-IND
‘What kind of view?’

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Possessive suffix
(57) otaq-e xeyli kucik-æm
room-EZ very small-1S.PC
‘my very small room’
(58) otaq-e xeyli kucik-e ki?
room-EZ very small-EZ who
‘whose very small room?’
Prepositional phrase
(59) saxtemun-e dæm-e rudxune
building-EZ by-EZ river
‘the building by the river’
(60) kodum saxtemun?
which building?
‘which building?’
1.1.1.2.2.1.4 Questioning elements of prepositional phrases
As in English, prepositional phrases in Persian consist of a preposition followed by an NP. Common simple
prepositions are: æz ‘from, dær ‘in’, ta ‘until’, be ‘to’, ba ‘with’, bæra-ye ‘for’. Several prepositions are composed of a
locative word plus the ezafe: bedun-e ‘without’, tu-ye ‘in’, ru-ye ‘on’, zir-e ‘under’, pæhlu-ye ‘by’. In all cases the NP
element can be questioned. In the case of locative prepositions the entire PP may be questioned. See (63)–(68).
(61) ba mina
with Mina
‘with Mina’
(62) ba ki?
with who
‘with who?’
(63) dær emrika
in America
‘in America’

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(64) dær koja?
in where
‘where?’
The answer to (64) would be emrika or dær emrika, with or without the preposition.
(65) koja?
where
‘where?’
The answer to (65) would be dær emrika, with the preposition.
(66) pæhlu-ye bimarestan
by-EZ hospital
‘by the hospital’
(67) pæhlu-ye koja?
by-EZ where
‘by where?’
(68) koja?
where
‘where?’
1.1.1.2.2.1.5 Questioning elements of coordinate structures
Coordination is achieved with the use of væ or o between the elements being conjoined. The elements being
conjoined can be NPs or VPs.
Conjoined noun phrases
(69) pedær-æm væ jæhan šam xord-ænd
father-1S.PC and Jahan dinner ate-3P
‘My father and Jahan ate dinner.’
(70) pedær-æm væ ki šam xord-ænd?
father-1S.PC and who dinner ate-3P
‘My father and who ate dinner?’

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Conjoined verb phrases
(71) tæmam-e šæb avaz xund væ ræxsid
all-EZ night song sang and danced
‘She sang and danced all night.’
(72) tæmam-e šæb avaz xund væ cikar kærd?
all-EZ night song sang and what-work did
‘She sang and did what all night?’
1.1.1.2.2.1.6 Number of constituents that can be questioned
In principle, any number of constituents may be questioned at the same time. For example, the statement in (73)
may have all its elements questioned simultaneously as in (73a).
(73) šiva ba rana dišæb ræft sinema
shiva with Rana last night went movie
‘Shiva went to the movies with Rana last night.’
(73a) ki ba ki ke koja ræft?
who with who when where went
‘Who went where with whom when?’
1.1.1.2.2.2 Position of the questioned element
Question words in Persian consist of a set of interrogative pronouns: ki ‘who/whom’, ci ‘what’, ke ‘when’, koja
‘where’ cera ‘why’, cænd ‘how much (price)’ and interrogative adjectives: kodum (yek) ‘which (one)’, cænd, cænd-ta
‘how many’, ceqædr ‘how much’ (see section 1.1.1.2.2). The position of these words depends on their syntactic
function in the context of general SOV ordering in Persian. If the subject is being questioned, the interrogative will
appear sentence-initially in place of the subject; if the object is being questioned, the interrogative will appear
medially, in place of the object. In the case of the latter, for the purpose of focus the interrogative may be moved to
sentence-initial position (see examples (78)–(79)).
Examples (75)–(79) question various elements of the statement in (74). (Since Persian is a pro-drop language, the
object interrogative will often appear to be sentence-initial when in fact it is not.)

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(74) reza mašin-o be mæn dad
Reza car-OM to me gave
‘Reza gave me the car.’
Subject is questioned
(75) ki mašin-o be mæn dad?
who car-OM to me gave
‘Who gave me the car?’
Direct object is questioned
(76) reza ci be mæn dad?
Reza what to me gave
‘Reza gave me what?’
Indirect object is questioned
(77) reza mašin-o be ki dad?
Reza car-OM to who gave
‘Reza gave who the car?’
Direct object interrogative moved for focus
(78) ci-o reza be mæn dad?
what-OM Reza to me gave
‘What was it that Reza gave me?’
Indirect object interrogative moved for focus
(79) be ki reza mašin-o dad?
to who Reza car-OM gave
‘Reza gave the car to who?’
1.1.1.2.3 Echo questions
1.1.1.2.3.1 Yes-no echo questions
Yes-no echo questions are formed by repeating part of the sentence. The examples in (81) through (84) are echo
question responses to the initial statement in (80). In the examples in (81) the VP is repeated. In (82) just the PP is
repeated. Example (83) shows

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repetition of the direct object NP and verb, and in (84) only the DO is repeated to form a yes-no echo question. In
all responses the last syllable of the item in question not only receives stress but also the highest intonation level of
the question. (Bold-face underlined letters indicate highest intonation.)
(80) A: kilid-o dad-æm be mæryæm
key-OM gave-1S to Maryam
‘I gave the key to Maryam.’
Questioning the IO:
(81) B: dad-i be mæryæm?
gave-2S to Maryam
‘You gave (it) to Maryam?
(82) B: be mæryæm?
to Maryam
To Maryam?’
Questioning the DO:
(83) B: kilid-o dad-i
key-OM gave-2S
‘You gave the key?’
(84) B: kilid-o?
key-OM?
‘The key?’
For all the above examples in (81) through (84) speaker A’s response is ‘yes’.
1.1.1.2.3.2 Question-word echo questions
One way to form question-word questions involves the replacement of one element of the previous utterance with a
WH-word. The WH-word can either remain in its original syntactic position, as in example (85a), or be used to form
a standard WH-question, shown in example (85b) (see Section 1.1.1.2.2 for WH-questions).
The WH-word koja in (85a) receives rising intonation. In

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(85b) the intonation rises on the final syllable of the question word and continues to the end of the question.
(85) A: ræft-æm šikago.
went-1S Chicago
‘I went to Chicago.’
(85a) B: ræft-i koja?
went-2S where
‘You went where?’
(85b) B: koja ræft-i?
where went-2S
‘Where did you go?’
Question-word questions can also take the form of a simple WH-question appropriate to the original statement.
(86) A: ræft-æm šikago.
went-1S Chicago
‘I went to Chicago.’
(86a) B: koja?
where
‘Where?’
When the original utterance needing clarification is in the form of a question, the echo question repeats the original
utterance, replacing one or more of the elements with a WH-word. The intonation of the question-word echo
question is generally high throughout with additional stress on any questioned element.
(87) azær cera ræft xune?
Azar why went home
‘Why did Azar go home?’
(88) ki cera ræft koja?
who why went where
‘Why did who go where?’

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1.1.1.2.3.3 Yes-no question echo-questions
In Persian, when Speaker A asks a yes-no question such as ‘Are you going to the harbor?’, Speaker B cannot ask for
clarification in the form of a question like ‘Am I going to the harbor?’. Rather, Speaker B must ask for clarification via
a subordinate construction.
(89) A: mi-r-i danešga?
DUR-go-2S university
‘Are you going to the university?’
(89a) B: porsid-i mi-r-æm danešga?
asked-2S DUR-go-1S university
‘Did you ask if I’m going to the university?’
1.1.1.2.3.4 Question-word question echo questions
When Speaker A asks a WH-question, Speaker B can ask for clarification by repeating the question in the first
person. Unlike the intonation pattern in nonecho-question WH-questions, the highest intonation is on the last syllable
of the question. (See Section 3.3.4.1.)
(90) A: koja mi-r-i?
where DUR-go-2S
‘Where are you going?’
(90a) B: koja mi-r-æm?
where DUR-go-1S
‘Where am I going?’
1.1.1.2.3.5 Elements that can be questioned in echo questions
In an echo question a speaker may ask for clarification of any element of a previous declarative sentence, question-
word question or question-word question echo-questions (see Sections 1.1.1.2.3.1–2 and 1.1.1.2.3.4).
Elements which can be questioned in a declarative sentence
(91) A: diruz kif-o gozæšt-æm ru miz
yesterday purse-OM put-1S on table
‘Yesterday, I put the purse on the table.’

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Questioning the DO
(91a) B: kif-o?
purse-OM
‘The purse?’
Questioning the IO
(91b) B: ru miz?
on table
‘On the table?’
Questioning the VP
(91c) B: kif-o ci kar--kærd-i?
purse-OM what work--did-2S
‘You did what with the purse?’
Questioning the adverb
(91d) B: ke kif-o gozošt-i ru miz?
when purse-OM put-2S on table
‘When did you put the purse on the table?’
When the echo question is itself a yes-no question, the entire sentence must be repeated as in shown in Section
1.1.1.2.3.3.
1.1.1.2.3.6 Questioning more than one element
Any number of elements can be questioned in an echo question at the same time.
(92) A: færda ba firuz mi-r-æm muze
tomorrow with Firuz DUR-go-1S museum
‘Tomorrow I’m going to the museum with Firuz.’
(92a) B: ke ba ki ci kar--mi-kon-i?
when with whom what work-DUR-do-i
‘When are you doing what with whom?’
In the case of yes-no echo questions, separate elements cannot be questioned. See Section 1.1.1.2.3.3.

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1.1.1.2.3.7 Questioning different elements
Different word types are questioned through the use of the appropriate WH-word: ci ‘what’, ke ‘when’, koja ‘where’,
cera ‘why’, cetowr ‘how’, ki ‘who’, kodum ‘which’ (see Section 1.1.1.2.2).
1.1.1.2.4 Answers
1.1.1.2.4.1 Answers as direct speech acts
Answers to yes-no questions or question-word questions and echo questions are not marked as a distinct speech act.
1.1.1.2.4.1.1 Yes-no questions
Answers to yes-no questions are typically introduced with the informal are or the more formal bæle, both meaning
‘yes’, or preceded with næ ‘no’. See Section 1.1.1.2.1 for more discussion and examples of yes-no questions.
1.1.1.2.4.1.2 Question-word questions
Answers to question-word questions follow the word order of other declaratives and are therefore indistinguishable
from other declarative sentences. See Section 1.1.1.2.2 for other examples and discussion of question-word
questions.
1.1.1.2.4.1.3 Echo questions
Echo questions are answered like other questions.
1.1.1.2.4.2 Answers in the form of incomplete sentences
Answers to any type of question can be in the form of complete or incomplete sentences.
1.1.1.2.4.2.1 Yes-no questions
1.1.1.2.4.2.1.1 Minimum answers to yes-no questions
A minimal answer to yes-no questions may come in the form

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of a simple are ‘yes’ or næ ‘no’ or momken-e ‘maybe’.
(93) A: šam xord-i?
dinner ate-2S
B: are
yeah
‘Yeah.’
(94) A: in loqæt æræbi-e?
this word Arabic-is
‘Is this word Arabic?’
B: momken-e
possible-is
‘Maybe.’
1.1.1.2.4.2.1.2 Answers to leading questions
If the leading question is positive, a simple are/bæle ‘yes’ or næ ‘no’ is sufficient for clarity.
(95) A: mi-r-i?
DUR-go-2S
‘Are you going?’
B: are næ
yes no
‘Yes. (I’m going.)’ ‘No. (I’m not going).’
If the leading question is negative, a næ ‘no’ unambiguously agrees with the assumption.
(96) A: maman emšæb ne-mi-ya-d?
mom tonight NEG-DUR-come-3S
‘Isn’t Mom coming tonight?’
B: næ
no
‘No. (She’s not coming.)’
If the leading question is negative, cera, ‘why’ is used to

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mean ‘of course’ and emphatically negates the negative assumption.
(97) A: maman emšæb ne-mi-ya-d?
mom tonight NEG-DUR-come-3S
‘Isn’t Mom coming tonight?’
B: cera
of course
‘Of course (she’s coming).’
If the leading question is negative, a simple are/bæle ‘yes’ is both odd and ambiguous and not likely to be used.
Even if followed with clarification, an are answer to a negative leading question is odd. See Section 1.1.1.2.1.2 for
other examples of leading questions.
1.1.12.4.2.2 Question-word questions
Answers to question-word questions can take the form of incomplete sentences or single words. For example, a
where-question can be answered by naming a location or using a prepositional phrase:
(98) A: koja mi-r-i?
where DUR-go-2S
B: širaz
Shiraz
‘Shiraz.’
(99) A: in-o æz koja gereft-i?
this-OM from where got-2S
‘Where did you get this from?’
B: æz nepal
from Nepal
‘From Nepal.’
(100) A: ba ki hærf--mi-zæd-i?
with who word--DUR-strike-2S
‘Who were you talking with?’

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B: ba mina
ba Mina
‘With Mina.’
1.1.1.3 Imperative sentences
1.1.1.3.1 Positive imperative forms
A positive imperative sentence is formed by adding be-/bo-to the present stem of a verb. In some verbs, such as
compounds using kærdæn ‘to do’, the be is optional. Imperatives use the second person. No personal suffix is used
in the singular; in the plural the ordinary second person plural suffix -id is used. With the imperative the subject
pronoun is rarely used, except for emphasis. (Also see Section 2.1.3.4.3 for further example of the imperative.)
An imperative is usually softened with lotfæn ‘please’, which can appear in sentence-initial or -final position or before
the verb phrase. The phrase xaheš--mi-kon-æm, typically appearing sentence-initially, also softens the command.
The imperative is emphasized by using more volume, stress and intonation.
(101) gol-a-ro lotfæn ab--be-de
flower-PL-OM please water--IMP-give
‘Water the flowers.’
1.1.1.3.2 Negative imperative
In the negative imperative the be- prefix is not used, being replaced by the negative prefix næ-.
(102) ba un bazi--næ-kon
with that play--NEG-do
‘Don’t play with that.’
(103) gol-a-ro ab--næ-de
flower-PL-OM water--NEG-give
‘Don’t water the flowers.’
1.1.1.3.2.1–2 Person/number in negative imperative forms
Person, number marking and degree of the imperative are the same as in the positive imperative.

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1.1.1.4 Other distinct sentence types
The basic sentence types are mentioned above: declarative, interrogative and imperative. Another type, though
much less frequent, is the formulaic subjunctive.
(104) inšallah be arezu-t be-res-i
God willing to wish-2S.PC SBJN-arrive-2S
“God willing, may you get what you want.’
1.1.1.5 Indirect speech acts
Interrogative and declarative sentences can be used for other functions. Imperatives are restricted to an imperative
function.
Interrogative as imperative or request
With an ordinary interrogative intonation which rises at the end of the sentence, this would be interpreted as a
request to close the door rather than a query about the person’s ability to close the door. If the stress is moved to
mi-tun-i with the highest level of intonation on the durative prefix mi-, the request becomes an imperative.
(105) mi-tun-i dær-o be-bænd-i?
DUR-be able-2S door-OM SBJN-close-2S
‘Can you close the door?’
Declarative as imperative or request
In the following example, the speaker does not intend to make a statement of fact as much as order or ask the
listener to turn off the light. There is little if any intonation or stress distinction between the declarative and
imperative uses of this sentence.
(106) ceraq-o rošæn gozošt-i
light-OM on put-i
‘You left the light on.’

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1.1.2 Subordination
1.1.2.1 General markers of subordination
There are two main markers of subordination. First is the optional use of the complementizer ke ‘that’ to introduce
nominal clauses.
(107) fekr--mi-kon-æm (ke) šiva emšæb mi-res-e
thought--DUR-do-1S (that) Shiva tonight DUR-arrive-3S
‘I think (that) Shiva will arrive tonight.’
Another indicator that a clause is subordinate is the mood of the verb. Depending on the particular verb in the main
clause and the degree of certainty about the truth of the proposition described in the subordinate clause, the
subordinated verb may be in the subjunctive. Verbs such as xastæn ‘to want’, tunestæn ‘to be able’, the impersonal
constructions such as momken-e ‘maybe (it is possible)’, emkan dar-e ‘it is possible’ and behtar-e ‘it is better that’ as
well as the negative form of fekr kærdæn ‘to think’ require that the verb of the subordinate clause be in the
subjunctive mood.
(108) fekr--ne-mi-kon-æm (ke) emšæb bi-ya-d
thought-NEG-DUR-do-1S (that) tonight SBJN-come-3S
‘I don’t think (that) she will come tonight.’
Second, to introduce adjective clauses, the demonstrative particle -i is followed by the complementizer ke, resulting
in a sequence -i ke ‘who/whom/that/which’.
(109) mašin-i ke diruz xærid-æm
car-DEM that yesterday bought-1S
‘the car that I bought yesterday’
Canonical word order within subordinate clauses is the same as in main clauses. In addition, most movement rules
appear to be permitted in both main and subordinate clauses. However, at least one movement rule that applies in
the main clause is not permitted in a subordinate clause. Karimi (1989:144–148) points out that verb preposing that
results in V S PP order cannot occur in the subordinate clause. Also see Section 2.1.2.7 on relative pronouns.

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1.1.2.2 Noun clauses
1.1.2.2.1 Marking of noun clauses
Subordinate noun clauses generally immediately follow the main clause, although in the case of nominal relative
clauses the subordinate clause precedes the main verb. NP complements are introduced with the optional
complementizer ke ‘that’ or other subordinators such as WH-words, æge ‘if and aya ‘whether’. Subordinate noun
clauses are unmarked for case. As in the main clause, the word order in subordinate clauses follows the canonical
SOV word order, where pronominal subjects may be deleted.
1.1.2.2.2 Types of noun clauses
There are several types of subordinate noun clauses.
(a) ke-clauses
ke is optional when the ke clause is object or complement.
(110) mælum-e (ke) mæriz-e
obvious-is (that) sick-is
‘It’s obvious (that) he’s sick.’
(111) mi-dunest-æm (ke) dir mi-res-i
DUR-knew-1S (that) late DUR-arrive-2S
‘I knew (that) you’d arrive late.’
When the clause is a subject NP the use of ke is obligatory.
(112) ke hænuz zendæ-st mojezæ-st
that still alive-is miracle-is
‘That she’s still alive is a miracle.’
(b) WH-interrogative clauses
A WH-interrogative subordinate clause is introduced with a WH-word and follows the main clause.
(113) ne-mi-fæhm-æm cera in-o xærid
NEG-DUR-understand-1S why this-OM bought
‘I don’t understand why he bought this.’

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(114) ne-mi-dun-æm ketab-a-ro be ki dad
NEG-DUR-know-1S book-PL-OM to who gave
‘I don’t know who he gave the books to.’
(c) Nominal relative clauses
Nominal relative clauses precede the main verb. They are introduced with a WH-element plus an optional ke.
(115) hær-ceqæd (ke) pul mi-xa-i be-het
however much (that) money DUR-want-2S to-2S.PC
mi-d-æm
DUR-give-1S
‘I’ll give you however much money you want.’
(116) in-o be hær-kesi (ke) ævvæl mi-res-e be-de
this-OM to whoever (that) first DUR-arrive-3S IMP-give
‘Give this to whoever arrives first.’
(d) Yes/no (if/whether) interrogative clauses
Yes/no interrogative subordinate clauses follow the main clause and are introduced by the informal æge or the more
formal aya, both meaning ‘if, whether’.
(117) mi-dun-i æge/aya væqt dar-im?
DUR-know-2S if time have-1P
‘Do you know if we have time?’
(e) Nonfinite clauses
Nonfinite subordinate noun clauses cannot be formed in Persian.
1.1.2.2.3 Indirect statements
For a discussion on indirect statements see Section 1.1.1.1.
1.1.2.2.4 Indirect questions
An indirect question follows the main clause, optionally introduced with ke ‘that’. Word order within the indirect
question is

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the same as in direct questions (see Section 1.1.1.2 for a discussion on different types of interrogative sentences).
(118) æli porsid cera mæryæm ne-mi-ya-d
Ali asked why Maryam NEG-DUR-come-3S
‘Ali asked why Maryam isn’t coming.’
1.1.2.2.5 Indirect commands
The indirect command is optionally introduced with ke ‘that’ and follows the main clause. The subordinated verb
takes the subjunctive mood and can be inflected for any person and number. Also see Section 1.1.1.3 on imperative
statements.
(119) be to goft (ke) be-r-i
to you said (that) SBJN-go-2S
‘She told you to go.’
1.1.2.2.6 Nonfinite noun clauses
There are no nonfinite subordinated nominal clauses.
1.1.2.3 Adjective clauses (relative clauses)
1.1.2.3.1 Marking of adjective clauses
Adjective clauses are introduced with the relative pronoun ke ‘who/whom/that/which’. Other morphological marking
is required depending on whether the antecedent is definite or indefinite, singular or plural, an abstract noun being
used generically and whether the clause is restrictive or nonrestrictive.
1.1.2.3.2 Restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses
1.1.2.3.2.1 Restrictive relative clauses
A restrictive relative clause is introduced by -i ke. This suffix -i, not to be confused with the homophonous
indefinite/specific -i or the attributive -i, is called the “referential” or “demonstrative” morpheme in traditional
grammars of Persian. (It has been suggested that demonstrative -i and indefinite/specific -i have different
etymological sources.) We use the abbreviation “DEM” for

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“demonstrative” in our translations. The demonstrative -i attaches to the head noun and is followed by ke and the
relative clause. The bare head noun is interpreted as definite.
(120) zæn-i ke vared-e otaq šod
woman-DEM that enter-EZ room became
‘the woman who entered the room’
An indefinite NP is preceded by ye(k) ‘one/a’:
(121) ye pesær-i ke kolah sær-eš bud
a boy-DEM that hat head-3S.PC was
‘a boy who was wearing a hat’
When the relative clause modifies the direct definite object NP of the main clause, the object marker -ra optionally
follows the demonstrative -i .
(122) film-i-(ro) ke hæme dust--dašt-ænd næ-did-im
film-DEM-OM that all friend--have-3P NEG-saw-1P
‘We didn’t see the film that everyone liked.’
1.1.2.3.2.2 Nonrestrictive relative clauses
Nonrestrictive relative clauses are introduced with the relative pronoun ke and follow their antecedent. The
demonstrative -i is not used with nonrestrictive clauses. Definite subject antecedents are marked for definiteness
with demonstrative adjectives or via possessiveness. Proper nouns, quantified and plural nouns are also interpreted
as definite. See Section 2.1.1.10 for further discussion of definiteness in noun phrases.
(123) un doxtær-e kucik ke gol dæst-eš-e
that girl-EZ small that flower hand-3S.PC-is
‘yhat little girl, who is holding the flowers’
(124) dust-æm ke emrika zendegi--mikon-e
friend-1S.PC that America life--DUR-do-3S
‘my friend who lives in America’
When the antecedent of the relative clause is a definite direct object, the object marker attaches to the head noun
and is followed by

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the ke-clause.
(125) un mærd-o ke ruzname mi-xund peyda--kærd
that man-OM that newspaper DUR-read visible--did
‘He found the man, who was reading the newspaper.’
Indefinite antecedents take indefinite marking in the form of ye(k) ‘one, a’ or the indefinite/specific suffix -i or a
combination of ye(k) and -i .
(126) ye zæn-e bur ke mæjele mi-xund
a woman-EZ blond that magazine DUR-read
‘a blond woman who was reading a magazine’
(127) ye doxtær-e kucik-i ke gol dæst-eš bud
a girl-EZ small-IND that flower hand-3S.PC was
‘a little girl, who was holding the flowers’
1.1.2.3.3 Position of the head noun
As shown above, whether the relative clause is restrictive or nonrestrictive, it follows the head noun.
1.1.2.3.4 Form of the relativized element
The relativized subject or direct object of the relative clause is omitted. The unmarked conjunction ke introduces the
relative clause.
(128) mærd-i ke ræft
man-DEM that went
‘the man who went’
(129) mærd-i ke did-æm
man-DEM that saw-1S
‘the man who I saw’
As discussed in Section 1.1.2.3.2.1, in addition to ke, the demonstrative -i is attached to the antecedent of restrictive
relative clauses.
When the relativized element is an oblique object of the relative clause, ke cooccurs with the oblique object which is
preserved

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as a pronominal clitic. In example (130) the relativized element takes the pronominal clitic form -heš ‘him’.
(130) mærd-i ke pul-o be-heš dad-æm
man-DEM that money-OM to-3S.PC gave-1S
‘the man who I gave the money to’
1.1.2.3.5 Position of the relativized element
As seen in the examples in Section 1.1.2.3.4, the relativized subject or direct object is omitted.
(131) zæn-i ke kot-e qermez pušid-e--bud
woman-DEM that jacket-EZ red wore-PSPT--was
‘the woman who was wearing a red jacket’
(132) mærd-i(-ro) ke (mæn) diruz did-æm
man-DEM(-OM) that (I) yesterday saw-1S
‘the man that I saw yesterday’
When the relativized element is an oblique object of the relative clause, ke precedes the clause. The oblique object
remains in its original position in the form of a pronominal clitic (see (130)).
1.1.2.3.6 Headless relative clauses
Headless relative clauses occur in Persian and can function as objects or subjects of the main verb. They are
typically introduced with a WH-pronoun such as ci ‘what’, ki ‘who’, hærki ‘whoever’, hærci ‘whatever’, and so on.
(133) did-æm ci mi-xa-d
saw-1S what DUR-want-3S
‘I saw what she wanted.’
(134) mi-dunest ki-o dust--dar-æm
DUR-knew who-OM friend--have-1S
‘He knew who I loved.’
(135) hærki dær-o bæst qofl-eš--næ-kærd
whoever door-OM closed lock-3S.PC--NEG-did
‘Whoever closed the door didn’t lock it.’

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1.1.2.3.7 Elements that can be relativized
Any nominal element of the main clause can be relativized.
Relativization of the subject
(136) zæn-i ke be mašin-æm zæd
woman-DEM that to car-1S.PC hit
‘the woman who hit my car’
Relativization of the direct object
(137) mašin-i(-ro) ke pedær-æm zæd
car-DEM(-OM) that father-1S hit
‘the car that my father hit’
Some varieties of the language seem to allow pronoun retention for direct objects. This construction appears in
classical literature and occasionally in some dialects of modern spoken Persian.
(138) mærd-i ke æli u-ra mi-šnas-e
man-DEM that Ali he-OM DUR-know-3S
‘the man who Ali knows’
Relativization of the indirect object
(139) bæcce-i ke lebas-a-ro be-heš
child-DEM that clothes-PL-OM to-3S.PC
dad-æm
gave-1S
‘the child that I gave the clothes to’
Relativization of other oblique objects
(140) mæqaze-i ke færš-o æz-æš xærid
store-DEM that rug-OM from-3S.PC bought
‘the store that he bought the rug from’
Elements of subordinate clause can also be relativized.

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Relativization of subordinate subject
(141) mærd-i ke fekr--mi-kon-æm ræ’is-e
man-DEM that thought--DUR-do-1S head-EZ
diparteman-e inja bud
department-EZ here was
‘the man that I think is the head of the department was here’
Relativization of subordinate direct object
(142) mašin-i(-ro) ke goft-æm pedær-æm zæd
car-DEM(-OM) that said-1S father-1S hit
‘the car that I said my father hit’
Relativization of subordinate indirect object
(143) gorbe-i ke šir-o be-heš dad-æm
cat-DEM that milk-OM to-3S.PC gave-1S
‘the cat that I gave the milk to’
Relativization of other subordinate oblique objects
(144) mægaze-i ke fekr--kærd æz-æš
store-DEM that thought-did from-3S.PC
sini-o xærid-æm
tray-OM bought-1S
‘the store that she thought I bought the tray from’
1.1.2.3.8 Movement of relativized element
As relativized elements, direct objects, indirect objects and other oblique objects are moved to the immediate right of
the antecedent and replaced by ke. See examples in 1.1.2.3.7 above.
1.1.2.3.9 Making nonfinite relative clauses
Nonfinite relative clauses do not occur in Persian.
1.1.2.4 Adverbial clauses
1.1.2.4.1 Marking and position
Adverb clauses are generally introduced by an adverbial

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relativizer of time, manner, cause, etc. Most types of adverb clauses may precede or follow the main clause.
(145) væqti-ke vared--šod hæme dæst--zæd-ænd
when enter--became all hand--struck-3P
‘When she entered everyone clapped.’
(146) hæme dæst--zæd-ænd væqti-ke vared--šod
all hand--struck-3P when enter--became
‘When she entered everyone clapped.’
1.1.2.4.2 Different types of adverbial clauses
1.1.2.4.2.1 Adverbial clauses of time
Adverbial clauses of time are introduced by one of several adverbial subordinators such as væqti-(ke) ‘when’, hær-
væqt (ke) ‘whenever, every time’, hærga (ke) ‘every time’, piš-æz-inke ‘before’, qæbl-æz-inke ‘before’, bæd-æz-
inke ‘after’, ta ‘as soon as’ æz moqe’ike ‘since’ and others. Note that the subordinating conjunction ke ‘that’ is
optional in the first three items.
Adverbial clauses of time commonly precede the main clause but may occasionally follow it (see examples (145) and
(146)). Past, present and future are distinguished from each other via the tense, aspect or mood of the verb in the
adverbial clause, the verb in the main clause, and the nature of the adverbial itself, i.e. whether it is referring to
habitual action or a point in time.
(147) hærvæqt (ke) seda-ye buq mi-ya-d
whenever (that) sound-EZ horn DUR-come-3S
mi-xænd-e
DUR-laugh- 3S
‘Whenever a horn sounds she laughs.’
(148) bæd-æz-inke šam xord-i be mæn telefon--be-zæn
after dinner ate-2S to me telephone--IMP-hit
‘After you’ve eaten dinner call me.’
(149) ta resid telefon--kærd
as soon as arrived telephone--did
‘He called as soon as he arrived.’

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1.1.2.4.2.2 Manner
Clauses of manner are introduced by hæmuntor-ke ‘the same way that/exactly as’. The manner clause may precede
the main clause, as in (150) or may appear in medial position after the direct object as in (151). If the main clause
contains an oblique argument, the adverbial clause may also precede or follow that argument.
(150) hæmuntor-ke nešun-et--dad-æm qælæm-o be-gir
the same way that show-2S.PC--give-1S pen-OM IMP-get
‘Hold the pen the way I showed you.’
(151) qælæm-o hæmuntor-ke nešun-et--dad-æm be-gir
pen-OM the same way that show-2S.PC--give-1S IMP-get
‘Hold the pen the way I showed you.’
1.1.2.4.2.3 Purpose
Purpose clauses precede the main clause, use the subjunctive and are introduced by ta (inke) ‘so that/in order to’ or
ke ‘that’
(152) eynæk-æm-o zæd-æm ta be-tun-æm
glasses-1S.PC-OM hit-1S so that SBJN-be able-1S
behtær be-bin-æm
better SBJN-see-1S
‘I put my glasses on so I could see better.’
(153) mæhin-o ferestad be bæqali ke mast
Mahin-OM sent to corner store that yogurt
be-xær-e
SBJN-buy-3S
‘She sent Mahin to the corner store to buy yogurt.’
1.1.2.4.2.4 Cause clauses
The most common conjunction for introducing clauses of cause is cun ‘because, since’ and its variant, cunke.
Compound phrases such as be xater-e ‘because of’, be dælil-e ‘for the reason of’ are also used. Cause clauses
introduced with cun, be xater-e and be dælil-e typically precede the main clause while those introduced by cunke
may follow or precede the main clause.

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(154) cun/cunke dir bud mund-im xune
since late was stayed-1P home
‘Since it was late we stayed home.’
(155) ba otobus ræft-im cunke mašin næ-dar-im
with bus went-1P because car NEG-have-1P
‘we went by bus because we don’t have a car.’
(156) be xater-e særdærd-e šædid be konsert næ-ræft
because of headache-EZ strong to concert NEG-went
‘He didn’t go to the concert because of a bad headache.’
1.1.2.4.2.5 Condition
Condition clauses are introduced chiefly by æge ‘if and precede the main clause. (See Section 2.1.3.4.2 for examples
of different degrees of hypotheticality.)
(157) æge bahæm kar--kon-im zud
if together work--SBJN.do-1P fast
tæmum--mi-š-e
finish--DUR-become- 3S
‘If we work together it’ll get done quickly.’
A more formal, less frequently used conjunction is cenance ‘if. Adverbial clauses with cenance also precede the main
clause.
(158) cenance forsæt dar-id be-r-id tæbriz
if opportunity have-2P IMP-go-2P Tabriz
‘If you have the opportunity, go to Tabriz.’
Negative condition clauses may be introduced by mæge inke ‘unless’ and follow the main clause, or they may be
introduced by ta ‘until’ and precede the main clause.
(159) kilid-o be-heš næ-de mæge inke
key-OM to-3S.PC NEG-give unless
pul-o be-het be-de
money-OM to-2S.PC SBJN-give
‘Don’t give him the key unless he gives you the money.’

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(160) ta šam næ-xor-i deser be-het
until dinner NEG-eat-2S dessert to-2S.PC
ne-mi-d-æm
NEG-DUR-give-1S
‘If you don’t eat dinner I won’t give you dessert.’
1.1.2.4.2.6 Result clauses
Clauses of result follow the main clause and are mainly introduced by betori-ke ‘so that’.
(161) ta cænd ruz fæqæt tæmizkari--kærd-im
for several days only clean--did-1P
betori-ke hæmeciz bærq mi-zæd
so that everything shine--DUR-hit
‘All we did was clean for days so that everything shined.’
A more formal term used to introduce clauses of result is dær æsær-e ‘as a result of. These clauses precede the
main clause.
(162) dær æsær-e gerdbad cændin deræxt æz riše kænde--šod
as a result of tornado several tree from root picked--became
‘As a result of the tornado several trees were uprooted.’
1.1.2.4.2.7 Clauses of degree
1.1.2.4.2.7.1–2 Comparative clauses
The term be qædrike ‘as much as’ and enqæd ke ‘as much as’ are used to introduce comparative adverbial clauses.
Comparative adverbial clauses precede the main clause.
(163) be qædrike to mi-xab-i mæn ne-mi-xab-æm
as much as you DUR-sleep-2S I NEG-DUR-sleep-1S
‘I don’t sleep as much as you sleep.’
(164) enqæd ke to værzeš--mi-kon-i mæn
as much as you exercise--DUR-do-2S I
ne-mi-kon-æm
NEG-DUR-do-1S
‘I don’t exercise as much as you do.’

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1.1.2.4.2.7.2 Equative clauses
Equative clauses are introduced with be qæd-e ‘the same as’ or be qædrike ‘as much as’, and a positive verb.
(165) jæhan beqæd-e bæhmæn zur dar-e
Jahan same as Bahman strength have-3S
‘Jahan has as much strength as Bahman.’
1.1.2.4. 3 Nonfinite adverbial clauses
Nonfinite adverbial clauses can be formed from result clauses which are introduced by dær æsær-e ‘as a result of
and the infinitive form of a verb, which is used nominally. Infinitival adverbial clauses are not morphological marked
for tense, aspect, mood, person/number agreement.
(166) dær æsær-e dærs--xundæn šagerd-ævvæl šod
as a result of lesson--to read pupil-first became
‘As a result of studying, she became the number one student (in her class).’
The subject is obligatorily omitted from infinitival adverbial clauses when it is coreferential with the subject of the
main clause. Compare examples (167) and (168). In example (167) the subjects of the main and adverbial clause
are coreferential. In example (168) the subject of the adverbial clause is non-coreferential with the subject of the
main clause and is expressed as a possessor in an ezafe construction.
(167) dær æsær-e xændidæn-e šædid deldærd gereft
as a result of to laugh-EZ intense stomachache got
‘She got a stomach ache from laughing so hard.’
(168) dær æsær-e bolænd hærf--zædæn-e færzad
as a result of loud word--to strike-EZ Farzad
sær-aem dærd gereft
head-1S.PC ache got
‘As a result of Farzad’s talking so loud, I got a headache.’
Infinitives in adverb clauses can be modified by adverbs or adjectives.

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(169) dær æsær-e ziad dærs--xundæn šagerd-ævvæl
as a result of much lesson--to read pupil-first
šod
became
‘As a result of studying a lot, she became the number one student (in her class).’
(170) dær æsær-e dærs--xundæn-e da’emi šagerd-ævvæl šod
as a result lesson--to read-EZ constant pupil-first became
‘As a result of constant studying, she became the number one student (in her class).’
1.1.2.5 Sequence of tenses
Some finite adverbial clauses require a sequence of tenses between main and adverbial clauses.
Adverbial clauses of purpose
When adverbial purpose clauses are in the present subjunctive, the main clause can be in past, present progressive
or future tense.
(171) dar-æm radio-ro xamuš--mi-kon-æm ta inke
have-1S radio-OM off--DUR-do-1S so that
be-tun-æm be-xab-æm
SBJN-be able-1S SBJN-sleep-1S
‘I’m turning the radio off so that I can sleep.’
(172) radio-ro kæm--mi-kon-æm ta inkebe-tun-i
radio-OM less--did-1S so that SBJN-be able-2S
dærs--be-xun-i
lesson--SBJN-read-2S
‘I’ll turn the radio down so that you can study.’
The sequence can lead to potential ambiguity. The subordinate clause in sentence (173) can refer to present or past
time.
(173) radiyo-ro xamuš--kærd-æm ta inke be-tun-æm
radiyo-OM off--did-1S so that SBJN-be able-1S
be-xab-æm
SBJN-sleep-1S
‘I turned the radio off so that I can/could sleep.’

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Adverbial conditional clauses
The conditional adverbial clauses is used in the subjunctive, while the main clause is in the present.
(174) æge be-mun-i xune mæn æm mi-mun-æm
if SBJN-stay-2S home I also DUR-stay-1S
‘If you stay home I’ll stay too.’
It is also possible to have both the main and subordinate clause in the imperfect:
(175) æge mi-mund-i xune mæn æm mi-mund-æm
if DUR-stayed-2S home I also DUR-stayed-1S
‘If you were staying home I’d stay too.’
In the case of nonfinite adverbial clauses, the adverbial clause is in the infinitive form while the main clause in the
simple past or present.
(176) dær æsær-e kæm xabidæn særdærd gereft
as a result of less to sleep headache got
‘As a result of not sleeping enough she got a headache.’
(177) dær æsær-e kæm xabidæn særdærd mi-gir-e
as a result of less to sleep headache DUR-get-3S
‘As a result of not sleeping enough she’ll get a headache.’
1.2 STRUCTURAL QUESTIONS
1.2.1 Internal structure of the sentence
1.2.1.1 Copular sentences
Copular sentences, like other sentences, have SOV wordorder. As is the case with other sentences, the pronominal
subject is optional in copular sentences. However, unlike declarative sentences using other verbs, copular sentences
are rigidly SOV. (See Section 1.1 for a discussion on exceptions to SOV order in Persian.)
The equivalent of ‘to be’ in Persian is realized in three ways in the present to form copular sentences: as clitics
inflected for person and number, as hæst plus the personal endings, or as baš with the

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personal endings. Note that baš is not used in spoken Persian. For a detailed discussion of the verb ‘to be’ see
Section 2.1.3.2.1.2. In the past there is only one form of the copula, the past of the verb budæn ‘to be’.
(178) bæhram bimarestan-e
Bahram hospital-is
‘Bahram is at/in the hospital.’
(179) nevisænde bud
writer was
‘She was a writer.’
1.2.1.1.1 Copular sentences with nominal complement
1.2.1.1.1.1 Optional/obligatory be-copula.
A copula is obligatory in sentences with a nominal complement.
1.2.1.1.1.2 Marking of the predicate noun
The predicate noun is not morphologically marked but is indicated by word order
SUBJECT+PREDICATE NOUN+COPULA
Also, the fact that the clitic attaches to the noun complement in effect indicates which noun is the complement.
(180) un mærd ostad-æm-e
that man professor-1S.PC-is
‘That man is my professor.’
1.2.1.1.1.3 Order of constituents
The order of constituents in a predicate nominal construction is the same as in other declarative sentences, (S) (O)
(PP) V, with the complement where the direct object would be.

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1.2.1.1.2 Copular sentences with adjectival complement
1.2.1.1.2.1 Optional/obligatory be-copula
A copula is obligatory in sentences with adjectival complement.
1.2.1.1.2.2 Marking the complement adjective
The complement adjective is not morphologically marked per se but is indicated by the word order
SUBJECT+PREDICATE ADJECTIVE+COPULA.
However, since the complement adjective immediately precedes the verb, the copular clitic attaches to the adjective
and in effect indicates which word is the predicate adjective.
(181) mašin-e pesær-æm abi-e
car-EZ son-1S-PC blue-is
‘My son’s car is blue.’
The order of the constituents in a predicate adjective construction is the same as in other declarative sentences, (S)
(O) (PP) V, with the adjective placed where the direct object would be.
1.2.1.1.3 Copular sentences with adverbial complement
1.2.1.1.3.1 Optional/obligatory be-copula
A copula is obligatory in sentences with adverbial complement.
1.2.1.1.3.2 Marking the complement adverbial
The complement adverbial is not morphologically marked but is indicated by the word order
SUBJECT+PREDICATE ADVERBIAL+COPULA.

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Also, since the complement adverbial immediately precedes the verb, the copular clitic attaches to the adverbial and
in effect indicates which word is the predicate adverbial.
The order of the constituents in a predicate adverbial construction is the same as that of other declarative sentences,
(S) (O) (PP) V, with the adverbial occurring in the place where the direct object would be. Note that the adverbial
may not be moved to the right of the copula the way it can with other verbs (see Section 1.2.1.3.2 on positional
possibilities of adverbials within the sentence).
(182) vida hæmiše dir-e
Vida always late-is
‘Vida is always late.’
1.2.1.1.4–5 Copular sentences without overt ‘be’ copula
Copular sentences without a ‘be’ copular do not exist in Persian.
1.2.1.1.6.1–3 Different types of copula
There is a single type of copula to express the functions of identity, definition and role. For examples of each of
these types see Secion 2.1.1.2.9.
1.2.1.1.6.4 Other copulas
In the strictest sense, a copula is a semantically empty verb. In this sense there are no other copular verbs in
Persian. Under a broader scope of the term, Persian does have other forms for linking subjects to nominal and
adjectival complements. The most common ‘resulting’ copulas are šodæn ‘to become’ and compounds formed with
šodæn. The most common ‘current’ copula is benæzær umædæn ‘to appear’.
(183) pesærxal-æm šæhrdar šod
cousin-1S.PC mayor became
‘My cousin became a mayor.’

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1.2.1.2 Verbal sentences
1.2.1.2.1 Verbs-without subjects
Persian does not allow dummy subjects or semantically subjectless verbs. However, since Persian is a pro-drop
language, pronominal subjects are often omitted. A pro-dropped subject is derivable from both agreement marking
on the verb and from pragmatic clues in the discourse.
(184) ræft-im
went-1P
‘We went.’
1.2.1.2.2 Verbs without direct objects
Verbs may be transitive, intransitive or in some cases, be used either transitively or intransitively. Intransitive verbs
lack direct objects. Some common intransitive verbs include amædæn ‘to come’, ræftæn ‘to go’, and statives such as
nešestæn ‘to sit’, xabidæn ‘to sleep’, istadæn ‘to stand’. Verbs which may be used transitively or intransitively
include xordæn ‘to eat’, šenidæn ‘to hear’.
(185) barun mi-ya-d
rain DUR-come-3S
‘It’s raining.’
(186) ta zohr xabid
till noon slept
‘He slept till noon.’
(187) seda-ye boloænd-i šenid-æm
sound-EZ loud-IND heard-1S
‘I heard a loud sound.’
(188) šenid-æm
heard-1S
‘I heard.’
It should be noted that a semantic object cannot be dropped completely. It must either be stated as a complete
noun phrase, a pronoun or a pronominal clitic marking the object on the verb (see

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Section 2.1.1.2.4 for a discussion of direct objects).
1.2.1.2.3 Verbs with indirect objects
Some verbs are ditransitive and obligatorily take indirect objects. Such verbs include dadæn ‘to give’. Other verbs
can be used either transitively or ditransitively, such as ferestadæn ‘to send’. In this class of verbs the indirect object
is optional.
Indirect objects are generally introduced with the preposition be ‘to’. Also, as with the direct object, the semantic
indirect object cannot be completely dropped but must appear as a phrase, a pronoun or pronominal clitic. See
Section 2.1.1.2.5 for a discussion of indirect objects and Section 2.1.5.3 on a discussion on prepositional pronominal
forms.
(189) bilit-a-ro dad be mæn
ticket-PL-OM gave to me
‘She gave the ticket to me.’
(190) ba-haš ræft be cinema
with-3S.PC went to movies
‘She went to the movies with him.’
1.2.1.2.4 Other types of verb arguments
There are a number of other optional arguments that some verbs may take. Those bearing the following semantic
relationships with the verb are the most common:
Dative arguments: are introduced with the preposition be ‘to’, which is nearly always omitted in spoken Persian (see
Section 2.1.1.5.1).
(191) færda mi-r-æn (be) hæmedan
tomorrow DUR-go-3P (to) Hamedan
‘They’re going to Hamedan tomorrow.’
Locative arguments: are introduced with the prepositions dær ‘in’, or tu ‘in’.
(192) dær danešgah kar--mi-kon-e
in university work--DUR-do-3S
‘He works at the university.’

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Benefactive arguments: are introduced with the preposition bæra-ye ‘for’.
(193) bæra-ye doxtær-æm mašin xærid-æm
for daughter-1S.PC car bought-1S
‘I bought a car for my daughter.’
Source; is introduced with the preposition æz ‘from’.
(194) kæfš-a-t-o æz koja gereft-i
shoe-Pl-1S.PC-OM from where get-2S
‘Where did you get your shoes from?’
Instrumental arguments: are commonly introduced with the preposition ba ‘with’.
(195) cub-o ba ærre bor-id
wood-OM with saw cut
‘She cut the wood with a saw.’
For further discussion and examples of these arguments, see Section 2.1.1.2.8 and 2.1.1.4.
1.2.1.2.5–6 Combination and order of constituents
There are no general prohibitions against combining various constituents within the same sentence although some
verbs make it difficult to include such combinations as benefactive and dative. Also, sentences with many arguments
are less common than sentences with relatively fewer arguments.
In an argument-laden sentence, the neutral order of constituents is
1) subject
2) time
3) direct object
4) source
5) locative

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6) benefactive or goal
7) instrumental
The order of the constituents can be changed for purposes of focus, emphasis and contrast. For a discussion on
canonical word order see Section 1.1. Also see Section 1.1.1.2.2 regarding movement for focus, Section 1.11 for
clefting, pseudoclefting and emphasis, Section 1.12 for topicalization movement and Section 1.13 for heavy shift.
1.2.1.3 Adverbials
1.2.1.3.1 Types of adverbials
There is a small number of words that are used only as adverbs, such as færda ‘tomorrow’. Persian also has derived
adverbs, often formed with the suffix -ane, that are used primarily in an adverbial function although they can appear
adjectivally. A good example of a derived adverb/adjective is mahane ‘monthly’ (see Section 2.2.4 on derivation of
adverbs). Many other words function as both adverbs and adjectives, e.g. arum ‘calm/calmly’. Adverbials also include
phrase- and clause-level constructions.
1.2.1.3.1.1 Adverbs
Persian has many simple adverb forms, such as those for time (e.g. diruz ‘yesterday’, emruz ‘today’, dišæb ‘last
night’, hala ‘now’, ruzane ‘daily’, barha ‘often’, gahi ‘sometimes’, etc.), place ( inja ‘here’, unja ‘there’), manner ( tond
‘fast’, arum ‘calmly’, sæxt ‘severely’, etc.). Some common adverbs are formed by combining the quantifier hær with
an expression of time: hær ruz ‘every day’, hær dæfe ‘every time’.
(196) færda mi-r-e lændæn
tomorrow DUR-go-3S London
‘He’s going to London tomorrow.’
1.2.1.3.1.2 Prepositional phrases
Persian makes productive use of prepositional phrases as adverbials. Among the most common prepositions that are
used to

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introduce adverbial phrases are dær ‘in’, tu ‘in’, ba ‘with’, be ‘to’, ru ‘on’.
(197) dær xune
in house
‘in the house’
(198) ba otobus
with otobus
‘by bus’
(199) be asani
to ease
‘easily’
1.2.1.3.1.3 Cases of noun phrases
Persian does not inflect nouns for case.
1.2.1.3.1.4 Adverbial clauses
See Section 1.1.2.4 for full discussion of finite and nonfinite adverbials clauses and examples.
1.2.1.3.2 Position of adverbials
In nonemphasized, nonfocused, noncontrastive sentence with a subject (which can be pro-dropped), direct and
indirect objects, verbs and simple adverbs occur in various positions.
Simple adverbs of time can occur in any position with regard to the other arguments. (In the following examples, x
indicates the positions the various simple adverbs can take among the other arguments of a simple declarative
sentence. Parentheses around the subject refer to its possible absence in the case of a pro-dropped subject.) In
initial and final positions, especially when coupled with phonetic stress, the adverbs of time can indicate contrastive
or noncontrastive emphasis.
×(S)×O×IO×V×
Simple place adverbs occur in any position except after the verb. In initial position, they are interpreted emphatically.

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×(S)×O×IO×V
Simple adverbs of manner may occur immediately preceding the verb or before the subject and object.
×(S)×O IO×V
Prepositional phrases indicating time can occur anywhere except before the subject or after the verb.
(S)×O×IO×V
Prepositional phrases of place must occur immediately preceding the verb.
(S) O IO×V
Prepositional phrases of manner can occur anywhere except before the subject or after the verb.
(S)×O×IO×V
The position of adverbial clauses is discussed in section 1.1.2.4.
1.2.1.3.3 Optionality of adverbials
Adverbials are optional.
1.2.2 Adjective phrases
1.2.2.1 Operational definition for adjective phrases
There is no single morphological or word-order criterion which provides an operational definition for all adjective
phrases. Syntactically, adjective phrases are headed by an adjective and may take arguments to their left or right.
Adjective phrases modify nouns as attributives, predicates, appositives or complements.
However, if morphology and word order are considered together, there are cases when an adjective phrase can be
identified: a word containing the superlative suffix and immediately preceding a noun is clearly an adjective phrase.

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(200) bolænd-tærin saxtemun
tall-SUPR building
‘the tallest building’
Further, there are a number of derivational morphemes that unambiguously indicate adjectives. See Section 2.2.3 for
a discussion and list of adjectival derivational morphemes.
Finally, one indicator, though not proof, of adjectiveness is the ezafe construction. It is important to mention that
while ezafe constructions are commonly used in constructions other than adjectival ones, most adjectives do appear
in constructions that use the ezafe.
1.2.2.2 Adjectivals with arguments
1.2.2.2.1 Subjects of adjectives
Adjectives can occur in sentences without overt subjects. The predicate adjective, suffixed with the copular clitic,
modifies the prodropped subject.
(201) qermez-e
red-is
‘It is red.’
(202) xošhal-æm
happy-am
‘I am happy.’
1.2.2.2.2 Adjectives with direct objects
Adjectives referring to a quality of the noun they modify cannot take direct-object arguments, xub ‘good’, zærd
‘yellow’, tond ‘fast’, bozorg ‘big’, daq ‘hot’. However, many nonqualitative adjectives can take direct-object arguments
via the ezafe construction. The object is optional.
(203) ašeq-e šohær-eš
in love-EZ husband-3S.PC
‘in love with her husband’

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(204) negæran-e doxtær-æm
worried-EZ daughter-1S.PC
‘worried about my daughter’
1.2.2.2.3 Adjectives and indirect objects
Adjectives can take indirect-object arguments. One structure that can be considered an indirect-object argument
involves a prepositional phrase which precedes the adjective.
(205) nesbæt be digær-an bæxšænde bud
relative to other-PL generous was
‘He was generous to others.’
(206) be musiqi-ye jaz ælaqemænd-e
to music-EZ jazz fond-is
‘She is fond of jazz.’
1.2.2.2.4 Other arguments
Adjectives can also take oblique arguments.
(207) ba bæcce-ha sæbur-e
with child-PL patient-is
‘He’s patient with the children.’
(208) narahæt æz xæbær-e bæd
upset from news-EZ bad
‘upset about the bad news’
1.2.2.3 Adverbial modification of adjectives
1.2.2.3.1 Adverbs
Adjectives can be modified by intensifying adverbs such as xeyli ‘very’, besyar ‘much, a lot’, ziyad ‘much, too much’,
biændaze ‘extremely’. The intensifier immediately precedes the adjective.
(209) biændaze gerun
extremely expensive
‘extremely expensive’

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(210) film-e xeyli jaleb
film-EZ very interesting
‘a very interesting film’
1.2.2.3.2 Prepositional phrases
Prepositional phrases can also modify adjectives. Adverbial prepositional phrases precede the adjective they modify.
(211) ta diruz narahæt bud
until yesterday upset was
‘She was upset until yesterday.’
1.2.2.3.3 Cases of noun phrases
Persian nouns are not inflected for case. See Section 2.1.1.10.1.2 for a discussion of the case-like properties of the
postposition -ra, which marks definite direct objects.
1.2.2.3.4 Finite and nonfinite adverbial clauses
Some finite adverbial clauses can be used to modify adjectives in predicate position. The finite clause precedes the
adjective. Nonfinite clauses do not modify adjectives.
(212) jæmšid be ændaze-ye mæn xošhal bud
Jamshid to degree-EZ I happy was
‘Jamshid was as happy as I.’
1.2.2.3.5 Relative order of adverbials and adjectives
The relative order of adverbials and adjectives is discussed in each of the appropriate sections immediately above.
1.2.2.4 Order of adjectives, arguments and adverbials
Intensifying adverbs, prepositional adverbials and finite adverbial clauses all precede adjectives which take direct
object arguments:
(213) xeyli negæran-e bæradær-æm
very worried-EZ brother-1S

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‘very worried about my brother’
(214) ta diruz negæran-e šoql-eš bud
until yesterday worried-EZ job-3S.PC was
‘She was worried about her job until yesterday.’
(215) jæmšid be ændaze-ye mæn negæran-e
Jamshid to degree-EZ I worried--EZ
šoql-æm-e
job-1S.PC-is
‘Jamshid is as worried about my job as I am.’
Simple adverbs, prepositional adverbials and finite adverbial clauses precede the indirect object argument of the
adjective. This results in a sequence of adverbial, indirect object and adjective.
(216) hæmiše nesbæt be digær-an bæxšænde bud
always relative to other-PL generous was
‘He was always generous to others.’
(217) ta cænd sal nesbæt be digær-an bædbin bud
for several years relative toother-PL pessimist was
‘For several years he didn’t trust other people.’
(218) jæmšid be ændaze-ye mæn nesbæt be
Jamshid to degree-EZ I degree to
digær-an bædbin-e
other-PL pessimistic-is
‘Jamshid doesn’t trust others any more than I do.’
In the case of adjectives which take oblique arguments, simple adverbs can either precede the adjective or precede
the entire argument-adjective construction.
(219) ba bæcce-ha xeyli sæbur-e
with child-PL very patient-is
‘He’s very patient with the children.’
Prepositional adverbials and finite adverbial clauses must precede the oblique object argument. This results in a
sequence of adverbial, indirect object and adjective.

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(220) æz ævvæl ba bæcce-ha sæbur bud
from beginning with child-PL patient was
‘From the beginning he was patient with children.’
(221) jæmšid be ændaze-ye mæn ba bæcce-ha sæbur-e
Jamshid to degree-EZ I with child-PL patient-is
‘Jamshid is as patient with children as I am.’
1.2.3 Adverbial phrases
1.2.3.1 Operational definition for adverbial phrases
As with adjective phrases, there is not a single morphological or word-order criterion which provides an operational
definition for all adjective phrases. Syntactically, an adverbial phrases is headed by an adverb. Functionally, adverbial
phrases modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. Phrases which are nearly always adverbial include those of time,
place and manner. See Section 1.2.1.3.1.1 on types of adverbials.
1.2.3.2 Adverbial modification of adverbials
1.2.3.2.1 Adverbs
Intensifying adverbs such as xeyli ‘very’, besyar ‘extremely’, ziyadi ‘too much’, and so on are used to modify other
adverbials.
(222) xeyli tond doid
very fast ran
‘She ran very fast.’
Generally, adverbial prepositional phrases cannot modify other adverbials.
1.2.3.2.3 Cases of noun phrases
Persian nouns do not inflect for case. See, however, Section 2.1.1.10.1.2 for a discussion on the case-like properties
of the postposition -ra, which marks definite direct objects.

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1.2.3.2.4 Full/reduced adverbial clauses
Adverbial clauses cannot be used to modify other adverbials.
1.2.3.3 Relative order of modifying and modified adverbials
The modifying adverbial precedes the modified adverbial. See the example in 1.2.3.2.1.
1.2.3.4 Restrictions on modifying adverbials
Intensifies are the only modifiers that can modify other adverbials. The adverbials that can be modified are restricted
to adverbs of manner and a few adverbs of time, such as zud ‘early’, dir ‘late’.
1.2.4 Prepositional phrases
Prepositions are traditionally divided into two kinds: simple prepositions and those that take the ezafe. A simple
preposition directly precedes the noun phrase, as in
(223) ba ma
with us
‘with us’
(224) dær edare
in office
‘in the office’
Other than ba ‘with’ and dær ‘in’, the simple prepositions are æz ‘from’, be ‘to’, bi ‘without’, ta ‘up to’, joz except’,
bæra-ye ‘for’.
In addition, several prepositions are composed of a locative word plus the ezafe: bedun-e ‘without’, pošt-e ‘behind’,
birun-e ‘outside’, miyun-e ‘between’, næzdik-e ‘near’, zir-e ‘under’, tu-ye ‘in’, ru-ye ‘on’, jelow-e ‘in front of, pæhlu-
ye ‘by’. Note that in the case of tu-ye ‘in’, ru-ye ‘on’, ‘under’, jelow-e ‘in front of and pæhlu-ye ‘by’, the ezafe is
optional.
Historically, the ezafe prepositions are derived from nouns and adverbs. Also see Section 2.1.5 for further discussion
of prepositions with and without ezafe.

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(225) zir-e miz
under-EZ table
‘under the table’
(226) tu(-ye) mænzel
in(-EZ) house
‘in the house’
1.2.4.1 Operational definition for prepositional phrases
Prepositional phrases are always headed by a preposition. The canonical placing of the prepositional phrase is after
the direct object and before the verb: (S) (O) (PP) V.
(228) elahe šapur-o tu-ye mæqaze did
Elahe Shapur-OM in-EZ shop saw
‘Elahe saw Shapur in the shop.’
Prepositional phrases may often occur in other positions in the sentence. Allative prepositional phrases introduced
with be ‘to’ are nearly always moved to the right of the verb. The preposition be is often omitted whether the be-
phrase is in canonical position or sentence-final position.
(229) (be) park ræft-ænd
(to) park went-3P
‘They went to the park.’
(230) ræft-ænd (be) park
went-3P (to) park
‘They went to the park.’
It is also possible to move dative be-phrases to the right of the verb though this is not done as frequently as allative
be-phrases. If a dative be-phrase is moved, the be can be omitted.
(231) pakæt-o be mæn dad
envelope-OM to me gave
‘She gave the envelope to me.’
(232) pakæt-o dad (be) mæn
envelope-OM gave (to) me
‘She gave me the envelope.’

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Benefactive prepositional phrases introduced with bæra-ye ‘for’ and locative phrases introduced with tu-ye ‘in’, ru-ye
‘on’, dær ‘in’, etc. are also often moved to the end of the sentence.
(233) gol-a-ro xærid bæra-ye zæn-eš
flower-PL-OM bought for wife-3S.PC
‘He bought the flowers for his wife.’
(234) sæfæ-ro gozošt ru-ye miz
record-OM put on-EZ table
‘She put the record on the table.’
1.2.4.2 Prepositional phrases and their arguments
1.2.4.2.1 Prepositions without arguments
A number of prepositions can occur without arguments in an adverbial function. The most common prepositions that
can stand without nouns phrases are birun ‘out’, tu ‘in’, bala ‘up’, pain ‘down’, daxel ‘inside’. These prepositions
never occur with the ezafe when used without arguments.
(235) ræft bala
went up
‘He went up.’
1.2.4.2.2 Prepositions with more than one argument
Prepositions cannot occur with more than one argument.
1.2.4.2.3 Prepositions with arguments other than noun phrases
Strictly speaking, prepositions can only takeNPs as arguments. There are, however, some compound prepositions
such as dær pošt-e, literally ‘in back of and æz ru-ye, literally ‘from top of’.
1.2.4.2.4 Stranded prepositions
Prepositions cannot be stranded and must be moved with the noun phrase they govern.

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1.2.4.3 Modifiers of prepositions
1.2.4.3.1 Adverbs
Some intensifies such as kamelæn ‘completely’ and ziyadi ‘too much’ and some adverbs of manner can be used to
modify prepositions, though such constructions seem rare.
(236) kamelæn be dæst-æm furu ræft
completely to hand-1S.PC through went
‘It went completely through my hand.’
Prepositional phrases cannot modify other prepositional phrases.
1.2.4.3.3 Cases on noun phrases
Noun phrases do not inflect for case in Persian.
1.2.4.3.4 Adverbial clauses
Adverbial clauses cannot modify prepositional phrases.
1.2.4.4–5 Prepositions governing more than one case
Persian prepositions do not govern case.
1.2.5 Noun phrases
1.2.5.1 Operational definition of noun phrases
An NP is the element which serves in the various nominal functions in the sentence: subject, direct object, indirect
object and other oblique arguments. A noun phrase can be a simple noun or pronoun, compound noun, noun and
modifiers or a nominal clause. Only noun phrases take morphological material such as the definite direct object
marker -ra, the indefinite marker -i, plural markers such as -ha. See Section 2.1.1.10.1.2 regarding -ra, Section
2.1.1.11.5–6 on the indefinite marker -i, and Section 2.1.1.8.1 on plural marking.

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1.2.5.2 Modifiers in a noun phrase
1.2.5.2.1 Adjectives in a noun phrase
Adjective can modify noun phrases. Superlative adjectives precede the noun but nearly all other adjectives follow the
noun with an interceding ezafe. See Section 1.2.5.2.10 for a complete discussion of the ezafe construction.
(237) bozorg-tærin ælmas
big-SUPR diamond
‘the biggest diamond’
(238) ye ælmas-e bozorg
one diamond-EZ big
‘a big diamond’
There are a few exceptions to the noun-adjective word order. The first group involves the word pir ‘old’ when it is
used with the nouns zæn ‘woman’ and mærd ‘man’ as part of a [+specific] definite or indefinite noun phrase. In
these cases the adjective pir precedes the noun in an ezafe construction.
(239) pir-e mærd
old-EZ man
‘the old man’
(240) pir-e zæn-i
old-EZ zæn-IND
‘a (specific) old woman’
The adjective pir may also follow the noun, but in this case the reading may be either specific or nonspecific when
the noun phrase is indefinite.
(241) zæn-e pir-i
woman-EZ old-IND
‘an old woman/a specific old woman’
The second group of exceptions to noun-adjective word order includes the words xub ‘good’, bæd ‘bad’ and bicare
and heyvunæki, both meaning ‘unfortunate’. These adjectives may precede the noun

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without an interceding ezafe.
(242) heyvunæki ferešte
unfortunate Fereshte
‘poor Fereshte’
(243) xub ja-i-e
good place-IND-is
‘It’s a nice place.’
Note that all of the adjectives in the second group can also follow nouns via the ezafe construction without any
discernible change in meaning of the adjective.
1.2.5.2.2 Relative clauses
Noun phrases can be modified by relative clauses. A relative clause, introduced by the complementizer ke ‘that’,
follows the noun it modifies. See Section 2.1.2.7.1.1.1 for further examples and discussion of restrictive relative
clauses.
(244) kolah-ye qermez-i ke tu-ye mæqaze did-æm
hat-EZ red-DEM that in-EZ store saw-1S
‘the red hat that I saw in the store’
1.2.5.2.3 Possessive “adjectives” in a noun phrase
Possessive adjectives, either in the form of a noun, a personal pronoun or a reflexive, modify nouns through the
ezafe construction. The possessive adjective follows the noun it modifies.
(245) hæmsaye-ye bæradær-æm
neighbor-EZ brother-1S.PC
‘my brother’s neighbor’
(246) howle-ye mæn
towel-EZ I
‘my towel’
(247) mašin-e xod-æm
car-EZ self-1S.PC
‘my (own) car’

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1.2.5.2.4 Articles
There is no definite article in Persian. The indefinite article, which precedes the noun phrase, is the same as the
word for the number ‘one’, ye(k). There is also the discontinuous construction ye(k)…-i to indicate indefinite noun
phrases. In this construction, ye(k), which is optional, precedes the noun phrase and -i attaches to the end of the
noun phrase. For further discussion of the indefinite marker see Section 2.1.1.11.5–6.
(248) ye livan-e por
a glass-EZ full
‘a full glass’
(249) (ye) ketab-e jaleb-i
(a) book-EZ interesting-IND
‘an interesting book’
1.2.5.2.5 Demonstrative ‘adjectives’
The demonstrative adjectives in ‘this’ and un ‘that’ precede the noun phrase. There is no plural form of the
demonstrative adjectives. For plural nouns, the singular demonstratives are used with the plural form of the noun.
(250) in æslæhe
this weapon
‘this weapon’
(251) un færš-a
that carpet-PL
‘those carpets’
1.2.5.2.6 Quantifiers and numerals
Quantifiers and numerals precede the NPs they modify.
(252) divist sæfe
two hundred pages
‘two hundred pages’
1.2.5.2.7 Adverbials

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Adverbials do not typically modify nominal constituents. However, a few adverbials such as fæqæt ‘only’ and
tæqribæn ‘nearly, approximately’ can be used to modify a noun.
(253) fæqæt færzad fæmid
only Farzad understood
‘Only Farzad understood.’
1.2.5.2.8 Emphatic words
See 1.2.5.2.7 above.
1.2.5.2.9 Comparative/superlative/equative structures
Superlatives precede the noun phrase and comparative and equative constructions follow the noun phrase. See
Section 2.1.4.4.2 on the comparative construction, 2.1.4.4.3 on the superlative construction and 2.1.1.2.7 and
2.1.4.4.1 on the equative construction.
1.2.5.2.10 Modification and the ezafe construction
The ezafe construction is an extremely productive means for modifying nouns as well as linking other nonverbal
heads and their complements. One of the most comprehensive discussions of the ezafe construction is found in
Samiian 1983:17–67. The following summarizes the main points and provides an overview of this important
construction in modern Persian.
The ezafe links a head noun to an adjective (phrase), noun (phrase), adverb (phrase), prepositional phrase or
infinitive. The ezafe can also link adjective, quantifier and prepositional heads to their complements. (See Sections
1.2.4 and 2.1.5 for a discussion of prepositional phrases and prepositions which use the ezafe. Also, for two different
syntactic analyses of the ezafe construction within X-bar theory, see Mahootian 1993:74–79, and Samiian 1983:60–
65.)
The ezafe (the word literally means ‘addition’) is an unstressed [e] ([ye] after a vowel) placed between the head of
a phrase and the modifying elements which follow it. The sequence is
MODIFIED+EZAFE+MODIFIER
In example (254) the modifier is an adjective, in (255) the modifier is a noun and in example (256) the modifier is a
PP.

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(254) kolah-ye bænæfš
hat-EZ purple
‘a purple hat’
(255) ængoštær-e ælmas
ring-EZ diamond
‘a diamond ring’
(256) miz-e tu-ye ašpæzxune
table-EZ in-EZ kitchen
‘the table in the kitchen’
Ezafe complements can be embedded, with each additional complement attaching to the previous one via an ezafe.
When more than one modifier is used in a noun phrase, they follow the left-to-right sequence shown below:
HEAD NOUN+ATTRIBUTIVE NOUN+ADJECTIVE+PP+GENITIVE
In example (257), the head noun miz takes, from left to right, the noun modifier bælut, the adjective gerd, the
prepositional phrase tu-ye ašpæzxune and the genitive madæræm.
(257) miz-e bælut-e gerd-e tu-ye ašpæzxune-ye madær-æm
table-EZ oak-EZ round-EZ in-EZ kitchen-EZ mother-1S.PC
‘my mother’s round oak kitchen table’
The definite, indefinite and pronominal clitic suffixes are added to the end of the entire noun phrase. In example
(258), the noun phrase (underlined) is the object of a verb and therefore takes the definite direct object marker -ra
(-o). In example (259) the indefinite marker -i is added to the end of the noun phrase.
(258) angostær-e zomorrod-ye gerun-e pedar-æm-o
ring-EZ emerald-EZexpensive-EZ father-1S.PC-OM
dær espanya xærid-æm
in Spain bought-1S
‘I bought my father’s expensive emerald ring in Spain.’
(259) angostær-e zomorrod-e gerun-i
ring-EZ emerald-EZ expensive-IND
‘an expensive emerald ring’

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Ezafe in the Noun Phrase
In the noun phrase the modifying element may serve in a variety of relationships with the head noun: genitive,
attributive and appositive. The ezafe is also used to link the preceding given name to the family name.
a) Genitive ezafe
The ezafe can link the modifier to the modified in a possessive relationship. Both modified and modifier are nouns.
(260) kæfš-e firuz
shoe-EZ Firuz
‘Firuz’s shoe’
(261) omid-e mæn
hope-EZ I
‘my hope
b) Attributive ezafe
Many adjectival relationships can be indicated by linking a noun, adjective, prepositional phrase or infinitive to the
noun being modified.
(262) ketab-e tarix
book-EZ history
‘a history book’
(263) ketab-e jaleb
book-EZ interesting
‘an interesting book’
(264) ketab-e zir-e sændæli
book-EZ under-EZ chair
‘The book under the table’
(265) væqt-e ræftæn
time-EZ to go
‘time to go’
c) Appositive ezafe

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For geographic locations, the relationship can be one of apposition as in the following examples:
(266) kuh-e ælborz
mountain-EZ Alborz
‘the Alborz Mountains’
(267) xælij-e fars
gulf-EZ Persia
‘the Persian Gulf
d) Family-name ezafe
The ezafe is also used to join the preceding given name with the following family name. This construction is
commonly used in referring to someone or introducing oneself.
(268) pærvin-e mæs’udi
Parvin-EZ Masudi
‘Parvin Masudi’
Ezafe in the Adjective Phrase
(269) negæran-e bæradær-æm
worried-EZ brother-1S.PC
‘worried about my brother’
(270) bolænd-tærin-e doxtær-a
tall-SUPR-EZ girl-PL
‘the tallest of the girls’
(271) amade-ye hærci
ready-EZ anything
‘ready for anything’
Ezafe in the Quantifier Phrase
Partitives are constructed by preceding the noun with the quantifier and joining them with the ezafe.
(272) tæmam-e bæcce-ha
all-EZ child-PL
‘all of the children’

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(273) hickodum-e bæcce-ha
none-EZ child-PL
‘none of the children’
Ezafe in the Prepositional Phrase
Only some prepositions require an ezafe to precede their NP complement. For an discussion of which prepositions
require an ezafe see Section 2.1.5.
(274) pošt-e deræxt
behind-EZ tree
‘behind the tree’
(275) kenar-e rudxune
beside-EZ river
‘beside the river’
1.2.5.3 Cooccurrence of more than one of the same type of modifier
A nominal constituent may be modified by more than one of the same type of modifier. More than one adjective,
relative clause or quantifier can modify the same noun.
Adjectives
Of the six possible permutations of adjectives of color, size and age taken two at a time, there are only two with a
preferred unmarked, nonemphasized noncontrastive order: size precedes color and age precedes size.
(276) ye badkonæk-e bozorg-e qermez
a balloon-e big-EZ red
‘a big red balloon’
(277) xune-ye qædimi-ye bozorg
house-EZ old-EZ big
‘a big old house’
Other combinations of color, size and age with other kinds of adjectives taken two at a time don’t have a clearly
preferred

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unmarked order.
(278) ceraq-e qædimi-ye abi
lamp-EZ old-EZ blue
‘an old blue lamp’
(279) ceraq-e abi-ye qædimi
lamp-EZ blue-EZ old
‘an old blue lamp’
When two adjectives modify the noun, they can be linked together via the ezafe or the connective particle -o ‘and’.
(280) ye badkonæk-e bozorg-o qermez
a balloon-e big-and red
‘a big, red balloon’
(281) ye badkonæk-e bozorg-e qermez
a balloon-e big-EZ red
‘a big red balloon’
When three or more adjective modify the noun, the ezafe construction is preferred.
Relative clauses
One or more relative clauses may be used to modify a noun. The noun is obligatorily suffixed with the demonstrative
-i and each relative clause is introduced with the relative pronoun ke ‘that’.
(282) bošqab-i ke madær-æm dust--dar-e ke
plate-DEM that mother-1S.PC friend--have-3S that
to šikæst-i
you broke-1S
‘The plate that my mother likes that you broke’
Possessive adjectives
Any number of possessive adjectives may follow a noun, each linked to the previous element via an ezafe.
(283) doxtær-e xoškel-e hæmsaye-ye bæradær-e
daughter-EZ pretty-EZ neighbor-EZ brother-EZ

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dust-e ali
friend-EZ Ali
‘Ali’s friend’s brother’s neighbor’s pretty daughter’
Quantifiers
Quantifying adjectives and numerals may cooccur when they are used to modify a noun. In such cases the adjective
precedes the numeral.
(284) hær se-ta doxtær danešju-ænd
every three-CL girl student-are
‘All three girls are students.’
1.2.5.4 Nonadmissable combinations of types of modifiers
Only three combinations of modifiers are not admitted. The indefinite article ye/yek and ye/yek…i (no definite article
exists in Persian) cannot occur with possessive adjectives, demonstrative adjectives or quantifiers.
1.2.5.5 Order of the head and various modifiers
See Sections 1.2.5.2. through 1.2.5.4.
1.3 COORDINATION
1.3.1.1 Sentence coordination
Sentence coordination is expressed with a number of forms. The most common are the coordinating conjunction væ
‘and’, the connective clitic -o ‘and’, the adversative conjunctions væli and æmma, both meaning ‘but’ and the
disjunctive conjunction ya ‘or’.
1.3.1.1.1 “and” coordination
The coordinating conjunction væ ‘and’ and the connective clitic -o ‘and’ can connect any number of sentences.
Conjoined sentences may be in a coordinating, causal or temporal relationship. The clitic -o is more common than
the conjunction in informal speech.

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Coordination
(285) mæn bala-ro tæmiz--mi-kon-æm væ/-o širin
I upstairs-OM clean--DUR-do-1S and Shirin
pain-o moraetæb--mi-kon-e
downstairs-OM neat--DUR-do-3S
I’ll clean upstairs and Shirin will straighten up downstairs.’
(286) mæn bala-ro tæmiz--mi-kon-æm væ/-o
I upstairs-OM clean--DUR-do-1S and
širin payin-o morætæb--mi-kon-e væ/-o
Shirin downstairs-OM neat--DUR-do-3S and
fereydun hæyat-o mi-šur-e
Feradun courtyard-OM DUR-wash-3S
‘I’ll clean the upstairs and Shirin will straighten up the downstairs and Feradun will wash the courtyard.’
When more than two sentences are being conjoined, the conjunction is usually unmentioned except for connecting
the penultimate and the last sentences in the series. Often a brief pause signals the last sentence in the series and
the væ conjunction is used instead of the clitic -o .
(287) mæn bala-ro tæmiz--mi-kon-æm, širin
I upstairs-OM clean--DUR-do-1S, Shirin
payin-o morætæb--mi-kon-e væ fereydun
downstairs-OM neat--DUR-do-3S and Feradun
hæyat-o mišur-e
courtyard-OM DUR-wash-3S
‘I’ll clean the upstairs, Shirin will straighten up the downstairs and Feradun will wash the courtyard.’
Cause and effect
(288) ziadi mæšrub xord-o hal-eš
too much alcohol ate-and condition-3S.PC
bæd šod
bad became
‘He drank too much and got sick.’
(289) ræft-æm šena væ særma xord-æm
went-1S swimming and cold ate-1S
‘I went swimming and caught a cold.’

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Temporal/sequential
Both væ and -o convey events that take place sequentially.
(290) dær-o baz--kærd-o hæme-ro dævæt--kærd tu
door-OM open--did-and everyone-OM invite--did in
‘He opened the door and invited everyone in.’
(291) vær-eš--dašt-o xord-eš
take-3S.PC--had-and ate-3S.PC
‘She picked it up and ate it.’
Both væ and -o can also be used to join two sentences where the second sentence modifies the information in the
first.
(292) do-ta sændæli tu otaq bud væ/-o ru-ye
two-CL chair in room was and on-EZ
hær kodum ye baleš-e turi bud
each one a cushion-EZ lacy was
‘There were two chairs in the room and on each one was a lacy cushion.’
When the verbs are identical, gapping can occur in the coordinated sentences. The second sentence lacks the verb.
(293) æli sib xord væ/-o mærzi hulu.
Ali apple ate and Marzy peach
‘Ali ate apples and Marzy peaches.’
When the allative preposition be ‘to’ is present, it cannot be omitted as it typically is in simple sentences. Compare
the simple sentence in (294) to the compound sentence in (295).
(294) soheyla ræft (be) bazar
Sohala went (to) bazzar
‘Sohala went to the bazzar.’
(295) sohala ræft be bazar-o sima be sinema
Sohala went to bazzar-and Sima to movies
‘Sohala went to the bazzar and Sima to the movies.’
More than two sentence may be conjoined as full or gapped sentences. The conjunction væ is commonly used rather
than the clitic

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-o and occurs before the final sentence.
(296) soheyla ræft be bazar, sima ræft be sinema
Sohala went to bazzar Sima went to movies
væ reza ræft be mædrese
and Reza went to school
‘Sohala went to the bazzar, Sima went to the movies and Reza went to school.’
(297) soheyla ræft be bazar, sima be sinema
Sohala went to bazzar Sima to movies
væ reza be mædrese
and Reza to school
‘Sohala went to the bazzar, Sima to the movies and Reza to school.’
1.3.1.1.2 “but” coordination
The most common conjunctions in this category, væli ‘but’ and æmma ‘but’, are used to express comparative or
adversative relations. Other, more formal or literary conjunctions, infrequently used in spoken Persian, are bælke
‘but’ and liken ‘but, however’.
(298) mæn ræft-æm mehmuni væli doxi
I went-1S party but Dokhy
mund xune
stayed home
‘I went to a party but Dokhy stayed home.’
(299) pærviz mi-xast bavida ezdevaj--kon-e æmma
Parviz DUR-wanted with Vida marriage--do-3S but
madær-eš moxalef bud
mother-3S.PC against was
‘Parviz wanted to marry Vida but his mother was against it.’
1.3.1.1.3 “or” coordination
The conjunction ya ‘or’ is the most common way to express disjunction between two sentences. Repeated, as in ya…
ya…, it is used to mean ‘either..or…’. It is also common to use the compound conjunction ya inke ‘or’ in place of the
second ya: ya…inke.
Typically, when the verbs of both sentences are the same, the

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verb of the second sentence in a ya compound sentence is gapped. Compare example (300) to (301).
(300) qæve mi-xa-i ya cai (mi-xa-i)
coffee DUR-want-2S or tea (DUR-want-2S)
‘Do you want coffee or (do you want) tea?’
(301) mi-tun-im inja be-mun-im ya mi-tun-im
DUR-able-1P here SBJN-stay-1P or DUR-be able-1P
be-r-im sinema
SBJN-go-1P movies
‘We can stay here or we can go to the movies.’
(302) ya mi-r-æm esfahan ya (inke) (mi-r-æm) širaz
or DUR-go-1S Isfahan or (DUR-go-1S) Shiraz
‘I’ll either go to Isfahan or (I’ll go to) Shiraz.’
When more than two elements are being coordinated, one coordinator is needed for each extra element:
(303) ya mi-r-æm esfahan ya (inke) (mi-r-æm) širaz
or DUR-go-1S Isfahan or (DUR-go-1S) Shiraz
ya (mi-r-æm) tehran ya mi-mun-æm inja
or (DUR-go-1S) Tehran or DUR-stay-1S here
‘I’ll either go to Isfahan or (I’ll go to) Shiraz or (I’ll go to) Tehran or I’ll stay here.’
1.3.1.1.4 Other types of coordination
There are a number of other conjunctions which are used for coordination in Persian. The most common are næ…
næ ‘neither…nor’ and næ tænha…bælke…(h) æm ‘not only…but…also’. The næ…næ ‘neither…nor’ conjunction is
used to negate both sentences being conjoined. Note the verb in both sentences is in the affirmative.
(304) næ mæn cizi ovord-æm næ to
no I anything brought-1S no you
cizi dar-i
anything have-2S
‘I didn’t bring anything and you don’t have anything.’
When the VPs of both sentences are the same, gapping is

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possible. Compare examples (305) and (306). In (306) the verb and direct object are missing.
(305) næ mæn pul dar-æm næ to pul dar-i
no I money have-1S no you money have-2S
I don’t have any money and you don’t have any money either.’
(306) næ mæn pul dar-æm næ to
no I money have-1S no you
I don’t have any money and neither do you.’
When there are more than two elements to coordinate with næ…næ coordination, each element is introduced with a
næ . After the first sentence, verbs of subsequent conjoined sentences may be omitted if they are all the same.
(307) næ mæn pul dar-æm næ to
no I money have-1S no you
næ mæhin næ hæsæn
no Mahin no Hasan
I don’t have any money and neither do you, nor Mahin, nor Hasan.’
The conjunction næ tænha…bælke…(h)æm ‘not only…but also’ is used to extend a notion by providing
supplementary information via the conjoined sentence:
(308) næ tænha biædæb-e bælke porru æm hæšt
not alone rude-is but belligerent also is
‘Not only is he rude but he is also belligerent.’
Or it can be used correlatively.
(309) næ tænha mehræbun-e bælke puldar-æm hæšt
not alone kind-is but wealthy-also is
‘Not only is she kind but she is also wealthy.’
1.3.1.2 Number of coordinators and elements coordinated
See Sections 1.3.1.1.1 and 1.3.1.1.4, for discussion and examples of the relationship of the number of ‘and’
coordinators to the number of elements being coordinated, and the number of

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‘neither…nor’ (næ…næ) coordinators and coordination.
1.3.1.3 Coordinating the major categories of the sentence
All major categories of the sentence can be coordinated. In the event that more than two elements are combined,
the coordinator may be optionally omitted from between all but the last two elements in the series.
NP subjects or objects
The conjunctions væ ‘and’ and hæm…hæm… ‘both…and…’ and the connective -o ‘and’ may be used with any
combination of full or pronominal subject noun phrases or object noun phrases. Of the two ‘and’ coordinators, the
clitic -o is preferred in most instances of informal speech. Note that when the first person pronoun is used, it occurs
as the first element in the conjunction, preceding the coordinator (example (310)).
(310) mæn-o madær-æm hæmqæd-im
I-and mother-1S.PC same height-are
‘My mother and I are the same height.’
(311) mina-o behruz ne-mi-a-n emšæb
Mina-and Behruz NEG-DUR-come-3P tonight
‘Mina and Behruz won’t come tonight.’
(312) pærvin mi-xa-d sirus-o šæhin-o
Parvin DUR-want-3S Cyrus-and Shahin-OM
be-bin-e
SBJN-see- 3S
‘Parvin wants to see Cyrus and Shahin.’
(313) hæm mæn hæm ræj opera dust--dar-im
also I also Iraj opera friend--have-1P
‘Both Iraj and I like opera.’
Coordinating more than two NP subjects or objects
The conjunction væ or the particle -o is optional before each conjoined element except for the last element, which
must be preceded by væ or -o .

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(314) mina-o siamæk-o dana-o jæhan ræft-ænd
Mina-and Siamak-and Dana-and Jahan went-3P
kuh--næværdi
mountain climbing
‘Mina and Siamak and Dana and Jahan went mountain climbing.’
(315) mina, siamæk, dana væ/-o jæhan ræft-ænd
Mina, Siamak, Dana and Jahan went-3P
kuh-næværdi
mountain climbing
‘Mina, Siamak, Dana and Jahan went mountain climbing.’
(316) æli bæsse-ha, qotii-ha væ ketab-a-ro
Ali package-PL box-PL and book-PL-OM
dad be mæn
gave to me
‘Ali gave the packages, boxes and books to me.’
Coordinating VPs
The conjunction væ ‘and’ and the connective clitic -o ‘and’ are used to coordinate two or more verb phrases to
express sequential events involving the same subject. In informal speech the connective clitic is preferred to the
conjunction væ .
(317) doxtær-e vared--šod-o nešæst
girl-DEF enter--became-and sat
‘The girl entered and sat down.’
(318) hoseyn dær-o baz--kærd-o ræft birun
Hosain door-OM open--did-and went out
‘Hosain opened the door and went out.’
(319) doxtær-e vared--šod nešæst væ
girl-DEF enter--became sat and
kæfš-a-š-o dær--ovord
shoe-PL-3S.PC-OM out--brought
‘The girl entered, sat down and took off her shoes.’
The coordinators væli and æmma ‘but’ are used to express a contrast between two verb phrases with the same
subject.

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(320) hoseyn dær-o baz--kærd væli næ-ræft birun
Hosain door-OM open--did but NEG-went out
‘Hosain opened the door but didn’t go out.’
Coordinating adjectives and adverbs
Attributive and predicate adjectives as well as adverbs can be coordinated via the use of the connective clitic -o ‘and’
and the conjunction væ ‘and’. The conjunction væli ‘but’ is also used with adjectives.
(321) doxtær-e qædbolænd-o/væ barik-i bud
girl-EZ tall-and slender-IND was
‘She was a tall and slender girl.’
(322) yævaš-o/væ molayem sohbæt--kærd
slow-and calm conversation--did
‘She spoke slowly and calmly.’
The coordinator væli ‘but’ is used to express conflicting or contradictory qualities.
(323) doxtær-e ziba vali bædæxlaq-i
girl-EZ beautiful but ill-tempered-IND
‘a beautiful but ill-tempered girl.’
(324) servætmænd væli kenes-e
rich but stingy-is
‘He is rich but stingy.’
Predicate adjectives and adverbs can also be coordinated using næ…næ… ‘neither…nor’, hæm…hæm… ‘both…and’,
and ya…ya… ‘either…or’:
(325) næ bolænd næ kutah-e
no tall no short-is
‘He’s neither tall nor short.’
(326) hæm bolænd hæm barik-e
also tall also slender-is
‘She’s both tall and slender.’

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(327) næ tond næ ba-deqæt kar--mi-kon-e
no fast no with-precision work-DUR-do-3S
‘He works neither fast or carefully.’
(328) hæm tond hæm ba-deqæt kar--mi-kon-e
also fast also with-precision work--DUR-do-3S
‘He works both fast and carefully.’
1.3.1.4 Coordination and accompaniment
Coordination is expressed in the ways described in Sections 1.3.1.1 and 1.3.1.2. Accompaniment is typically
conveyed by means of the preposition ba ‘with’, which occurs between the two NPs. Note that the verb agrees in
number and person with the noun phrase which precedes ba.
(329) mæn ba færzad šam xord-æm
I with Farzad dinner ate-1S
‘I ate dinner with Farzad.’
1.3.1.5 Structural parallelism and coordination
Structural parallelism is necessary to the extent that different word classes cannot be coordinated. Within word
classes some restrictions apply. See the following sections for discussion and examples.
1.3.1.5.1 Adjectives and participial constructions
Adjectives and participial constructions can be coordinated freely.
(330) qiyafe-ye xošhal-o xændan
feature-EZ happy-and laugh-PSPT
‘(a) happy and smiling look’
1.3.1.5.2 Nouns and nominalized constructions
Nouns and nominalized constructions can be coordinated freely in the same manner that two or more nouns or other
nominalized constructions are coordinated.

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(331) bæhmæn-o dærsxun-i behæm ne-mi-xor-ænd
Bahman-and studious-NOM together NEG-DUR-eat-3S
‘Bahman and studying don’t go together.’
(332) musiqi-o avaz--xundæn dust--dar-e
music-and song--to read friend--have-3S
‘He likes music and singing.’
(333) næ musiqi næ avaz--xundæn dust--dar-e
no music no song--to read friend--have-3S
‘He doesn’t likes music or singing.’
(334) musiqi ræxs væ/-o avaz--xundæn dust--dar-e
music dance and song--to read friend--have-3S
‘He likes music, dance and singing.’
1.3.1.5.3 Different types of adverbials
Primarily due to pragmatic constraints, different types of adverbials such as adverbs of manner, time and degree
cannot be coordinated with one another. However, adverbs of manner and participial adverb constructions can be
coordinated freely by using the clitic -o or the conjunction væ .
(335) ærum-o læbxænd--zæn-an umæd tu
calm-and smile-strike-PRPT came in
‘He came in calmly and smilingly.’
1.3.1.5.4 Active and passive verbs
Active and passive verbs can be coordinated.
(336) mašin-o dozdid væ towqif--šod
car-OM stole and arrest--became
‘He stole the car and was arrested.’
1.3.1.5.5. Other verb categories
(337) dær--zæd umæd tu væ šuru--kærd be hærf--zædæn
door--struck came in and begin--did to word--to strike
‘He knocked, came in and started to talk.’

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1.3.2.1–2 Omission of elements of sentence under identity in coordination
a) Omission of the subject
In sentences coordinated with ‘and’ ( væ or -o ), the subject of the second conjunct is obligatorily omitted when it is
identical to the subject of the first conjunct.
(338) maryæm ašpæzi--mi-kærd-o be radio guš--mi-dad
Maryam cook--DUR-did-and to radio ear--DUR-gave
‘Maryam was cooking and listening to the radio.’
Subjects, along with the VP (see VP deletion following), may undergo deletion under identity in compound sentences
coordinated with ‘neither…nor (næ…næ):
(339) daryuš næ musiqi dust--dare næ film
Daryush no music friend--have-3S no film
‘Daryush likes neither music nor film.’
The subject of the second conjunct in væli and æmma ‘but’ coordinations is obligatorily deleted since it is identical to
the subject of the first conjunct.
(340) jæfær dær-o baz--kærd væli næ-ræft tu
Jafar door-OM open--did but NEG-went in
‘Jafar opened the door but didn’t go in.’
b) Omission of the verb
Sentences coordinated with væ ‘and’, -o ‘and’, or næ…næ ‘neither…nor’ which share the same verb can be gapped:
the verb is omitted in the sentence which follows the conjunction.
(341) puran ketab mixund-o reza ruzname
Puran book DUR-read-and Reza newspaper
Puran was reading a book and Reza a newspaper.
(342) næ film næ ta’atr dust--dar-e
no film no theater friend--have-3S
‘He doesn’t like film or theater.’

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As mentioned in Section 1.3.1.1.1, in gapping constructions the locative preposition be ‘to’ cannot be omitted as it
typically is in simple, noncompound sentences. Compare the simple sentence in (343) to the compound sentence in
(344).
(343) soheyla ræft (be) bazar
Sohala went (to) bazzar
‘Sohala went to the bazzar.’
(344) soheyla ræft be bazar-o sima be sinema
Sohala went to bazzar-and Sima to movies
‘Sohala went to the bazzar and Sima to the movies.’
More than two sentence may be coordinated and gapped.
(345) širin mahi dorost--kærd æqdæs hælva
Shirin fish fix--did Aqdas halva
væ reza kæbab
and Reza kebab
‘Shirin made fish, Aqdas halva and Reza kebab.’
c) Omission of the verb phrase
Sentences coordinated with næ…næ ‘neither…nor’ may also be gapped when the VPs of both sentences are the
same. The VP refers to direct, indirect and oblique objects, adverbs and the verb. In example (347) the object and
verb of the second conjunct (bæcce dar-i) have been deleted under identity with the object and verb of the first
conjunct. Note that VP-deletion occurs despite the fact that the deleted verb differs from the retained verb in person
and number. In example (348) the adverb and verb of the second conjunct have been omitted, and in example
(349) the direct object, the dative and the verb have been omitted from the second conjunct.
(346) næ mæn bæcce dar-æm næ to bæcce dar-i
no I child have-1S no you child have-2S
I don’t have children and you don’t have children either.’
(347) næ mæn bæcce dar-æm næ to
no I child have-1S no you
I don’t have children and neither do you.’

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(348) næ šeyda tond rah--mi-r-e næ mæs’ud
no Shada fast way--DUR-go-3S no Masud
‘Neither Shada nor Masud walks fast.’
(349) næ mina hedye bæra-ye davud ovord næ mæn
no Mina gift for Davud brought no me
‘Neither Mina nor I brought gifts for Davud.’
d) Omission of the adverb phrase
The adverb phrase of the second and subsequent conjuncts can be deleted when identical to the adverb phrase of
the first conjunct. This type of construction is restricted to adverbs of time.
(350) mæn emruz kar--kærd-æm merdad dærs--xund væ
I today work--did-1S Merdad lesson--read and
færhad ræft šena
Farhad went swimming
‘Today I worked, Merdad studied and Farhad went swimming.’
1.3.3.3 Omission of elements in major constituents
When major constituents are coordinated with the conjunction væ ‘and’ or -o “and’, under identity certain elements
may be omitted from the coordinated constructions. Other coordinators such as næ…næ neither…nor or ya…ya
either…or do not permit such omissions.
a) Noun phrases
When two noun phrases are coordinated, the indefinite determiner yek ‘one, a’ may be optionally omitted from the
second noun phrase. Compare examples (a) and (b).
(351) ye pesær væ/-o ye doxtær
a boy and a girl
‘a boy and a girl’
(352) ye pesær væ/-o doxtær
a boy and girl
‘a boy and (a) girl’

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When the indefinite/specific suffix -i is used, it may also be omitted from all but the last noun phrase:
(353) pesær væ doxtær-i
boy and girl-IND
‘(a) boy and a girl’
While more than two noun phrases can be coordinated, typically not more than two are coordinated when one of the
above types of omissions is applied.
Another element generally omitted under identity in coordinated noun phrases is the adjective. Any number of noun
phrases sharing the same modifier may be coordinated, with the adjective occurring after the final noun via the
ezafe construction. In the following example, all but the last coordinator ( væ or -o ) is optional.
Note, however, that when nouns are conjoined, the scope of the attributive adjective is ambiguous. In example
(354), piræn ‘dress’ must be red, but the other nouns may or may not be red in an implicational relationship from
left to right. That is, if kæfš ‘shoe’ is interpreted as being red, then kolah ‘hat’ must also be interpreted as red;
redness of kif ‘purse’ entails redness of both kæfs and kolah.
(354) kif-o/væ kæfš-o/væ kolah-o/væ piræn-EZ qermez
purse-and shoe-and hat-and dress-EZ red
‘the red purse, shoes, hat and dress’
Other modifiers such as quantifiers and superlatives may also be omitted under identity. Note that the resulting
phrases are semantically ambiguous with respect to the scope of the modifier.
(355) pænj-ta miz-o sændæli
five-CL table-and chair
‘five tables and chairs’
Finally, when two or more noun phrases are coordinated via væ/-o ‘and’, the definite object marker -ra/-ro/-o is
omitted from all but the last NP.
(356) kif-o kæfš-o xærid-æm
purse-and shoe-OM bought-1S
‘I bought the purse and shoes.’

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b) Adjective and adverb phrases
When two or more adjective phrases or adverb phrases are coordinated, a shared intensifier may be omitted from all
but the first adjective or adverb phrase. The resulting phrase is semantically ambiguous.
(357) xeyli bozorg-o sængin.
very big-and heavy
‘very big and heavy’
Or
‘Very big and very heavy’
(358) besyar tond-o ba-deqæt
very fast-and with-precision
‘very fast and precisely’
Or
‘very fast and very precisely’
1.4 NEGATION
1.4.1 Sentence negation
Simple sentences are negated by attaching the negative prefix næ-/ne- to the verb stem of simple verbs and the
verbal part of the stem in compound verbs in the present, past, the present and past perfect, imperative, subjunctive
and passive. See Section 3.2.6.4.2 for a description of the allomorphy of the negative prefix.
(359) ne-mi-ræxs-æm
NEG-DUR-dance-1S
‘I won’t dance.’
(360) næ-ræxsid-æm
NEG-danced-1S
‘I didn’t dance.’
(361) næ-ræxsid-e-æm
NEG-danced-PSPT-1S
‘I haven’t danced.’

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(362) næ-ræxs
NEG-dance
‘Don’t dance!’
(363) šayæd næ-ræxs-æm
maybe NEG-dance-1S
‘I may not dance.’
(364) bæzi--ne-mi-kon-æm
play--NEG-DUR-do-1S
‘I won’t play.’
(365) hærf--næ-zæd-im
word--NEG-struck-1P
‘We didn’t talk.’
In the future and the past perfect, the negative prefix attaches to the stem of the first verbal element (see Section
2.1.3.2.1.4 for discussion and examples of the formation of the future tense, and Section 2.1.3.3.1.1–2 on the
formation of the past perfect).
(366) næ-xah-æm ræxsid
NEG-want-1S danced
‘I won’t dance.’
In the passive, the negative prefix precedes the second verbal element in the construction.
(367) did-e næ-šod
seen-PSPT NEG-became
‘It wasn’t seen’
A sentence may also be negated via a combination of a negation element which occurs sentence initially and a
negated verb. See Section 1.4.3 below for discussion and examples of double negatives.
1.4.2 Constituent negation
Noun phrases are commonly made negative with the preceding negative elements hic/hici ‘none’ or bedun-e
‘without’. When hic/hi’ci is used the verb must be negative. The verb in bedun-

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e sentences may be negative or positive.
(368) hic pul næ-dar-æm
none money NEG-have-1S
‘I don’t have any money.’
(369) bedun-e ab mi-mir-e
without water DUR-die-3S
‘It will die without water.’
(370) bedun-e to ne-mi-r-æm
without you NEG-DUR-go-1S
‘I won’t go without you.’
The negative prefix na- is used to negate some positive-quality adjectives (see Sections 2.2.3.3 on the derivation of
adjectives from adjectives).
(371) na-pak
un-clean
‘unclean’
1.4.3 Double/multiple negation
Negative elements cooccur with a negated verb to produce a negative sentence. The most common are hic/hici
‘nothing, hicvæqt ‘never’, hiški ‘no one’, hi’ja ‘nowhere’ and hærgez ‘never’.
(372) hici næ-xord
nothing NEG-ate
‘She didn’t eat anything.’
(373) nader hicvæqt yæzd næ-ræft-e
Nader never Yazd NEG-went-PSPT
‘Nader has never gone to Yazd.’
(374) hiški unja næ-bud
no one there NEG-was
‘There was no one there.’

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1.4.4 Negation and coordination
Negation in coordinated structures is as in simplex structures. However, one form of negation is exclusive to
coordination, næ…næ ‘neither…nor’ is a both a coordinator and a sentential/constituent negator (also see Section
1.3 on coordination).
(375) færnuš gušt ne-mi-xor-e væ pæri mive
Farnush meat NEG-DUR-eat-3S and Parri fruit
ne-mi-xor-e
NEG-DUR-eat-3S
‘Farnush doesn’t eat meat and Parri doesn’t eat fruit.’
(376) næ mæn cini sohbæt--mi-kon-æm næ una
no I Chinese speak--DUR-do-1S no they
‘I don’t speak Chinese and neither do they.’
1.4.5 Negation and subordination
Verbal complement clauses cannot be negated by the verb of the main clause. Compare the sentences in examples
(377) and (378). The verb of the main clause is negative in both examples, but to express negation of the
proposition in the subordinate clause the verb of the subordinate clause must also be negated as shown in (378).
(377) ne-mi-dun-e ke færda mi-ya-m
NEG-know-3S that tomorrow DUR-come-1S
‘She doesn’t know I’m coming tomorrow.’
(378) ne-mi-dun-e ke færda ne-mi-ya-m
NEG-know-3S that tomorrow NEG-DUR-come-1S
‘She doesn’t know that I’m not coming tomorrow.’
In subordinating constructions where the subordinate clause is in the subjunctive, negation of the subordinate clause
must be expressed through the negation of the verb of the matrix clause. Compare examples (379) and (380).
(379) bæhram mi-tunest be-fæhm-e
Bahrain DUR-could SBJN-understand-3S
‘Bahrain could understand.’

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(380) bæhram ne-mi-tunest be-fæhm-e
Bahram NEG-DUR-could SBJN-understand3S
‘Bahram couldn’t understand.’
1.5 ANAPHORA
Anaphora is the use of a proform or null form that has no inherent reference or meaning, but whose reference
depends on another noun phrase mentioned earlier or, less frequently, later in the discourse.
1.5.1 Means of expressing anaphora
1.5.1.1–3 Pronouns and deletion of pronouns
The personal pronouns mæn ‘I, me’, to ‘you’, u ‘he/she’, un ‘it’, ma ‘we, us’, šoma ‘you (formal or plural)’, una ‘they,
them’ and išun ‘he/she (formal)’ are used to express anaphora. Since subject agreement is marked on the verb,
however, the anaphoric pronoun is typically deleted. In the example below the parentheses indicate the deleted
anaphoric pronoun. The anaphor of the deleted pronoun is the most recent third person referred to in the discourse.
(381) ladæn mi-r-e mehmuni.
Ladan DUR-go-3S party.
‘Ladan is going to the party.’
unja () behruz-o molaqat--mi-kon-e
there (she) Behruz-OM meet--DUR-do-3S
‘She’ll meet Behruz there.’
When the coreferential pronoun is a definite direct object, the pronoun is dropped in favor of a pronominal clitic
suffix which attaches to the verb (see Section 2.1.1.2.4.3 on pronominal clitics). In the example below, the
coreferential pronoun object is dropped and the verb is suffixed with the third person pronominal clitic -eš. The
anaphor is the most recent third person object referred to in the discourse.
(382) ketab-o xærid-o () xund-eš
book-OM bought-and (it) read-3S.PC
‘She bought the book and read it.’

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It is also possible for the coreferential pronoun to precede the noun that it is referring to (the noun that would
normally be the antecedent).
(383) væqt-i ke resid pedær-æm xæst-e bud
time-DEM that arrived father-1S.PC tired-PSPT was
‘When he arrived, my father was tired.’
1.5.1.4 Reflexive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are anaphoric. Reflexive pronouns have two main functions. They indicate that an object is
coreferential with the subject, and they can serve as intensifies.
(384) mærjan xod-eš-o tærsund
Marjan self-3S.PC-OM scared
‘Marjan scared herself.’
The reflexive pronoun can precede the “antecedent”, when the object is preposed to precede the subject for focus,
resulting in either OSV or OVS word order. In the latter case the verb also is preposed for emphasis (Karimi
1989:155). While the English translation in (385) is marginal at best, it attempts to show the focus on the reflexive
object as it is interpreted in Persian.
(385) xod-eš-o mærjan tærsund (OSV)
self-3S.PC-OM Marjan scared
‘Herself she scared.’
(386) xod-eš-o tærsund mærjan (OVS)
self-3S.PC scared Marjan
‘She scared herself, Marjan did.’
The intensive function of the reflexive pronouns also results in an anaphoric reference. The coreferential personal
pronoun that the reflexive intensifies is dropped, as shown in the following example.
(387) ladæn mekanik-e xub-i-e.
Ladan mechanic-EZ good-IND-3S
xod-eš mašin-eš-o dorost--kærd.
self-3S.PC car-3S.PC-OM fix--did
‘Ladan is a good mechanic. She fixed her car herself.’

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Also see Section 1.6 for further examples of reflexive pronouns.
1.5.1.5 Special anaphoric pronouns
There are no special anaphoric pronouns.
1.5.1.6 Other means of expressing anaphora
The demonstratives in ‘this’ and un ‘that’ are used as anaphoric pronouns and adjectives. The plural forms ina and
una are only used as pronouns (see Section 2.1.2.5). Note that una in the second sentence of example (388) can be
dropped.
(388) xanum-o aqa-ye mæhmudi dir-ænd
Mrs.-and Mr.-EZ Mahmudi late-are
‘Mr. and Mrs. Mahmudi are late.’
una hæmiše dir-ænd
they always late-are
‘They’re always late.’
In example (389, the demonstrative adjective plus noun phrase in tærz-e fekr refers to the antecedent nominalized
clause mitun-ænd bedun-e kar--kærdæn put dær--bi-ar-ænd.
(389) bæzia fekr--mi-kon-ænd mi-tun-ænd bedun-e
some thought--DUR-do-3P DUR-be able-3P without-EZ
kar--kærdæn pul dær--bi-ar-ænd
work--to do money out--SBJN-bring-3P
‘Many people think they can earn money without working.
(390) in tærz-e fekr besiar bæccegane-st
this way-EZ thought extremely immature-is
‘This way of thinking is extremely immature.’
Another means to express an anaphoric reference is by using pronominal forms such as axæri ‘the latter’, ævvæli
‘the first one’.
1.5.2 Domain of anaphora
1.5.2.1 Within the clause
Within the clause reflexives can be used to express anaphora.

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As discussed earlier, the reflexive can precede or follow the antecedent.
(391) mehri xod-eš-o bædbæxt--kærd
Mehri self-3S.PC-OM unfortunate--did
‘Mehri ruined herself.’
1.5.2.2 Anaphora between coordinate clauses
Between coordinate clauses, both pronouns (typically prodropped, see Section 1.5.1.1–3) and reflexives can be used
to express anaphora. The pro-forms can precede or follow the antecedent. See Section 1.5.1.1–3 and 1.5.1.4 for
discussion and examples of direction of coreference.
(392) hæsæn deraz--kešid-o () xabid
Hasan lay down-and (he) slept
‘Hasan lay down and went to sleep.’
(393) surur bolænd--šod-o xod-eš-o hazer--kærd
Surur got up-and self-3S.PC-OM ready--did
‘Surur got up and got herself ready.’
1.5.2.3 Anaphora between superordinate and subordinate clauses
1.5.2.3.1 Anaphora in superordinate-subordinate clause
Anaphora between superordinate and subordinate clauses is expressed by means of a pro-dropped pronoun in the
subordinate clause or by the reflexive. Nonfinite subordinate clauses are not found.
(394) be vidai goft-æm ke ( )i
toVidai said-1S that (she)i
ne-mi-tun-e be-r-e
NEG-DUR-be able SBJN-go-3S
‘I told Vida that she couldn’t go.’
(395) mænsur goft ke xod-eš mi-r-e
Mansur said that self-3S.PC DUR-go-3S
‘Mansur said that he will go himself.’

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1.5.2.3.2 Anaphora in the order subordinate-superordinate clause
It is possible but not common to precede the superordinate clause with the subordinate clause. In such cases
anaphora is still expressed by means of a pro-dropped pronoun in the subordinate clause.
(396) ( )i ne-mi-tun-e be-r-e be vidai
(she)i NEG-DUR-be able-3S SBJN-go-3S to Vidai
goft-æm
said-1S
‘She can’t go, I told Vida.’
(397) xod-eti næ-ro be vidai goft-æm
self-2S.PCi NEG-go.IMP to Vidai said-1S
‘You can’t go yourself, I told Vida.’
1.5.2.4 Anaphora between different subordinate clauses
Anaphoric reference is possible between different subordinated clauses, as demonstrated in the following example.
(398) rezai goft ke ( )i mi-r-e resturan-i
Reza said that ( )i DUR-go-3S restaurant-DEM
ke dišæb ( )i ræft
that last night ( )i went
‘Reza said he’ll go to the restaurant he went to last night.’
1.5.2.5 Anaphora between different sentences
Anaphoric reference is permitted between different sentences with pronouns, reflexives and ‘former, latter’
constructions.
(399) sonya ræft sinema. unja ( )i færiborz-o did
Sonya went movies. There ( )i Fariborz-OM saw
‘Sonya went to the movies. She saw Fariborz there.’
(400) šiva mi-r-e tehran. xod-eš tænhai mi-r-e.
Shiva DUR-go-3S Tehran. self-3S.PC alone DUR-go-3S
‘Shiva is going to Tehran. She’ll go by herself.’

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1.5.3 Subordinating conjunctions and anaphoric processes
Elements near the complementizer are subject to the anaphoric processes described above. See Sections 1.5.2.3–5.
1.6 REFLEXIVES
1.6.1 Means of expressing reflexivity
1.6.1.1–4 Invariable and variable reflexive pronouns
There are three reflexive pronouns in Persian: xod, xiš and xištæn ‘self. The three forms are used in all persons and
numbers. xod is the most common, while xiš and xištæn are somewhat archaic.
The reflexive pronouns may be used with or without the pronominal clitics which indicate person and number. The
invariable form, without the pronominal clitic, is considered more formal or literary. In example (401) xod is used
without a pronominal clitic, while in (402) the reflexive takes the third person singular pronominal clitic. See also
Section 2.1.2.2 for chart, discussion and examples of the invariable and variable reflexive pronouns.
(401) mehdi xod-ra mo’aleje--kærd
Mehdi self-OM cure--did
‘Mehdi cured himself.’
(402) mehdi xod-eš-o mo’aleje--kærd
Mehdi self-3S.PC-OM cure--did
‘Mehdi cured himself.’
1.6.2 Scope of reflexivity
The scope of reflexivity is not restricted to the clause. The antecedent and reflexive element may occur in separate
clauses. See 1.5.1.4, 1.5.2.2–5 for a discussion of reflexive elements appearing in coordinate and subordinate
clauses and separate sentences.
1.6.3 Reflexive element as verbal affix
Reflexives are not verbal affixes in Persian.

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1.6.4 Position of the reflexive element
The position of the reflexive element is not restricted to one place in the clause. The examples in Section 1.6.5
immediately below illustrate the possible relationships between antecedent and reflexive.
1.6.5 Relationship between antecedent and reflexive
1.6.5.1 Antecedent subject/reflexive direct object
(403) mæryæm xod-eš-o arum-kærd
Maryam self-3S.PC-OM calm-did
‘Maryam calmed herself.’
1.6.5.2 Antecedent subject/reflexive modifier of direct object
(404) mæryæm šam-e xod-eš-o poxt
Maryam dinner-EZ self-3S.PC-OM cooked
‘Maryam cooked her own dinner.’
1.6.5.3–4 Antecedent subject/reflexive indirect object (zero or case marking)
This category does not apply in Persian.
1.6.5.5 Antecedent subject/reflexive indirect object (adposition marking)
(405) firuze gol-o be xod-eš sænjaq--zæd
Firuze flower-OM to self-3S.PC pin--hit
‘Firuze pinned the flower to herself.’
1.6.5.6 Antecedent subject/reflexive modifier of indirect object
(406) firuze gol-o be yæqe-ye xod-eš sænjaq--zæd
Firuze flower-OM to collar-EZ self-3S.PC pin--hit
‘Firuze pinned the flower to her own collar.’
1.6.5.7 Antecedent subject/reflexive copular complement
(407) mæn xod-æm-æm
I self-1S.PC-am
‘I am myself.’

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1.6.5.8 Antecedent subject/reflexive modifier of copular complement
(408) in ketab-e xod-æm-e
this book-EZ self-1S.PC-is
‘This book is my own book.’
1.6.5.9–10 Antecedent subject/reflexive subject complement and modifier of subject complement
These forms do not seem to occur in Persian.
1.6.5.11–12 Antecedent subject/reflexive object complement and modifier of object complement
These forms do not seem to occur in Persian.
1.6.5.13 Antecedent subject/reflexive object of adjective
(409) (mæn) æz xod-æm motenæfer-æm
(I) from self-1S.PC hateful-am
‘I hate myself.’
1.6.5.14 Antecedent subject/reflexive modifier of object of adjective
(410) kamran æz bæradær-e xod-eš motenæfer-e
Kamran from brother-EZ self-3S.PC hateful-is
‘Kamran hates his own brother.’
1.6.5.15 Antecedent subject/reflexive agent in passive constructions
This construction is not possible in Persian.
1.6.5.16 Antecedent subject/reflexive modifier of passive agent
(411) reza be dæst-e xod-eš gul--xord-e bud
Reza to hand-EZ self-3S.PC deception--ate-PSPT was
‘Reza was deceived by his own doing.’

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1.6.5.17 Antecedent subject/reflexive in other prepositional phrase
(412) lale gol-a-ro bæra-ye xod-eš xærid
Lale flower-PL-OM for self-3S.PC bought
‘Lale bought the flowers for herself.’
1.6.5.18 Antecedent subject/reflexive modifier of other prepositional phrase
(413) lale sa’æt-o bæra-ye pesær-e
Lale watch-OM for son-EZ
xod-eš xærid
self-3S.PC bought
‘Lale bought the watch for her own son.’
1.6.5.19–36 Modifier of subject as antecedent/reflexive direct object
The modifier of the subject cannot be the antecedent of any reflexive object, complement, prepositional phrase or
modifier of any of these.
1.6.5.37 Direct object antecedent/reflexive subject
A direct object cannot be the “antecedent” of a reflexive subject.
1.6.5.38 Direct object antecedent/reflexive modifier of subject
A direct object can serve as the “antecedent” of a reflexive modifier of the subject. In example (414) the direct
object bižæn is the antecedent of the reflexive xod-eš ‘himself.
(414) xorxor--kærdæn-e xod-eš bižæn-o
snore--to do-EZ self-3S.PC-OM Bijan-OM
narahæt--mi-kon-e
upset--DUR-do-3S
‘His own snoring bothers Bijan.’

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1.6.5.39–40 Direct object antecedent/reflexive case-marked indirect object or modifier of such indirect object
This does not apply in Persian.
1.6.5.41 Direct object antecedent/reflexive indirect object (preposition marking)
(415) davud-o æz xod-eš bizar--kærd-æm
David-OM from self-3S.PC weary-did-1S
‘I made David weary of himself.’
1.6.5.42 Direct object antecedent/reflexive modifier of indirect object (preposition marking)
(416) davud-o æz bæradær-e xod-eš
David-OM from brother-EZ self-3S.PC
bizar--kærd-æm
weary-did-1S
‘I made David weary of his own brother.’
1.6.5.43–46 Direct object antecedent/reflexive copular or subject complement or modifier of copular or subject
complement
A direct object cannot be the antecedent to reflexive copular complements, their modifiers, reflexive subject
complements or their modifiers.
1.6.5.47–48 Direct object antecedent/reflexive object complement or modifier of object complement
A direct object cannot be the antecedent to reflexive object complements or their reflexive modifiers.
1.6.5.49–50 Direct object antecedent/reflexive object of adjective or its modifier
A direct object cannot be the antecedent to the reflexive object of an adjective or its modifier.

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1.6.5.51–52 Direct object antecedent/reflexive agent in passive or modifier of such agent
A direct object cannot be the antecedent to the reflexive agent in a passive construction or its modifier.
1.6.5.53 Direct object antecedent/reflexive element in other prepositional phrase
(417) minu æli-ro æz xod-eš tærsund
Minu Ali-OM from self-3S.PC frightened
‘Minu made Ali frightened of himself.’
The reflexive can be coreferential with either the direct object or the subject, such that (417) can be read: ‘Minu
made Ali afraid of her’.
1.6.5.54 Direct object antecedent/reflexive modifier of element in other prepositional phrase
(418) sohrab-o ferestad-æm be xune-ye
Sohrab-OM sent-1S to house-EZ
xod-eš
self-3S.PC
‘I sent Sohrab to his own house.’
1.6.5.55–72 Modifier of direct object antecedent
Modifiers of direct objects cannot be antecedents to reflexive subjects, reflexive modifiers of subjects, direct objects
or their reflexive modifiers, indirect objects or their reflexive modifiers, complements or their reflexive modifiers. Nor
can a modifier of a direct object be an antecedent to reflexive object complements, reflexive objects of adjectives,
reflexive agents in passive, reflexive elements in other prepositional phrases or the reflexive modifiers of any of
these.
1.6.5.73–104 Case-/zero-marked indirect object antecedent
This category does not apply since Persian indirect objects are not marked for case.

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1.6.5.105–136 Indirect object antecedent
Neither indirect objects nor their modifiers can be antecedents to reflexives in any category or position.
1.6.5.137–212 Other antecedents
Copular complements, subject and object complements, adjectival objects, agents in passives, elements in adverbials
and the modifier of all of these cannot be antecedents to reflexives in any category or position.
1.6.6 Reflexive relations within nominalized clauses
Reflexive relations can exist within a nominalized clause. As in ordinary reflexive sentences, the reflexive can occur
as a direct object, indirect object and other oblique objects, or as an intensifier. Example (419) has a reflexive direct
object, (420) is an example of a reflexive being used as a benefactive and (421) shows a reflexive as an intensifier.
(419) mælum-e ke xod-eš-o xeyli dust--dar-e
clear-is that self-3S.PC-OM very friend--have-3S
‘It is obvious that she likes herself a lot.’
(420) fekr--mi-kon-im mi-tun-e bæra-ye
thought--DUR-do-1P DUR-be able-3S for
xod-eš xune be-xær-e
self-3S.PC house SBJN-buy-3S
‘We think she can buy a house for herself.’
(421) æjib-e ke pesær-e xod-eš-o
strange-is that son-EZ self-3S.PC-OM
ne-mi-šnas-e
NEG-DUR- recognize-3S
‘It’s strange that she doesn’t recognize her own son.’
1.6.7 Reflexive relations within noun phrases
Reflexive relations cannot exist within ordinary noun phrases.

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1.6.8 Reflexives without overt antecedents
A Persian reflexive requires an overt antecedent.
1.7 RECIPROCALS
1.7.1 Means of expressing reciprocity
Persian has three reciprocal pronouns: hæm, hæmdige and yekdigær, all meaning ‘each other’. They are invariable
in form and function as objects with an anaphoric reference to the subject. The reciprocals are not marked for case,
but do take a direct object marker or preposition depending on their syntactic/semantic role in the sentence,
hæmdige is the commonly used reciprocal pronoun in spoken Persian.
(422) mærjan-o širin hæmdige-ro did-ænd
Marjan-and Shirin each other-OM saw-3P
‘Marjan and Shirin saw each other.’
(423) kambiz-o lili ba hæmdige ræft-ænd
Kambiz-and Lili with each other went-3P
‘Kambiz and Lili left together.’
See Section 2.1.2.3 for further examples of reciprocal pronouns and their use.
1.7.2 Scope of reciprocity
The scope of reciprocity is not restricted to the clause, as the antecedent and reciprocal element may occur in the
same or in different clauses. See (422) and (423) directly above for examples of antecedents and reciprocals in the
same clause. Example (424) shows the antecedent in the main clause and the reciprocal element in a subordinate
clause.
(424) qol dad-ænd hæmiše hæmdige-ro
promise gave-3P always each other-OM
komæk--kon-ænd
help--do-3P
‘They promised to always help each other.’

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1.7.3 Verbal affix
Reciprocals are not marked as verbal affixes in Persian.
1.7.4 Positional possibilities of reciprocals within the clause
Rreciprocal can occure in various places, as shown in 1.7.5.
1.7.5.1–18 Relation between subject antecedent and reciprocal
Following are examples of possible relationships between subject antecedents and reciprocal elements.
Direct object reciprocal
(425) mæn-o færhad hæmdige-ro
I-and Farhad each other-OM
dærk--ne-mi-kon-im
understand--NEG-DUR-do-1P
‘Farhad and I don’t understand each other.’
Modifier of direct object reciprocal
(426) mitra-o nilufær ketab-e hæm-o xund-ænd
Mitra-and Nilufar book-EZ each other-OM read-3P
‘Mitra and Nilufar read each other’s books.’
Case-marked indirect object/modifier of indirect object reciprocal
Reciprocals cannot function in these roles.
Indirect object reciprocal
(427) hæsan-o hoseyn be hæm pul dad-ænd
Hasan-and Hosein to each other money gave-3P
‘Hasan and Hosein gave each other money.’
Modifier of indirect object reciprocal
(428) hæsan-o hoseyn be bæcce-ha-ye hæm pul dad-ænd
Hasan-and Hosein to child-PL-EZ each other moneyg ave-3P
‘Hasan and Hosein gave each other’s children money.’

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Copular complement reciprocal
(429) mæn-o to mesle hæm hæst-im
I-and you like each other be-1P
‘You and I are like each other.’
Modifier of copular complement reciprocal
(430) æmir-o zohre dust-e sæmimi-ye yekdigær hæst-ænd
Amir-and Zohre friend-EZ close-EZ each other be-3P
‘Amir and Zohre are each other’s close friend.’
Subject complement reciprocal
Reciprocals cannot be used in this function.
Modifier of subject complement reciprocal
While it seems syntactically possible to have a reciprocal as the modifier of a subject complement, it is hard to think
of a context to use such a structure.
Object complement reciprocal/modifier of object complement
It is syntactically possible to use a reciprocal as an object complement or modifier of an object complement, but it is
hard to think of a natural context to use such structures.
Adjective object reciprocal
(431) ba yekdigær mehræbun-ænd
with each other. kind-are
‘They are kind with each other.’
Modifier of adjective complement reciprocal
(432) ba bæcce-ha-ye hæmdige mehræbun-ænd
with child-PL-EZ each other kind-are
‘They are kind with each other’s children.’
Agent/modifier of agent in passive construction
These constructions are rare, if at all possible.

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Reciprocal element in other prepositional phrase
(433) una ba hæm ræxsid-ænd
they with each other danced-3P
‘They danced with each other.’
Modifier of reciprocal element in other prepositional phrase
(434) una ba zæn-e hæm ræxsid-ænd
they with wife-EZ each other danced-3P
‘They danced with each other’s wife.’
1.7.5.19–36 Relation between modifier of subject antecedent and reciprocals
The modifier of a subject cannot be the antecedent of a reciprocal element in any grammatical function.
1.7.5.37–54 Relation between direct object antecedent and reciprocal element
A direct object can be the antecedent of a reciprocal element in only four cases. The reciprocal may be an indirect
object, the modifier of an indirect object or some other oblique object or modifier of such object.
Indirect object
(435) una-ro be hæm mo’ærefi--kærd-æm
them-OM to each other introduce--did-1S
‘I introduced them to each other.’
Modifier of indirect object
(436) una-ro be xahær-e hæm
them-OM to sister-EZ each other
mo‘ærefi--kærd-æm
introduce--did-1S
‘I introduced them to each other’s sister.’

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Other prepositional object
(437) una-ro ba hæmdige ašna--kærd-æm
them-OM with each other acquaint--did-1S
‘I acquainted them with each other.’
Modifier of other prepositional object
(438) una-ro æz pišræft-e yekdigær
them-OM from progress-EZ each other
agah--kærd-æm
aware--did-1S
‘I made them aware of each other’s progress.’
1.7.5.55–72 Relationship between modifier of direct object antecedent and reciprocal element
The modifier of a direct object cannot be the antecedent of a reciprocal element.
1.7.5.73–104 Relationship between case-marked indirect object antecedent and reciprocal element
Persian does not have case-marked objects.
1.7.5.105–120 Relationship between prepositional indirect object antecedent and reciprocal element
Direct object
(439) be-hešun yekdigær-o nešun dad-æm
to-3P.PC each other-OM show gave-1S
‘I showed them each other.’
Modifier of direct object
(440) be-hešun ketab-e hæm-o nešun
to-3P.PC book-EZ each other-OM show
dad-æm
gave-1S
‘I showed them each other’s book.’

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1.7.5.121–212 Relationship between antecedents in other categories and reciprocal elements
There are no other relationships between antecedents and reciprocal elements other than those already discussed in
the previous sections.
1.7.6 Reciprocal relations within nominalized clauses
Reciprocal relationships are permitted within nominalized clauses.
(441) mælum-e ke una hæmdige-ro
obvious-is that they each other-OM
dust-dar--ænd
friend--have-3P
‘It’s obvious they like each other.’
1.7.7 Reciprocal relations within noun phrases
Reciprocal relations cannot exist within a simple noun phrase.
1.7.8 Reciprocal structures without antecedents
Persian does not use reciprocals without antecedents.
1.8 COMPARISON
1.8.1 Expressing comparison
1.8.1.1–4 Means of expressing comparison
In a comparative expression the following four elements occur, from left to right: the object being compared, the
preposition æz ‘from’, the standard of comparison, and the parameter of comparison (generally the adjective)
followed by the comparative suffix -tær.
(442) mehri æz bædri kuta-tær-e
Mehri from Badri short-COMPR-is
‘Mehri is shorter than Badri.’

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When the items of comparison are in different clauses, the conjunction ta ‘than’ is used instead of æz ‘from’ to
express comparative relations. Also see section 2.1.4.4.2 on comparatives.
(443) mæn yævaš-tær mi-jo-æm ta peyman
I slow-COMPR DUR-chew-1S than Payman
‘I chew slower than Payman.’
1.8.2–4 Deletion of identical elements in comparative structures
It is preferable to omit as many constituents in the comparative clause as are identical to those in the main clause.
In example (444) the entire verb phrase is omitted in the comparative clause (introduced by ta ). The omitted
material is shown in brackets.
(444) ræxša mi-tun-e tond-tær gol
Elahe DUR-be able-3S fast-COMPR flower
be-kar-e ta šapur [mi-tun-e gol be-kar-e]
SBJN-plant-3S than Shapur
‘Rakhsha can plant flowers faster than Shapur [can plant flowers].’
Of the elements omitted, deletion of the object is obligatory. The omission of the verb or the modal+verb is optional.
Compare examples (445) and (446) with (444). In example (444) both the modal and the verb have been omitted.
In example (445) the modal is retained and in (446) both the modal and verb are retained.
(445) ræxša mi-tun-e tond-tær gol
Elahe DUR-be able-3S fast-COMPR flower
be-kar-e ta šapur mi-tun-e
SBJN-plant-3S than Shapur DUR-be able-3S
‘Rakhsha can plant flowers faster than Shapur can.’
(446) rita mi-tun-e tond-tær gol be-kar-e
Rita DUR-be able-3S fast-COMPR flower SBJN-plant-3S
ta šapur mi-tun-e be-kar-e
than Shapur DUR-be able-3S
‘Rita can plant flowers faster than Shapur can plant (flowers).’

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1.8.5 Two types of comparative structures
This does not apply to Persian. Comparative structures are formed in only one way: with a comparative element and
a comparative conjunction or preposition associated with the comparative clause or standard of comparison.
1.8.6 Correlative comparison
Correlative comparative clauses are always introduced with hærci ‘whatever’. When there is more than one clause,
hærci only occurs at the beginning of the first clause. The elements being correlated take the comparative suffix -
tær, with the first one immediately following hærci .
(447) hærci gærm-tær behtær
whatever warm-COMPR better
‘The warmer the better.’
(448) hærci bištær kar--mi-kon-e kæm-tær
whatever more work--DUR-do-3S little-COMPR
ænjam--mi-d-e
accomplish--DUR-give-3S
‘The more she works the less she accomplishes.’
1.9 EQUATIVE
1.9.1 Expressing equality
1.9.1.1–4 Means of expressing equality
Within the clause, the most general way to express equality between two entities is by using the compound
preposition be ændaze-ye ‘in the same amount’ to precede the entity and quality under comparison. Note that (449)
is a single clause and that the sequence be ændaze-ye goli is not a truncated clause with a deleted verb.
(449) mehran be ændaze-ye goli pul dar-e
Mehran to size-EZ Goli money have-3S
‘Mehran has as much money as Goli.

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The phrases hæmun qædr or hæmun meqdar, both meaning ‘the same amount’, are used when the elements being
compared are in separate clauses.
(450) mehran hæmun qædr pul dar-e ke
Mehran same amount money have-3S that
goli dar-e
Goli have-3S
‘Mehran has as much money as Goli has.’
Also see Section 2.1.4.4.1 for further examples of equatives.
1.9.2–4 Deletion of identical elements in equative structures
In the second clause of an equative structure, the presence of the verb is obligatory. In example (450) above the
second mention of the verb dar-e cannot be deleted. When there is only a direct object present, it may or may not
be deleted in the second clause. Example (451) shows the optionality of the direct object ketab ‘book’.
(451) zæhra hæmun qædr ketab mi-xun-e ke
Zahra same amount book DUR-read-3S that
bætul (ketab) mi-xun-e
Batul (book) DUR-read-3S
‘Zahra reads books as much as Batul does.’
When there is an indirect object as well as a direct object involved in the equative, the direct object is obligatorily
deleted while the presence of the indirect object is optional.
(452) æqdæs hæmun qædr be muze pul dad
Aqdas same amount to museum money gave
ke monir (be muze) dad
that Monir (to museum) gave
‘Aqdas gave as much money to the museum as Monir did.’
1.10 POSSESSION
There are three main ways to indicate possession. First, the ezafe is used to link the possessor and the possessed.
Second, pronominal clitics are suffixed to the possessed. Finally, the phrase mal-e is used.

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The ezafe and pronominal clitic are used attributively. In an ezafe construction, the possessed precedes the ezafe,
which is followed by the possessor. The possessor can be a noun, personal pronoun or reflexive pronoun. Also see
Section 2.1.1.4.6–7 on possessives.
1.10.1 Sentences expressing possession
Sentences expressing possession are formed with the element mal-e ‘property of in a copular construction. The
possessed element precedes mal-e and the possessor follows.
(453) in xune mal-e mæn-e
this house property of me-is
‘This house belongs to me.’
Possession can also be expressed through the use of the ezafe construction discussed in Section 1.2.5.2.3 and
2.1.1.4.6–7.
(454) in xune-ye mæn-e
this house-EZ me-is
‘This house is mine.’
1.10.2–4 Types of possession or possessor
Alienable possession may be expressed with the use of mal-e ‘property of or with the ezafe construction as
described in Section 1.10.1 above. Inalienable possession can only be expressed with the ezafe construction as
shown in example (455).
(455) dæst-e mæn
hand-EZ I
‘my hand’
Permanent possession can be distinguished from potentially temporary possession. Sentences constructed with mal-e
always indicate a state of permanent possession, while in the case of alienable possession, the ezafe construction
may be used to indicate either permanent or temporary possession. In the following example the ezafe is used to
indicate temporary “possession”.

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(456) ostad-e mæn
professor-EZ I
‘my professor’
No distinction is made in the expression of possession, whether the possessor or possessed is a person, animal or
inanimate object. In all cases mal-e and/or the ezafe construction is used:
(457) mašin mal-e hæsæn-e
car property of Hasan-is
‘The car belongs to Hasan.’
(458) mašin-e hæsæn-e
car-EZ Hasan-is
‘It’s Hasan’s car.’
(459) in pic mal-e miz-e
this screw property of table-is
‘This screw belongs to the table.’
(460) in pic-e miz-e
this screw-EZ table-is
‘This is the table’s screw.’
(461) in lune mal-e kæbutær-e
this nest property of dove-is
‘This nest belongs to a dove.’
(462) in lune-ye kæbutær-e
this nest-EZ dove-is
‘This is a dove’s nest.’
1.10.5 Present and past possession
Other than verb tense, there is no syntactic or morphological distinction made expressing present or past possession.
1.11 EMPHASIS
1.11.1 Sentence emphasis
Sentence emphasis, whether for contradictory or

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noncontradictory emphasis, can be achieved in a number of ways. One common way is to raise one’s voice. Another
common way to emphasize a sentence is to repeat it, either in full or elliptically.
(463) æz dæst-eš ajez šod-æm. ajez.
from hand-3S.PC miserable became-1S. miserable.
‘He’s made me miserable. Miserable.’
A speaker can also use a sentence like (463) but with an emphatic adverb such as kamelæn ‘completely’ or vaqe’æn
‘truly’ with the repeated instance of the sentence.
(464) æz dæst-eš ajez šod-æm.
from hand-3S.PC miserable became-1S.
kamelæn ajez.
completely miserable.
‘He’s made me miserable. Completely miserable.’
Emphatic adverbs such as vaqe’æn ‘truly’ and bišæk ‘undoubtedly’ can also occur sentence-initially as disjuncts.
(465) vaqe’æn dust-eš--dar-æm
truly friend-3S.PC--have-1S
‘I truly love him.’
(466) bišak kar-eš-o xub bælæd-e
undoubtedly work-3S.PC-OM well know-is
‘Undoubtedly, he knows his work well.’
Another way a to emphasize a sentence is by putting the main verb in a progressive aspect. The implied complement
of the verb is not mentioned and the two verbs are said with stress and higher intonation.
(467) A: bo-ro xakrube-ro be-ndaz dur
IMP-go garbage-OM SBJN-throw out
‘Go throw out the garbage.’
B: dar-æm mi-r-æm
have-1S DUR-go-1S
‘I’m going, I’m going.’
The sentence being emphasized can be made an indirect

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statement, introduced by a phrase such as goft-æm ‘I said’.
(468) goft-æm, otaq-et-o tæmiz--kon
said-1S room-2S.PC-OM clean--do
‘I said, clean up your room.’
1.11.2 Constituent emphasis
1.11.2.1 Contrastive and noncontrastive constituent emphasis
1.11.2.1.1 Emphatic stress
Both contrastive and noncontrastive emphasis can be expressed through stress. The stress itself doesn’t indicate
contrastive or noncontrastive emphasis but rather brings the emphasized word to focus. Context is necessarily to
determine whether the emphasis is contrastive or noncontrastive. In example (469) the adjective is emphasized
noncontrastively, while in example (470) the stress on the demonstrative is used contrastively. (Stress is indicated by
bold, underlined type.)
(469) doxtær-e qæšæng-e
girl-DEF beautiful-is
‘The girl is beautiful.’
(470) in-o mi-xa-m
this-OM DUR-want-1S
‘I want this one.’
1.11.2.1.1.1 Elements which undergo emphatic stress
The noun phrase, predicative and attributive adjectives, verbs and adverbials can all receive contrastive and
noncontrastive stress to express emphasis. It is important to mention that Persian, which typically drops the subject,
uses the pronoun subject to emphasize the person carrying out the action of the verb. Contrastive emphasis is
indicated by adding stress to the pronoun. In example (471) the subject pronoun is emphasized by virtue of being
mentioned, but it is not contrastive. In example (472), however, the phonetic stress added to the pronoun makes it
contrastive.

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(471) mæn gol-a-ro kænd-æm
I flower-PL-OM picked-1S
‘I picked the flowers.’
(472) mæn gol-a-ro kænd-æm
I flower-PL-OM picked-1S
‘It was I who picked the flowers.’
1.11.2.1.2 Emphatic particles
Persian does not use particles to show emphasis, but it does use adverbs such as vaqe’æn ‘truly’ and kamelæn
‘completely’ as intensifies of adjectives for emphasis.
(473) vaqe’æn xær-e
truly stupid-is
‘He’s truly stupid.’
1.11.2.1.3 Movement of emphasized element
1.11.2.1.3.1 Initial position
Preposing of the verb to initial position expresses contrastive emphasis. In example (474), by preposing the verb the
speaker intends to emphasize that he has eaten, in contrast with the assumption that he may not have eaten yet.
(474) xord-æm šam-æm-o mæn
ate-1S dinner-1S.PC-OM I
‘I already ate dinner.’
1.11.2.1.3.1.1 Other elements which undergo movement to initial position
Movement of object noun phrases to initial position expresses topic, which is discussed in Section 1.12.1.2.1.
Adjectives cannot be moved. Adverbials of time, manner and place move to initial position to indicate emphasis of
the adverbial. Movement of amplifier adverbials to sentence-initial position generally serves to emphasize the
sentence (see Section 1.11.1).

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1.11.2.1.3.2 Final position
Movement of the full or pronominal subject to final position, after the verb, expresses noncontrastive emphasis of
the subject.
(475) šam-æm-o xord-æm mæn
dinner-1S.PC-OM ate-1S I
‘Me, I already ate dinner.’
Prepositional phrases containing indirect and oblique objects can also be moved to final position for noncontrastive
emphasis.
(476) mæn cæmedun-o dad-æm be æsqær
I suitcase-OM gave-1S to Asqar
‘I gave the suitcase to Asqar.’
(477) gorbæ-ro gereft-æm æz kæmal
cat-OM took-1S from Kamal
‘I took the cat from Kamal.’
Note that if phonetic stress is added to the postposed prepositional phrase emphasis becomes contrastive.
1.11.2.1.3.2.1 Other elements which can move to final position
Adjectives cannot be moved to final position. Verbs canonically take this slot. Adverbs of time can occur in final
position for emphasis. Also see Section 1.2.1.3.2 on position of adverbials
1.11.2.1.3.3 Other positions
The verb can precede the object or subject to express contrastive emphasis of the verb. In the sentence below, the
focus is having gotten the car, in contrast to deciding not to get it.
(478) A: mašin ci šod?
car what became
‘What happened with the car?
B: gereft-æm mašin-o
got-1S car-OM
‘I got the car.’

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(479) ræft soheyla
went Sohala
‘Sohala left.’
(480) cæmedun-o dad-æm mæn be æsqær
suitcase-OM gave-1S I to Asqar
‘The suitcase I gave to Asqar.’
1.11.2.1.4–5 Clef ting and pseudoclefting
Clefting, in Persian, moves the focused element from its unmarked position to the start of the sentence. The focused
element of the sentence is followed by a verb, usually a copula, and the relative pronoun ke. It is possible to cleft
subjects, DOs and PPs which contain indirect objects and oblique objects
(481) æli-e ke umæd
Ali-is that came
‘It is Ali who came.’
(482) sa’æt-e ke zohre xærid
watch-is that Zohre bought
‘It’s a watch that Zohre bought.’
(483) be zohre bud ke sima sa’æt-o dad
to Zohre was that Sima watch-OM gave
‘It was Zohre that Sima gave the watch to.’
(484) tu-ye baq bud ke hæmdigær-o did-im
in garden was that each other-OM saw-1P
‘It was in the garden that we saw each other.’
Pseudoclefting moves the nonfocused elements from their canonical position and precedes them with phrases like
‘the one who (kesi ke)/the thing that (cizi ke)/the place where (jai ke)’ etc.
(485) kesi ke asb dust--dar-e mina-st
someone that horse friend--have-3S Mina-is
‘The one who likes horses is Mina.’

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1.11.2.1.4.1 Other elements which can be clefted
In addition to noun phrases, prepositional adverbials and verb phrases can be clefted. In example (486) a
prepositional adverbial is shown in a clefted construction.
(486) ba eštiaq-e tæmam bud ke færiborz
with eagerness-EZ complete was that Fariborz
be iran bærgæšt
to Iran returned
‘It was with complete eagerness that Fariborz returned to Iran.’
1.11.2.1.6 Emphasis by dislocation
1.11.2.1.6.1 Left dislocation
Left dislocation is considered a movement that topicalizes the noun phrase. See Section 1.12.1.3.1.
1.11.2.1.6.2 Right dislocation
Right dislocation is extremely marginal in Persian and does not serve an emphatic function.
1.11.2.1.7 Other means to indicate emphasis
The discussion in the sections above covers the most frequently used methods for indicating emphasis.
1.11.2.1.8 Combining ways to express constituent emphasis
Stress used with any of the movement options for emphasis amplifies the emphasis, particularly for showing
contrast.
1.11.2.2 Elements that may be emphasized
1.11.2.2.1.1–4 Noun phrase, adjective, verb, adverbial emphasis
See each of the subsections in Section 1.11.2.1.1–8 for a discussions of emphasis of noun phrases, adjectives, verbs
and adverbials.

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1.11.2.2.2.1 Emphasis of main-clause constituents
Main-clause constituents can be emphasized by any of the stress or movement strategies explained above.
1.11.2.2.2.2 Emphasis of subordinate-clause constituents
Constituents of finite subordinate clauses can be emphasized by any of the means explained above.
1.11.2.2.2.3 Emphasis of noun-phrase constituents
Any element of the noun phrase can be emphasized by phonetic stress.
1.11.2.2.2.4 Emphasis of constituents of coordinate construction
Phonetic stress is used to express contrastive emphasis of a constituent of a coordinate structure. The stressed
constituent may precede or follow the conjunction. In the examples below stressed elements are bolded and
underlined. In example (487) mæn ‘I’ is emphasized to contrast it with ‘anyone else’. In example (488) mina is
emphasized for the same purpose.
(487) mæn-o mina ræft-im
I-and Mina went-2S
Mina and I went
(488) mæn-o mina ræft-im
I-and Mina went-2S
Mina and I went.
Some coordinators are inherently emphatic. For example the conjunction hæm…hæm…‘both…and’ and the
coordinators næ…næ… ‘neither…nor’ and ya…ya… ‘either…or’ tend to direct attention to the constituents which
follow each part of the duplicated coordinator. In example (489) both šowle and sima are interpreted as emphasized.
(489) hæm šowle hæm sima šena bælad-ænd
also shole also sima swim know-3P
‘Both Shole and Sima know how to swim.’

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1.11.2.2.3 Elements left behind as a result of movement
In the cases of clefting and pseudoclefting, which are the strategies available for emphatic, nontopicalizing
movement, no copy of the moved element is left behind.
1.11.3 Focus of yes-no questions
The focus of a yes-no question is indicated primarily through phonetic stress. In example (490), the speaker is
focusing on the word æks, for example in contrast to some other item that might be bought. In example (491) the
speaker focuses on the verb, again in contrast to some other possible verb.
(490) mi-xa-i æks be-xær-i?
DUR-want-2S picture SBJN-buy-2S
‘Do you want to buy a picture?’
(491) mi-xa-i æks be-xær-i?
DUR-want-2S picture SBJN-buy-2S
‘Do you want to buy a picture?’
1.12 TOPIC
1.12.1 Means of indicating topic of a sentence
1.12.1.1 Particles
The definite direct object marker -ra/ -ro/-o is sometimes used with elements other than the direct object in order to
indicate the topic of a sentence (see Section 2.1.1.10.1.2 for a discussion of -ra as a marker of definite direct
objects). It should be also noted that the topicalizing function of -ra is often used in conjunction with movement to
sentence-initial position.
-ra as a topicalizer is used most often with adverbs of time and indirect objects. In example (492), the adverb
emšæb ‘tonight’, in its canonical position, is somewhat topicalized via the -ra particle.
(492) kæmal emšæb-o inja mi-mun-e
Kamal tonight-OM here DUR-stay-3S
‘Tonight, Kamal is staying here.’

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An adverb is most clearly topicalized when it moves to initial position in addition to receiving the -ra particle, as in
example (493). Although the English translation in example (493) is the same as in example (492), in Persian emšæb
is more clearly a topicalized element in example (493) than in example (492).
(493) emšæb-o kæmal inja mi-mun-e
tonight-OM Kamal here DUR-stay-3S
‘Tonight, Kamal is staying here.’
Like time adverbs, indirect objects can also be topicalized with -ra. Unlike adverbs, however, if an indirect object
takes -ra it must also move to initial position.
(494) gol-a-ro mæhin ( ) ab dad
flower-PL-OM Mahin ( ) water gave
‘The flowers, Mahin watered.’
Note that in example (494) the derivation of the topicalized noun phrase has two possible sources. Before
topicalization, gol-a ‘flowers’ may have either been an indirect object, i.e., be gol-a ‘to the flowers’ or it may have
been the direct object gol-a-ro ‘the flowers’.
Indirect objects may also be topicalized without the -ra particle, in which case they are moved to initial position as a
whole prepositional phrase(see Section 1.12.1.2 for examples).
1.12.1.1.1 Elements which can be topicalized using -ra
As shown in examples (492), (493) and (494) adverbials of time and noun phrases can be topicalized by adding the
particle -ra. Adjectives and verbs do not take-ra for topicalization.
1.12.1.2 Movement without dislocation
1.12.1.2.1 Initial position
The most common way to topicalize an element is to move it into initial position. In the following examples,
topicalized elements are underlined. The empty parentheses indicate the original position of elements before
topicalization.

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Generic direct object
(495) mahi behtær-e ( ) næ-xær-i
fish better-is ( ) NEG-buy-2S
‘As for fish, you’d better not buy (any).’
Indefinite direct object
(496) ye ængoštær reza () mi-xa-d
a ring Reza () DUR-want-3S
‘A ring, Reza wants.’
Definite direct object
(497) zænjir-o minu () xærid
chain-OM Minu () bought
‘The chain, Minu bought.’
(498) aparteman-o ma () gæšt-im
aparteman-OM we () search-1P
‘The apartment, we searched.’
Indirect object
(499) be mæhin bilit-o () dad-æm
to Mahin ticket-OM () gave-1S
‘To Mahin I gave the ticket.’
Oblique object
(500) ba æqdæs mæn () ræft-æm ta’atr
with Aqdas I () went-1S theater
‘With Aqdas I went to the theater.’
Adverbial
(501) diruz-o bahæm gozærund-im
yesterday-OM together spent-1P
‘Yesterday we spent together.’
(502) ba otobus pærviz ræft širaz
with bus Parviz went Shiraz
‘By bus Parviz went to Shiraz.’

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(503) be xune-ye madær-eš-o ræft
to house-EZ mother-3S.PC-OM went
‘To his mother’s house he went.’
1.12.1.2.1.1 Elements which can be moved to initial position
As shown above, noun phrases and adverbials of time, manner and place can be topicalized by moving into initial
position. Adjectives cannot be topicalized and verbs are moved into initial position for contrastive emphasis rather
than topicalization.
1.12.1.2.2 Final position
Movement to final position is used for emphasis. See 1.11.2.1.3.2.
1.12.1.3 Dislocation
1.12.1.3.1 Initial position
A clear example of left dislocation involves movement of the indirect object to the front of the sentence while it is
replaced with a pronominal clitic in its original position, shown in example (504). In examples (505) and (506) the -o
(-ra/-ro) marker, which usually indicates a definite direct object, is functioning as a topicalizer.
(504) doxtar-ii ke hæmkelasi-m-e be-heši
girl-DEM that classmate-1S.Pc-is to-2S.PC
telefon-zæd-æm
telephone-hit-1S
‘The girl who is my classmate I called.’
(505) iræji-o pul be-heši be-d-e
Iraj-OM money to-3S.PC IMP-give-3S
‘Iraji, give himi money.’
(506) unjai-ro ne-mi-xa-m to
there-OM NEG-DUR-want-1S you
be-bin-i-ši
SBJN-see-2S-3S.PC
‘That place, I don’t want you to see it.’

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1.12.1.3.1.1 Dislocated elements moved to initial position
Noun phrases are the only elements which can be topicalized via dislocation to initial position. Adjectives, adverbials
and verbs cannot undergo such a movement.
1.12.1.3.2 Final position
Although syntactically possible, right dislocation is not commonly used as a topicalization strategy since the resulting
sentence sounds awkward. Furthermore, it is not altogether clear whether the dislocated element has been
topicalized.
(507) behtær-e pul-o be-heši be-d-i
better-is money-OM to-3S.PC SBJN-give-2S
iræji-o
Iraj-OM
‘You’d better give himi the money, Iraji.’
1.12.1.3.2.1 Dislocated elements moved to final position
As with left dislocation, noun phrases are the only candidates for right dislocation.
1.12.1.4 Verb agreement
Verb agreement is not used as a means of indicating the topic of a sentence.
1.12.1.5–6 Combinations of the above
As mentioned in Section 1.12.1.1, while adverbs can be topicalized with -ra without moving the adverb, indirect
objects must either move to initial position or under dislocation when they are marked as a topic with the -ra
particle.
1.12.2 Elements that may be topicalized
1.12.2.1.1–4 Topicalization of noun phrase, adjective, verb, adverbial
See each of the subsections in Section 1.12.1.1–6 for a

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discussions of topicalization of noun phrases, adjectives, verbs and adverbials.
1.12.2.2.1 Constituents of the main clause
Topicalization via the use of -ra applies to adverbs of time and indirect objects (see Section 1.12.1.1).
Dislocation as a strategy for topicalization can be used for noun phrases, which can be dislocated to either sentence-
initial or sentence-final position. As shown in Section 1.12.1.2, with the exception of the verb all constituents of a
main clause may be topicalized by movement to initial position. Topicalization cannot be indicated by movement to
final position.
1.12.2.2.2 Constituents of the subordinate clause
Direct, indirect and oblique objects as well as adverbs of time of a subordinate clause can be moved to sentence-
initial position for topicalization.
(508) mæšrub goft-æm (ke) () næ-xor
alcohol said-1S (that) () NEG-eat
‘Alcohol, I told you not to drink.’
(509) be bimarestan mi-xa-m pul-o ()
to hospital DUR-want-1S money-OM ()
be-d-æm
SBJN-give-1S
‘To the hospital I want to give the money.’
(510) šæb goft-æm (ke) () mæšrub næ-xor
night said-1S (that) () alcohol NEG-drink
‘I told you not to drink alcohol at night.’
(511) ba otobus mi-xa-m () be-r-æm
with bus DUR-want-1S () SBJN-go-1S
‘By bus, I want to go.’
(512) un šælvar-o goft-æm (ke) ()
that pants-OM said-1S (that) ()
ne-mi-puš-æm-eš
NEG-DUR-wear-1 S-3S.PC
‘Those pants, I said that I wouldn’t wear them.’

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Also, -ra can be used to topicalize adverbs of time and indirect objects of the subordinate clause just as it can
topicalize these elements in the main clause.
(513) bimarestan-o mi-xa-m pul ()
hospital-OM DUR-want-1S money ()
be-d-æm
SBJN-give-1S
‘To the hospital I want to give money.’
1.12.2.2.3 Constituents of noun phrases
It is not possible to topicalize constituents that occur within the noun phrase.
1.12.2.2.4 Constituents of coordinate constructions
One constituent of a coordinate structure cannot be topicalized.
1.12.2.2.5 More than one constituent simultaneously
Persian does not topicalize more than one constituent at the same time.
1.12.2.3 Elements left behind
In the case of topicalization via dislocation, a proform of the topicalized element is left behind as a clitic attached to
the verb. See Section 1.12.1.3 for examples. In cases of movement without dislocation nothing is left behind. See
Section 1.12.1.2 for examples.
1.12.3 Optionality of topicalization
Topicalization is optional. The use of -ra, as described in Section 1.12.1.1, and movement to initial position without
dislocation are the most preferred topicalization strategies.
1.13 HEAVY SHIFT
Heavy shift is an optional strategy except when a structure is very long and/or complex. In the following examples
the underlined

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elements are shifted from the site designated by empty parentheses.
1.13.2.1 Adjective phrases
A heavy adjective phrase can be optionally shifted to the end of the sentence as shown in the example below.
(514) pul-o be un mærd-i ( ) dad-im
money-OM to that man-DEM ( ) gave-1P
ke kotšælvar-e ærzun-i pušid-e bud
that suit-EZ cheap-IND wore-PSPT was
‘We gave the money to that man wearing the cheap suit.’
1.13.2.2 Direct and indirect object noun phrases
Heavy indirect objects can be shifted to the end or beginning of the sentence. In example (515), shifting the
prepositional phrase containing the indirect object allows the direct object pul ‘money’ to be topicalized. In example
(516), shifting the prepositional phrase to the beginning of the sentence topicalizes the indirect object.
(515) pul-o ( ) dad-im be un mærd-i
money-OM ( ) gave-1P to that man-DEM
ke kotšælvar-e ærzun-i pušid-e bud
who suit-EZ cheap-IND wore-PSPT was
‘We gave the money to that man who was wearing the cheap suit.’
(516) be un mærd-i ke kotšælvar-e ærzun-i pušid-e bud
to that man-DEM who suit-EZ cheap-IND wore-PSPT was
pul-o () dad-im
money-OM () gave-1P
‘To that man wearing the cheap suit we gave the money.’
Note that the entire prepositional phrase must be shifted and that the indirect object cannot be extracted from it.
The indirect object can, however, be dislocated. See Section 1.12.1.3.1 for a discussion and examples of dislocation.
It is difficult, if at all possible, to shift a heavy direct object.
1.13.2.3 Adverb phrases
Long adverb phrases can be optionally shifted to the front of

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the sentence but not to the end of the sentence.
(517) ba caqu-i ke madærbozorg-æm
with knife-DEM that grandmother-1S.PC
be-hem dad-e bud sæbzi-o ()
to-1S.PC gave-PSPT was vegetable-OM ()
xurd--kærd-æm
chop--did-1S
‘With the knife that my grandmother had given me I chopped the vegetables.’
1.14 OTHER MOVEMENT RULES
1.14.1 Scrambling
Scrambling of constituents preceding the predicate applies freely in both main and subordinate clauses in Persian. All
scrambled results are grammatical and are semantically (truth value) equal. However, as we have seen in Sections
1.11 and 1.12, movement of elements is not without pragmatic consequences or implications.
The utterances in (518), (519) and (520) provide three examples of scrambling. In example (a) the PP (be mind) has
moved to the left of the subject, in (519) the object (gol-ra) has moved to the left of the subject, and in (520) both
the direct object and the PP have moved to precede the subject. Other combinations are also allowable.
(518) be Mina mæn gol-ra dad-æm
to Mina I flower-OM gave-1S
(519) gol-ra mæn be Mina dad-æm
flower-OM I to Mina gave-1S
(520) gol-ra be mina mæn dad-æm
flower-OM to Mina I gave-1S
‘I gave the flowers to Mina.’
1.14.2 Postposing
As we have already seen in Section 1.11, elements may be postposed to sentence-final position. In sentence (521),
in addition to

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scrambling, the prepositional phrase is postposed.
(521) gol-ra mæn dad-æm be Mina
flower-OM I gave-1S to Mina
1.14.3 Verb-preposing
Verb-preposing is limited to main clauses. In example (522) the verb has moved to the left of the subject. Example
(523) shows verb-preposing and scrambling.
(522) dad-æm mæn be Mina gol-ra
gave-1S I to Mina flower-OM
‘I did give the flower to Mina.’
(523) gol-ra dad-æm mæn be Mina
flower-OM gave-1S I to Mina
‘The flower, I gave to Mina.’
1.15 MINOR SENTENCE TYPES
1.15.1 Exclamatory/interjectional
Exclamations and interjections are often one- or two-word utterances which convey negative or positive surprise,
physical pain, regret, etc. (see Section 4.2 for examples of various interjections).
(524) ce æjæb
what strange
‘What a surprise!’
(525) ax
ouch
‘Ouch!’
1.15.2 Vocatives
Vocative utterances do not have subjects or verbs. They are typically formed with a vocative particle followed by the
addressee. For further examples and discussion see Section 2.1.1.4.28 on vocatives.

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(526) ya ællah
oh God
‘Oh, God!’
(527) ey ruzegar
oh destiny
‘Oh, destiny!’
1.15.3 Elliptical
Ellipted constructions are usually uttered as a response, unless they are a result of deletion under identity, as, for
instance, in coordinate constructions.
(528) A: šir xærid-i?
milk bought-2S
‘Did you buy milk?’
B: xærid-æm
bought-1S
‘(Yes) I bought (it).’
Speaker B can also simply respond with are ‘yes’.
Additionally, in some routinized social contexts ellipted forms are permissible:
(529) æz in tæræf lotfæn
from this side please
‘This way please.’
1.16 WORD CLASSES
1.16.1 Noun
Among the criteria which help identify nouns are:
1) They inflect for singular or plural number
2) They can take determiners
3) They can occur as subject, objects, complement
4) They can take the particles -ra and -e
5) They can occur as the first element in a compound verb
6) They can be modified by adjectives in a N+ezafe+adjective

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construction
7) They can be preceded by superlative adjective
8) They do not inflect for tense/aspect, mood
9) They canonically occur before the verb
10) They belong to an open class
1.16.2 Pronoun
Among the criteria which help identify pronouns are:
1) Singular and plural forms are separate lexical items
2) They do not take determiners
3) They can occur as subject, objects, complement
4) They can take the particle -ra but not -e
5)They do not occur in compound verbs
6) They cannot be modified
7) They cannot be preceded by superlative adjectives
10) They belong to a closed class
1.16.3 Verb
Among the criteria which help identify verbs are:
1) They do not take singular or plural but rather are marked to agree with the person and number of the subject
3) They take subjects, objects complements, adjectives, adverbials as arguments
4) They do not take the particles -ra and -e
5) They do not conjoin as compound verbs
6) They are modified by adverbials
8) They inflect for tense/aspect, mood
9) They are canonically sentence-final
1.16.4 Adjective
Among the criteria which help identify adjectives are:

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1) They do not take number marking
3) They follow the nouns they attributively modify with an intervening ezafe
5) They can appear as the first element in a compound verb
6) They are modified by adverbs
7) They cannot be preceded by superlative adjectives but can occur in superlative and comparative forms
1.16.5 Preposition
Among the criteria which help identify prepositions are:
1) They do not take number marking
3) They precede the nouns they govern
5) They do not occur in compound verbs
6) They are not modified
9) They canonically occur in phrases that precede the verb
1.16.6 Number and quantifier
Number
Among the criteria which help identify numbers are:
1) They do not take number marking but may cause the noun to take a plural inflection
3) They precede the nouns they quantify and do not use the ezafe

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8) They do not inflect for tense/aspect, mood but they may take classifiers
9) They canonically occur in phrases that precede the verb and occur between the determiner and the noun
10) They belong to an quasi-open class
Among the criteria which help identify quantifiers other than numbers are:
1) They do not take number marking but cause the noun they quantify to be in the plural
3) They precede the nouns they quantify with an interceding ezafe
8) They do not inflect for tense/aspect, mood but they may take classifiers
9) They canonically occur in phrases that precede the verb, placed between the determiner and the noun
1.16.7 Pronominal clitic
Among the criteria which help identify pronominal clitics are:
1) Singular and plural forms are separate items
3) They are suffixed directly to the nouns, verbs and prepositions with which they are used and do not call for the
ezafe
8) They do not inflect for tense/aspect, mood and do not take classifiers
9) They canonically occur in phrases that precede the verb

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MORPHOLOGY
2.1. INFLECTIONAL MORPHOLOGY
2.1.1 Noun inflection
2.1.1.1 Expressing syntactic/semantic functions of noun phrases
Both the syntactic and semantic functions of the noun phrase are expressed through word order, which is, with few
exceptions, SOV (see Sections 1.2.1.1.1.3 Section 1.2.1.2.5–6 on constituent order) and prepositions (see Section
2.1.1.5). Also, an important cooccurrence of definiteness, topicality, specificity and accusative case is expressed
through the particle -ra (and its phonetic variants -o and -ro ). See Sections 2.1.1.2.4.2 and 2.1.1.10.1.2 for a more
detailed discussion of -ra.
2.1.1.2 Expressions of syntactic functions
2. 1.1.2.1–2 Subject of the intransitive or transitive verb
Persian is a nominative-accusative language. The subjects of both transitive and intransitive verbs are unmarked for
case. No morphological distinction exists between agentive and nonagentive subjects. The verb, via inflections,
typically agrees with number and person of the animate subject. Plural inanimate subjects may take singular
inflections on the verb.

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Intransitive verb
(1) dær baz--šod
door open--became
‘The door opened.’
Transitive verb
(2) to livan-o šikæst-i
you glass-OM broke-2S
‘You broke the glass.’
Inanimate subject
(3) cæmedun-a tu-ye mašin-e
suitcase-PL in-EZ car-is
‘The suitcases are in the car.’
(4) cæmedun-a tu-ye mašin-ænd
suitcase-PL in-EZ car-are
‘The suitcases are in the car.’
2.1.1.2.3 Subject of copular construction
The subject of a copular construction is treated like the subject of any other verb.
2.1.1.2.4 Direct object
Three main strategies are used to indicate a noun is the object of the verb: 1) word order, 2) the use of the direct
definite object particle -ra and 3) pronominal clitics that are suffixed to the verb.
2.1.1.2.4.1 Word order
With the canonical SOV order of basic Persian sentences, the second constituent of the clause immediately preceding
the verb is interpreted as the object. Although an NP-V sequence, by itself, can be interpreted as either (S)OV or SV,
the transitive/intransitive nature of the verb helps the hearer determine the NP’s role.
Additionally, subject-verb agreement provides information regarding the grammatical function of the NP. When the
NP does not

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agree in number with the V, it usually indicates that the subject has been dropped and that, therefore, the NP is an
object.
SV
(5) piruz oftad
Piruz fell
‘Piruz fell.’
OV
(6) šam xord
dinner ate
‘She ate dinner.’
SOV
(7) ye morqabi did-ænd
one duck saw-3P
‘They saw a duck.’
In sentences containing a direct object, although there is variation between (S) O IO V and (S) IO O V word orders,
there is little potential for confusion since indirect objects and other oblique arguments are typically headed by
prepositions. Also see Sections 2.1.1.2.5 and 1.2.1.2.5.
(8) tu-ye park ahu did-ænd
in park deer saw-3P
‘They saw deer in the park.’
2.1.1.2.4.2 Direct object marker
Indefinite and generic objects do not take any marking to indicate accusative case. (Note also that generic nouns are
not marked for plural.)
(9) behruz yek sib xord
Behruz one apple ate
‘Behruz ate an apple.’
(10) behruz sib xord
Behruz apple ate
‘Behruz ate (some) apples.’

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Definite direct objects are marked with the particle -ra or one of its phonetic variants -ro and -o . See 2.1.1.10.1.2 for
a discussion of -ra.) We use the abbreviation “OM” to indicate the definite direct object marker.
(11) behruz sib-o xord
Behruz apple-OM ate
‘Behruz ate the apple.’
2.1.1.2.4.3 Pronominal clitics
Persian has a set of pronominal clitics which when suffixed to the verb refer to a definite direct object Table 2.1 lists
the pronominal clitics. As indicated in Table 2.1, the endings have two forms, vowel-initial and consonant-initial.
When a stem ends in a vowel, the clitic must start with a consonant; when the stem ends in a consonant the clitic
begins with a vowel. (See Sections 3.4.4.1.5 on vowel deletion and Section 3.4.4.2.1 on e-insertion.)
Table 2.1
Pronominal clitics
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON -æm/-m ‘me’ -emun/-mun ‘us’
SECOND PERSON -et/-t ‘you’ -etun/-tun ‘you’
THIRD PERSON -eš/-š ‘her, him, it’ -ešun/-šun ‘them’
The object clitic follows the agreement inflection on the verb. We designate the pronominal clitics as “PC”.
(12) did-i-š?
saw-2S-3S.PC
‘Did you see it?’
In the case of compound verbs the pronominal clitic may be either suffixed to the first element in the compound or
placed after the verbal inflections.

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(13) komæk-eš--kærd-æm
help-3S.PC--did-1S
‘I helped her/him.’
(14) komæk--kærd-æm-eš
help--did-1S-3S.PC
The pronominal clitic which marks the direct object does not necessarily replace the free direct object. The free noun
or pronoun direct object can cooccur with the appropriate pronominal clitic on the verb. In example (15), naser is
the direct object marked with -ra. In addition, the third person singular pronominal clitic -eš is attached to the verb.
The double appearance of the object as free noun or pronoun and as a clitic is a common colloquial structure and
does not appear to serve any function of stress or emphasis.
(15) naser-o komæk-eš--kærd-æm
Nasser-OM help-3S.PC--did-1S
It should be noted that these clitics are also used as noun suffixes to indicate possession (see Section 2.1.1.4.6–7).
Additionally, they attach to prepositions to make personal prepositional forms. In these cases the clitic refers to
oblique objects (see 2.1.5.3). In a more limited application, attached to a generic direct object, the third person
clitics may be used to indicate the indirect object. See Section 2.1.1.2.5 below.
2.1.1.2.5 Indirect object
The indirect object of a sentence is generally marked with a preposition such as be ‘to’. The indirect object typically
follows the direct object, although it can precede the direct object for focus.
(16) pul-o be ma dad
money-OM to us gave
‘He gave the money to us.’
(17) be ma pul-o dad
to us money-OM gave
‘He gave us the money.’

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The indirect object may in some cases be indicated by a pronominal clitic on the direct object, if the direct object is
generic. Compare examples (18) and (19).
(18) be u sæm dad-æm
to him poison gave-1S
‘I gave him poison.’
(19) sæm-eš dad-æm
poison-3S.PC gave-1S
‘I gave him poison.’
2.1.1.2.6 Object of comparison
The object of comparison is indicated by the preposition æz ‘from’.
(20) in mehmunxune æz un yeki gerun-tær-e
this hotel from that one expensive-COMPR-is
‘This hotel is more expensive than that one.’
2.1.1.2.7 Object of equation
The most common words to indicate the object of equation are mesl ‘same’ and manænd ‘like’. Both are followed by
the ezafe (see Section 1.2.5.2.10 on the ezafe) and the object of comparison.
(21) in mašin mesl-e un mašin-e.
this car same-EZ that car-is
‘This car is like that car.’
(22) in heyvun manænd-e æsb-e
this animal like-EZ horse-is
‘This animal is like a horse.’
Other less common forms in equative constructions, used primarily in written Persian, are co, con, cenin and cenan,
all meaning ‘like, same’.
2.1.1.2.8 Other objects governed by verbs
The direct object is the only case unambiguously governed by

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the verb. Cases other than direct objects are governed by prepositions:
(23) ba šohær-æm ræft-æm paris
with husband-1S.PC went-1S Paris
‘I went to Paris with my husband.’
(24) namæ-ro ba medad nevešt
letter-OM with pencil wrote
‘She wrote the letter with a pencil.’
Some locatives and allatives may seem to be verb-governed since no preposition appears. These prepositionless
cases are variants of prepositional phrases. In (25) and (26) the preposition is optional.
(25) (dær) nyu york kar--mi-kon-æm
(in) New York work--DUR-do-1S
‘I work in New York.’
(26) ræft-ænd (be) lændæn
went-3P (to) London
‘They went to London.’
2. 1. 1.2.9 Complement of copular construction
The complement of a copular verb immediately precedes the copula, with no preposition interceding. No
morphological device distinguishes identity, role and defining copular complements.
(27) Identity
un mærd aqa-ye mæsudi-ye
that man Mr.-EZ Masudi-is
‘That man is Mr. Masudi.’
(28) Role
un xanum ostad-e
that woman professor-is
‘That woman is a professor.’
(29) Defining
un mærd xeyli aqa-st
that man very man-is
‘That man is a real gentleman.’

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Other copular verbs include šodæn ‘to become’, which also takes a nominal complement to its left.
(30) (u) ræ’is-e diparteman šod
(she/he) head-EZ department became
‘She became head of the department.’
2.1.1.2.10 Subject complement
A subject complement is indicated by a prepositional phrase headed by be ‘to’. The PP typically follows the subject
and precedes the verb. Unlike allative be-phrases, this type of be-phrase cannot be moved to sentence-final position.
(See Sections 1.2.1.1.1.3, 1.2.4 and 2.1.1.5.1 on constituent order.)
(31) mæn be onvan-e ræ’is-e diparteman
I to title-EZ head-EZ department
entexab--sod-æm
choose--became-1S
‘I was chosen as head of the department.’
2.1.1.2.11 Object complement
No morphological marking is used to indicate the object complement.
(32) u-ra ræ’isjomhur kærd-ænd
he/she-OM president made-3P
‘They made him/her president.’
2.1.1.2.12 Objects governed by adjectives
Some adjectives may take a prepositional phrase which includes the “object” of the adjective.
(33) færzad ba heyvun-o bæcce xub-e
Farzad with animal-and child good-is
‘Farzad is good with animals and children.’
(34) mina raje be kar-eš negæran-e
Mina about to work-3S.PC worried-is
‘Mina is worried about her job.’

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2.1.1.2.13 Agent in passive construction
The passive construction is used in spoken Persian when one does not know who the agent is or does not want to
mention the agent. Thus, Persian passives are typically agentless. The passive is formed with the past participle
followed by the verb šodæn ‘to become’ or xordæn ‘to receive/to eat’.
In the case of compound verbs formed with kærdæn ‘to do’, often the active-voice kærdæn portion of the compound
become šodæn in the passive. In the case of many zædæn- and dadæn-compounds, the zædæn/dadæn part of the
compound becomes xordæn in the passive. For example, the verb razi kærdæn ‘to satisfy’ becomes razi šodæn in
the passive; gul zædæn ‘to deceive’ becomes gul xordæn ‘to be deceived’.
(35) košt-e mi-š-i
killed-PSPT DUR-become-2S
‘You will get killed.’
(36) angoštær-æm dozdid-e šod
ring-1S.PC stole-PSPT became
‘My ring was stolen.’
While it is awkward to mention the agent, it is sometimes done in literary or formal language or in describing
technical procedures, with any of several phrases preceding the agent: be væsile-ye ‘by means of, (be) tævæssote
‘by (the intermediary of), æz tæræf-e ‘on the part of’, be dæst-e ‘by (the hands of)’.
(37) musiqi-ye æsil be-tævæssote aqa-ye
music-EZ traditional by Mr.-EZ
mehran ænjam mi-šævæd
Mehran accomplish become
‘Traditional music will be performed by Mr. Mehran.’
Also see Section 1.6.5.15–16 on the use of reflexives as passive agents.
2.1.1.2.14 Topic
Persian does not typically mark the topic morphologically. However, as explained in 2.1.1.10.1.2, -ra, which is used
for the most

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part to indicate a definite direct object, sometimes is used to topicalize various arguments including those other than
direct objects. See Section 1.12 for a discussion on topicalization.
2.1.1.2.15 Emphasized elements
Elements are emphasized through stress, movement, clefting, etc. See Section 1.11 for details.
2.1.1.3 Syntactic functions in relation to nonfinite and nominalized verb forms
Infinitival forms are used in some constructions such as the ingressive aspect (see Sections 2.1.3.3.2.1.6 and
2.1.3.5). The infinitive is also used in certain nominal constructions as shown in the following examples, in which the
infinitives are used the same way as gerunds are in English.
The subject of an infinitive verb is expressed as either a pronominal clitic attached to the end of the infinitive or as a
noun or pronoun in a genitive construction with the ezafe. In example (38) the subject appears as a first person
pronominal clitic. In example (39) the subject is indicated with a second person pronominal clitic.
(38) xorxor--kærdæn-æm to-ro æziyæt--mi-kon-e?
snore--to do-1S.PC you-OM bother--DUR-do-3S
‘Does my snoring bother you?’
(39) xorxor--kærdæn-et-o dust--næ-dar-æm
snore--to do-2S.PC-OM like--NEG-have-1S
‘I don’t like your snoring.’
In example (40) the nominal subject of an infinitival verb is indicated via the ezafe construction. The subject of
xorxor kærdæn ‘to snore’ is zænæm ‘my wife’, which is connected to the infinitive by an ezafe.
(40) xorxor--kærdæn-e zæn-æm mæn-o
snore--to do-EZ wife-1S.PC me-OM
æziyæt--ne-mi-kon-e
bother--NEG-DUR-do-3S
‘My wife’s snoring doesn’t bother me.’

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A pronominal subject of an infinitive is indicated with an ezafe followed by a personal pronoun, a pronominal clitic
attached to the infinitive or a reflexive pronoun. Example (41) is the same as example (40) except that the third
person personal pronoun u is used instead of zænæm ‘my wife’.
(41) xorxor--kærdæn-e u mæn-o
snore--to do-EZ her me-OM
æziyæt--ne-mi-kon-e
bother--NEG-DUR-do-3S
‘Her snoring doesn’t bother me.’
In example (42) the subject of the infinitive is a reflexive pronoun which follows the infinitive in an ezafe
construction.
(42) xorxor--kærdæn-e xod-eš bižæn-o
snore--to do-EZ self-3S.PC-OM Bijan-OM
narahæt--mi-kon-e
upset--DUR-do-3S
‘His own snoring bothers Bijan.’
When the subject of an infinitive is not indicated, it is assumed to be generic.
(43) xorxor--kærdæn mæn-o æziyæt--mi-kon-e
snore--to do me-OM bother--DUR-do-3S
‘Snoring bothers me.’
Direct objects of infinitives are indicated as with finite verbs. They are indicated with the object marker if the direct
object is definite. In example (44) abejow-t ‘your beer’ is the definite direct object of the infinitive xordæn ‘to drink’.
(44) abejow-t-o xordæn-æm to-ro æziyæt--kærd?
beer-2S.PC-OM to drink-1S.PC you-OM bother--did
“Did my drinking your beer bother you?’
Generic objects of infinitives are not marked.
(45) abejow xordæn-æm to-ro æziyæt--mi-kon-e?
beer to drink-1S.PC you-OM bother--DUR-do-3S
“Does my drinking beer bother you?’

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Infinitives do not seem to take indefinite direct objects. Example (46) sounds awkward.
(46) ?ye abejow xordæn-æm to-ro æziyæt--mi-kon-e?
a beer to drink-1S.PC you-OM bother--DUR-do-3S
“Does my drinking a beer bother you?’
All types of adjuncts can appear with infinitives as they do with finite verbs. Example (47) shows an adverb of
manner and example (48) shows an adverb of time.
(47) tond-tær kar--kærdæn-æm komæk-et--mi-kon-e?
fast-COMPR work--to do-1S.PC help-2S.PC--DUR-do-3S
‘Does my working faster help you?’
(48) hær ruz xunæ-ro tæmiz--kærdæn-æm
every day house-OM clean--to do-1S.PC
komæk-et--mi-kon-e?
help-2S.PC--DUR-do-3S
‘Does my cleaning the house every day help you?’
Also, as in finite clauses, the adverb can appear in different places. Example (49) is like example (50) except that the
adverb immediately precedes the verb.
(49) xunæ-ro hær ruz tæmiz--kærdæn-æm
house-OM every day clean--to do-1S.PC
komæk-et--mi-kon-e?
help-2S.PC--DUR-do-3S
‘Does my cleaning the house every day help you?’
Like other nominals, infinitives can be put into ezafe constructions and function as subject complements. In example
(50), bæcce-ha ‘the children’ is the subject, budænd ‘were’ is the main verb and the complement is the adjective-
infinitive construction mæšqul-e bazi kærdæn ‘busy playing’.
(50) bæcce-ha mæšqul-e bazi--kærdæn bud-ænd
child-PL busy-EZ play--to do were-3P
‘The children were busy playing.’

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2.1.1.4 Means of expressing nonlocal semantic functions
2.1.1.4.1 Benefactives
Benefactive is expressed with the preposition bæra-ye ‘for’.
(51) in gol-a-ro bæra-ye to gereft-æm
this flower-PL-OM for you got-1S
‘I got these flowers for you.’
A less frequent benefactive construction uses bexatere, ‘for/for the sake of.
(52) in mehmuni-o bexatere mina dad-æm
this party-OM for mina gave-1S
‘I gave this party for Mina.’
2.1.1.4.2 Source
Source is expressed by the preposition æz ‘from’.
(53) mašin-o æz garaž birun ovord
car-OM from garage out brought
‘She took the car out of the garage.’
(54) diruz æz æmu-m name resid
yesterday from uncle-1S.PC letter arrived
‘Yesterday a letter arrived from my uncle.’
(55) dæstbænd-o æz šohær-æm gereft-æm
bracelet-OM from husband-1S.PC got-1S
‘I got the bracelet from my husband.’
In some cases mal-e ‘property of may be used to express source.
(56) in gæz mal-e esfahan-e
this gaz (a kind of candy) property-EZ Esfahan-is
‘This gaz is from Esfahan.’
2.1.1.4.3 Instrumentality
Persian indicates instrumentality with the preposition ba

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‘with’ and sometimes with the preposition bevæsile-ye ‘by means of.
(57) pænjere-ro ba ajor šikæst
window-OM with brick broke
‘She broke the window with a brick.’
(58) cetor-e ba mašin be nyu york be-r-im
how-(it)-is with car to New York SBJN-go-1P
‘Why don’t we travel to New York by car?’
(59) dær-e qæsr bevæsile-ye kilid-e ahæni baz--šod
door-EZ castle by means of key-EZ iron open--became
‘The castle door was opened with an iron key.’
(60) pul-e bilit-a-ro bevæsile-ye cek
money-EZ ticket-PL-OM by means of check
dad-æm
gave-1S
‘I paid for the tickets with a check.’
Negative instrumentality is expressed by bi or bedun-e, both meaning ‘without’.
(61) dær-o bedun-e kilid baz kærd
door-OM without-EZ key open did
‘He opened the door without a key.’
(62) bi mašin hickar ne-mi-š-e--kærd
without car nothing NEG-DUR-did
‘Without a car one can’t do anything.’
2.1.1.4.4 Comitative
In addition to instrumentality, ba is used for the comitative function.
(63) ba mæryæm ræft-æm tehran
with Maryam went-1S Tehran
‘I went to Tehran with Maryam.’
Negative comitativity is expressed with the preposition bedun-e ‘without’.

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(64) bedun-e bæcce-ha šam xord-im
without child-PL dinnerate-1P
‘We ate dinner without the children.’
2.1.1.4.5 Circumstance
The preposition ba is used to express circumstance.
(65) doxtær-i ba cešm-a-ye badum-i vared--šod
girl-IND with eye-PL-EZ almond-ATTR enter-became
‘A girl with almond-shaped eyes entered.’
2. 1.1 4.6–7 Possessive
The genetive relationship can be expressed by three means: the use of suffixed pronominal clitics; the ezafe
construction with personal pronouns, nouns or reflexives; and the use of mal-e ‘property of. mal-e is used for
alienable property. The others are used for either alienable or inalienable possession. None of the three distinguishes
temporary from permanent possession or past from present possession. See Section 1.10 on possession and Section
1.2.5.2.3, 1.6.7 and 2.1.2.4.7 on reflexives used to show possession.
Pronominal clitics
The pronominal clitic paradigm, presented in Section 2.1.1.2.4.3, is repeated in Table 2.2 for convenience. The
phonetic variation in the clitic forms is explained with table 2.1.
Table 2.2
Pronominal clitics
SINGULAR PLURAL
(66) pedær-æm
father-1S.PC
‘my father’

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(67) bini-š
nose-3S.PC
‘his nose’
(68) mænzel-emun
house-1P.PC
‘our house’
(69) pa-ha-šun
foot-PL-3P.PC
‘their feet’
As with the personal pronouns, the plural clitic forms in the second and third persons are used to indicate plural as
well as singular referents. See Section 2.1.2.1.2. In examples ( )a and ( )b -tun and -šun can be interpreted as
either plural or polite singular.
(70) xunæ-tun
house-2P.PC
‘your (plural/singular) house’
(71) ruznamæ-šun
newspaper-3P.PC
‘their/her/his newspaper’
The ezafe construction
An alternative to forming possessives with the clitic suffixes is the use of the ezafe construction:
POSSESSED+EZAFE+POSSESSOR.
The possessor can be any NP, including a personal pronoun or reflexive pronoun. Neither possessor nor possessed is
otherwise morphologically marked. See Section 1.2.5.2.10 for a detailed discussion of the ezafe construction.
(72) dom-e gorbe
tail-EZ cat
‘the cat’s tail’

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(73) doxtær-e mæn
daughter-EZ I
‘my daughter’
(74) dæftær-e xod-eš
office-EZ self-3S.PC
‘his office’
It should be noted that ezafe has other uses. In example (75) the first ezafe, suffixed to hæyat, connects the noun
hæyat to its modifier, qæšæng. The second ezafe serves to indicate possession.
(75) hæyat-e qæšæng-e hæmsaye
courtyard-EZ pretty-EZ neighbor
‘the neighbor’s pretty courtyard’
mal-e construction
mal-e ‘property of indicates alienable possession and is typically used in a copular construction.
(76) un dæstkeš-a mal-e to-e
that glove-PL property of you-is
‘Those gloves are yours.’
2.1.1.4.8 Quality
Quality is expressed with an ezafe-adjective construction. The preposition bi ‘without’ can be used in some cases to
express negative qualities, shown in examples (79) and (80).
(77) zæn-e xošbin
woman-EZ optimistic
‘an optimistic woman’
(78) mærd-e sæbur
man-EZ patient
‘a patient man’
(79) šæxs-e bi vojdan
person-EZ without conscience
‘a person without a conscience’

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(80) qazi-ye bi ræhm
judge-EZ without mercy
‘a merciless judge’
2.1.1.4.9 Quantity
2.1.1.4.9.1 Quantification of count nouns
Quantity for count nouns is indicated by a numeral optionally followed by the classifier -ta . The use of -ta is
preferred in spoken Persian while used infrequently in the written language.
(81) do-ta ketab
two-CL book
‘two books’
(82) do ketab
two book
‘two books’
The marker -ha is used to mark plural specific noun phrases. Thus, generic and numerically quantified nonspecific
NPs are not marked with the plural suffix. Contrast sentences (83) and (84) with (85). The last is ungrammatical
because the plural -ha suffix has been inappropriately applied to a nonspecific noun.
(83) do-ta ketab ru-ye miz-e
two-CL book on-EZ table-is
‘There are two books on the table.’ (Nonspecific)
(84) do-ta ketab-ha ru-ye miz-e
two-CL book-PL on-EZ table-is
‘The two books are on the table.’ (Specific)
(85) *do-ta ketab-ha ru-ye miz-e
two-CL book-PL on-EZ table-is
‘There are two books on the table.’ (Nonspecific)
2.1.1.4.9.2 Quantification of noncount nouns
Quantification of noncount nouns may be expressed by a numeral followed by a unit of measure. The classifier -ta is
not used

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with units of measure. Hence, example (87) is ungrammatical.
(86) bist kilu berenj
twenty kilo rice
‘twenty kilos of rice’
(87) *bist-ta kilu berenj
twenty-CL kilo rice
‘twenty kilos of rice’
2.1.1.4.9.3 Quantification in attributive constructions
In order to form an attributive construction, the NP comprises the following sequence:
UNIT+QUANTIFIER+ATTRIBUTIVE SUFFIX.
(88) kisse-ye pænj kilu-i
sack-EZ five kilo-ATTR
‘a five-kilo sack’
(89) lamp-e cel vat-i
lightbulb-EZ forty watt-ATTR
‘a forty-watt lightbulb’
(90) mosabeqe-ye do-e sæd metr-i
competition-EZ run-EZ 100 meter-ATTR
‘a 100-meter race’
Other frequently used quantity words are geræm ‘gram’, litr ‘liter’ and kilometr ‘kilometer’.
2.1.1.4.10 Material
Like other adjective forms, material is expressed via the ezafe construction. Adjectives of material are derived by
suffixing the attributive -i to some nouns.
(91) xune-ye aj or-i
house-EZ brick-ATTR
‘a brick house’

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(92) angoštær-e tæla-i
ring-EZ gold-ATTR
‘a gold ring’
A more literary attributive suffix used to refer to material is— in. Besides being literary, its use is further restricted to
a small number of materials.
(93) sændoq-e cub-in
chest-EZ wood-ATTR
‘a wooden chest’
(94) dæstbænd-e zærr-in
bracelet-EZ gold-ATTR
‘a golden bracelet’
As for negative material, it seems possible to use bi ‘without’, but the result sounds awkward.
(95) ? xune-ye bi ajor
house-EZ bi ajor
‘a brickless house’
2.1.1.4.11 Manner
Manner is typically expressed by the placement of an adjective or adverb in a preverbal position.
(96) mæhin tond mi-do-e
Mahin fast DUR-run-3S
‘Mahin runs fast.’
(97) æli qæšæng mi-ræqs-e
Ali pretty DUR-dance-3S
‘Ali dances nicely.’
A second way to express manner through the use of the construction be tor-e ‘in a manner’, followed by an
adjective. Syntactically, this is probably best analyzed as a phrase headed by the preposition be:
( be+( tor+EZAFE+ADJECTIVE)NP)PP

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(98) šiva be-tor-e molayem ba mina sohbæt--kærd
Shiva in a manner gentle with Mina talk--did
‘Fariborz spoke in a gentle manner with Mina.’
Another prepositional strategy for expressing manner is to use the preposition ba ‘with’.
(99) dana ba sor’æt æz pellekan bala ræft
Dana with speed from staircase up went
‘Dana climbed the stairs quickly.’
A fourth way to show manner is with the present participle (present root+-an).
(100) pæri læbxænd--zænan vared--šod
Pari smile--strike.PRPT enter--became
‘Pari smilingly entered.’
The preposition bi ‘without’ is commonly used with a noun to produce a negative prepositional phrase of manner.
(101) bi seda
without sound
‘noiselessly’
(102) bi hærekæt
without motion
‘motionlessly’
But it is important to mention that seda cannot be used by itself as a positive adverbial of manner. Rather, the
corresponding positive adverbial is ba seda ‘with noise’.
2.1.1.4.12 Cause
Cause may be expressed in a number of ways: through the use of the conjunctions be dælil-e ‘for the
reason/because’, be ellæt-e ‘for the reason/because’ and con ‘because’.
(103) be dælil-e bærf jade-ha-ra bæst-ænd
because-EZ snow road-PL-OM close-3P
‘Because of snow they closed the roads.’

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(104) be ellæt-e bi xab-i mæriz šod
because-EZ without-sleep-ATTR sick became
‘Because of a lack of sleep he got sick.’
(105) con mæriz bud mund xune
because sick was stayed home
‘Because she was sick she stayed home.’
2.1.1.4.13 Purpose
Purpose is indicated by the preposition bæra-ye ‘for.’
(106) bæra-ye xæridæn-e lebas hæmiše mi-r-e šikago
for buying-EZ clothes always DUR-go-3S Chicago
‘She always goes to Chicago to buy clothes.’
(107) bæra-ye šam juje dorost--kærd-æm
for dinner chicken made--did-1S
‘I made chicken for dinner.’
2.1.1.4.14 Function
The compound preposition be onvan-e is used to show function.
(108) mi-tun -i miz-o be onvan-e
DUR- be able-2S table-OM for bed
tæxt estefade--kon-i
bed use--do-2S
‘You can use the table as a bed.’
2.1.1.4.15 Reference
Reference is shown with the prepositions rajebe and dærbare-ye, both meaning ‘about’.
(109) roman-ha-ye mæhfuz rajebe zendegi
novel-PL-EZ Mahfouz about life
dær mesr hæst-ænd
in Egypt be-3P
‘Mahfouz’s novels are about life in Egypt.’

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(110) dærbare-ye ci hærf--mi-zæn-id?
about what speak--DUR-strike-2P
‘What will you be talking about?’
2.1.1.4.16 Essive
There is no simple morphological means to express essive in Persian. A clause must be used.
(111) væqt-i-ke bæcce bud-æm tehran
time-DEM-that child was-1S Tehran
zendegi--mi-kærd-æm
life--DUR-did-1S
‘When I was a child I lived in Tehran.’
When the essive also indicates purpose, be onvan-e ‘for the purpose of is used.
(112) be onvan-e danešju emrika bud-æm
for the purpose student America was-1S
‘I was in America as a student.’
2.1.1.4.17 Translative
The phrase be onvan-e ‘for the purpose of can be used to show translativity.
(113) be onvan-e ræ’is-e diparteman
for the purpose of head-EZ department
entexab--šod
chosen--became
‘She was chosen as head of the department.’
2.1.1.4.18 Part-whole
The relationship between the part and the whole is commonly expressed by either the ezafe construction in its
genitive function or the word qesmæt-e ‘portion’.
(114) dæst-e mæryæm
hand-EZ Maryam
‘Maryam’s hand’

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(115) dær-e mašin
door-EZ car
‘the car door’
(116) qesmæt-e axær-e film
part-EZ last-EZ film
‘the last part of the film’
2.1.1.4.19 Partitive
2.1.1.4.19.1–2 Partitive numeral
Persian distinguishes between a partitive and nonpartitive sense. Partitives indicating a numeric portion of a group
use æz ‘from’.
(117) do-ta æz bæcce-ha
two-CL from child-PL
‘two of the children’
Note that in a partitive numeral construction such as (117) the number classifier -ta is obligatory, as is the plural
inflection on the NP. Compare example (117) with the nonpartitive example (118), where æz is not used and -ta is
optional.
(118) do-(ta) bæcce
two-(CL) child
‘two children’
When quantifying a portion or portions of a noncount noun, a different construction is used:
NUMERAL+PARTITIVE EXPRESSION+NP
(119) ye tikke nun
one piece bread
‘a piece of bread’
(120) ye kase mast
a bowl yogurt
‘a bowl of yogurt’

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(121) se litr šir
three liter milk
‘three liters of milk’
2.1.1.4.19.3–4 Partitive and nonpartitive quantifiers
To show a partitive quantifier, an æz construction similar to that for partitive numerals is used with one of several
quantifiers: cænd-ta ‘a number of, bæzi ‘some (count)’, edde-i ‘some (count, human)’, meqdar-i ‘some (noncount)’,
cænd ædæd ‘some (noncount, inanimate)’.
(122) cænd-ta/bæzi æz sib-a
a number of/some from apple-PL
‘some of the apples’
(123) edde-i æz danešju-a
some-IND from student-PL
‘some of the students’
(124) meqdar-i æz ab-e barun
some-IND from water-EZ rain
‘some of the rainwater’
(125) cænd ædæd æz mašin-a
some from car-PL
‘some of the cars’
Note that cænd-ta, eddei, meqdari and cænd ædæd become nonpartitive when used without æz and the plural
marker on the NP.
(126) cænd-ta sib
a number of apple
‘some apples’
(127) edde-i danešju
some-IND student
‘some students’
(128) meqdar-i ab-e barun
some-IND water-EZ rain
‘some rainwater’

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(129) cænd ædæd mašin
some car
‘some cars’
When bæzi is used nonpartitively it is restricted to nonspecific references.
(130) bæzi mærdom hicvæqt razi
some people never satisfied
nist-ænd
NEG.be-3P
‘Some people are never satisfied.’
2.1.1.4.19.5–6 Partitive and nonpartitive negative quantifier
To show negative partitive with a count noun, the term hickodum (literally, ‘no/none which’) is used with the æz
construction shown 2.1.1.4.19.
(131) hic-kodum æz bæcce-ha
none from child-PL
‘none of the children’
To show negative partitive with a noncount noun, the term hic ‘no/none’ is used.
(132) hic ard nist
none flour isn’t
‘There isn’t any flour.’
2.1.1.4.20 Price
To specify price paid for goods or services, Persian uses the preposition bæra-ye ‘for’ or the compound preposition
be qeymæt-e ‘at the price of’. Another prepositional phrase, be bæha-ye ‘at the price of’, is also used for this
purpose.
(133) in færš-o bæra-ye hezar tomæn xærid-æm
this rug-OM for 1,000 toman bought-1S
‘I bought this rug for 1,000 toman.’

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(134) eynæk-æm-o be qeymæt-e sisæd tomæn
glasses-1S.PC-OM at price of 300 toman
xærid-æm
bought- IS
‘I bought my glasses for 300 toman.’
(135) ceraq-o be bæha-ye divist tomæn xærid
lamp-OM at the price of 200 toman bought
‘He bought the lamp for 200 toman.’
(136) qeymæt-e in kif sæd tomæn-e
price-EZ this purse 100 toman-is
‘The price of this purse is 100 toman.’
2.1.1.4.21 Value
Value is expressed with the noun ærzeš ‘worth’ and its verbal derivation ærzidæn ‘to be worth’.
(137) in mašin hici ærzeš næ-dar-e
this car nothing worth NEG-have-3S
‘This car isn’t worth anything.’
(138) næsihæt-et xeyli ærzeš dar-e
advice-2S.PC very value have-3S
‘Your advice is worth a lot.’
(139) cærx-et 500 tomæn ne-mi-ærz-e
bike-2S.PC 500 toman NEG-DUR-be worth-3S
‘Your bike isn’t worth 500 toman.’
Another way to express value is by using the amount as an adjective and placing it after the item in an ezafe
construction.
(140) kotšælvar-e punsæd dolar-i
suit-EZ 500 dollar-ATTR
‘a $500 suit’
2.1.1.4.22 Distance
Distance is typically conveyed without the use of any preposition.

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(141) se kilometr rah--ræft-im
three kilometers walk-went-1P
‘We walked three miles.’
2.1.1.4.23 Extent
Extent is denoted by a prepositional phrase headed by the preposition be ‘to’. The NP complement of be consists of a
dimension word, modified by an amount expression.
(142) estæxr-i be omq-e šiš metr
pool-IND to depth-EZ six meter
‘a pool six meters deep’
(143) deræxt-i be qæd-e dæh metr
tree-IND to height-EZ ten meter
‘a tree ten meters high’
When the dimension is understood, extent is indicated by simply modifying the nominal with a quantifying
expression:
(144) deræxt-e dæh metr-i
tree-EZ ten meter-ATTR
‘a ten-meter tree’
(145) kisse-ye pænj kilo-i-ye berenj
sack-EZ five kilogram-ATTR-EZ rice
‘a five-kilo sack of rice’
2.1.1.4.24 Concessive
Concessive clauses are introduced by ba inke ‘despite’ and bavajud-e inke ‘even though’. A noun phrase mentioned
concessively is introduced by bavujud-e ‘despite, with the presence of.
(146) ba inke barun mi-umæd ræft-im park
despite rain DUR-came went-1S park
‘Despite the fact that it was raining we went to the park.’
(147) bavajud-e barun ræft-im park
despite rain went-1S park
‘Despite the rain we went to the park.’

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2.1.1.4.25 Inclusion
Persian does not morphologically differentiate between inclusion and addition. Inclusion and addition are both
indicated via the prepositional expression be ælave ‘in addition’.
(148) hæmegi be ælave-ye æli
everyone including/in addition-EZ Ali
‘everyone including/in addition to Ali’
2.1.1.4.26 Exclusion
Exclusion is indicated with the prepositional expression be qeyræz ‘except/excluding’.
(149) hæmegi be qeyræz æli
everyone except/excluding Ali
‘everyone except Ali’
2.1.1.4.27 Addition
See 2.1.1.4.25.
2.1.1.4.28 Vocatives
Ordinarily, a vocative appears as a bare noun or pronoun.
(150) maman kot-æm koja-st?
mom jacket-1S.PC where-is
‘Mom, where’s my jacket?’
(151) to inja be-šin
you here IMP-sit
‘You, sit here.’
Outside a few contexts, Persian does not use any vocative marker in everyday speech. However, two important uses
of vocative markers are when addressing God or invoking divine assistance. Vocatives also appear in poetry.
In these cases the vocative particle ey precedes the addressee. Vocative markers are not obligatory but are used for
emphasis.
Note that ey is used only with xoda, the native Persian word

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for God, and not with the Arabic borrowing ællah.
(152) ey xoda komæk-aem--kon
Oh God help-1S.PC--do.IMP
‘God, help me.’
Another vocative marker is -a ( -ya after a vowel).
(153) xoda-ya komæk-æm--kon
God-oh help-1S.PC--do.IMP
‘Oh God, help me.’
Another vocative marker, used without making a direct request, is the free morpheme ya, the Arabic counterpart to
the Persian vocative ey, loosely meaning ‘oh’. This vocative is used when seeking help or grace from God or
Mohammed or one of Mohammed’s disciples.
(154) ya ællah
oh God
‘Oh, God’.
(155) ya mohæmmæd
oh Mohammed
‘Oh, Mohammed.’
Note that Persian uses the familiar kon verb form of the second person instead of the formal konid when addressing
God.
A few non-theological examples of the -a/-ya vocative do occur. They are oratorical and don’t appear in everyday
speech.
(156) šah-a
king-oh
‘Oh, king!’
A poetic example from the 13th century poet Sæ’di uses the vocative when giving advice to the reigning monarch.
(157) ey ke dæst-æt mi-res-æd kar-i bo-kon
Oh that hand-2S.PC DUR-reach-3S work-IND SBJN-do
‘Oh you who are able to do something’

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2.1.1.4.29–30 Citation and label forms
No special citation or label forms exist. The unmarked form of the noun is used. Note, however, that Persian
speakers use a formal form, if it is distinct from the colloquial, when referring to words as lexical items. For example,
in conversation it is normal to refer to the capital of Iran as [tehrun] or even [terun]. But if asked what the capital of
Iran is, a speaker is likely to enunciate [tehran].
Some of the characteristics that distinguish colloquial pronunciation from formal forms are: h-deletion, glottal
deletion and the pronunciation of [un] instead of [an]. See Section 3.4.4.1 on these and other phonological rules.
2.1.1.5 Local semantic functions
Local semantic functions are expressed by prepositions.
2.1.1.5.1 General location
At Rest
Persian does not use a preposition for the function ‘at’. Rather, the location is used without a preposition.
(158) maman mædrese-st
mom school-is
‘Mom is at school.’
When referring to “permanent” location with some verbs such as ‘to live’ and ‘to work’, the preposition dær ‘in’ is
optional.
(159) behruz dær nyu york zendegi--mi-kon-e
Behruz in New York life--DUR-do-3S
‘Behruz lives in New York.’
(160) behruz nyu york zendegi--mi-kon-e
Behruz New York life--DUR-do-3S
‘Behruz lives in New York.’
Motion To
‘Motion to’ is expressed with the preposition be ‘to’, which is

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optional. Compare example (161) with be and (162) without be.
(161) bæcce-ha be mædrese ræft-ænd
child-PL to school went-3P
‘The children went to school.’
(162) bæcce-ha mædrese ræft-ænd
child-PL school went-3P
It should be mentioned that the examples (161) and (162) use a less common word order for ‘motion to’ in spoken
Persian. The function of ‘motion to’ presents one of the few exceptions to verb-final word order in Persian. The
postposed allative, with or without be, is preferred in spoken Persian.
(163) bæcce-ha ræft-ænd be mædrese
child-PL went-3P to school
(164) bæcce-ha ræft-ænd mædrese
child-PL went-3P school
Motion From
The preposition æz ‘from’ expresses ‘motion from’.
(165) mina færda æz širaz mi-res-e
Mina tomorrow from Shiraz DUR-arrive-3S
‘Mina is arriving from Shiraz tomorrow.’
Motion Past
‘Motion past’ is generally expressed with the preposition æz ‘from’. For the meaning ‘motion past’ the simple æz
form can only be used with the verb gozæštæn ‘to go by/to pass by’ or ræd šodæn ‘to pass by’.
(166) æz pol be-gzær
from bridge IMP-go by
‘Go past the bridge.’

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(167) æz jelow-ye danešgah gozæšt-im
from front-EZ university passed by-1P
‘We passed by the university.’
2.1.1.5.2 Proximate location
At Rest
The preposition næzdik-e ‘near’ is used to indicate the proximate ‘at rest’ function.
(168) ketabxune næzdik-e bank-e
library near bank-is
‘The library is near the bank.’
Motion To
The preposition næzdik-e indicates proximate ‘motion to’.
(169) bo-ro næzdik-e un deræxt
IMP-go near that tree
‘Go near that tree.’
Motion From
To express proximate ‘motion from’, the compound preposition æz næzdik-e is used.
(170) seda-ye bolænd-i æz næzdik-e saxtemun umæd
sound-EZ loud-IND from near building came
‘A loud sound came from near the building.’
Motion Past
To express proximate ‘motion past’, the compound preposition æz næzdik-e is used, though it is hard to think of a
context where this would occur naturally.
(171) æz næzdik-e un resturan be-gzær
from near that cafe IMP-pass by
‘Go past near that restaurant.’

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2.1.1.5.3 Interior location
At Rest
To specify interior ‘at rest’ location, Persian typically uses the preposition tu(-ye) ‘in’ or ‘inside’. The ezafe is optional.
There is no semantic difference between tu and tu-ye.
(172) tu(-ye) qoti
inside box
‘in/inside the box’
(173) tu(-ye) xune
inside house
‘in/inside the house’
While the preposition dær ‘at/in’ can also suggest interior location, it tends to apply to large spaces. Further, the
salient feature of dær seems to be that of general location rather than interiority.
(174) dær mæšhæd
in Mashhad
‘in Mashhad’
A somewhat literary preposition used to specify interior at rest location is dærun ‘inside’.
Motion To
‘Motion to’ is expressed with tu(-ye) ‘in/into/inside’.
(175) cætr-o be-zar tu(-ye) gænje
umbrella-OM IMP-put in/inside closet
‘Put the umbrella in the closet.’
Motion From
Persian expresses ‘motion from’ via the compound preposition æz tu(-ye) ‘from inside’ plus the adverb birun ‘out’,
which may precede the verb as in example (176) or follow the verb as in example (177) (see 1.2.1.3.2 for the
position of adverbs).

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(176) cæmedun-o æz tu(-ye) mašin birun bi-yar
suitcase-OM from inside car out IMP-bring
‘Take the suitcase out of the car.’
(177) cæmedun-o æz tu(-ye) mašin bi-yar birun
suitcase-OM from inside car IMP-bring out
‘Take the suitcase out of the car.’
Motion Past
Motion past interior location is expressed by the prepositions æz væsæt-e ‘from in the middle of’ and æz daxel-e
‘from inside of’.
(178) æz daxel-e tunel ubur--kærd-ænd
from inside tunnel pass--did-3P
‘They went through the tunnel.’
2.1.1.5.4 Exterior location
At Rest
‘At rest’ location is expressed with birun-e, birun æz, xarej-e or xarej æz, ‘outside’. The -e is the ezafe and æz
means ‘from’.
(179) sæg-o birun-e/xarej-e xune negæh dar
dog-OM outside house keep have
‘Keep the dog outside the house.’
(180) birun æz/harej æz kešvær
outside from country
‘outside the country’
Motion To
The best way to express exterior ‘motion to’ is with be tæræf-e or be suy-e ‘toward/in the direction of. The
preposition ta indicates ‘up to’ but not ‘through’.
(181) jæmšid be tæræf-e mæsjed ræft
Jamshid toward mosque went
‘Jamshid went toward the mosque.’

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(182) šiva ta dærvaze-ye šæhr rah--ræft
Shiva up to gate-EZ city walk--went
“Shiva walked up to the city gate.’
Motion From
The preposition æz ‘from’ indicates exterior ‘motion from’.
(183) æz divar-e xarej-e hæyat
from wall-EZ outside-EZ courtyard
pænj qædæm be tæræf-e cæp bo-ro
five step toward left IMP-go
‘From the outside of the courtyard wall, go left five steps.’
Motion Past
To express exterior ‘motion past’ æz ‘from’ is used, usually with a verb such as gozæštæn ‘to go by/to pass by’ or
ræd šodæn ‘to pass by’.
(184) šapur æz divar-e ætraf-e baq
Shapur from wall-EZ around-EZ garden
gozæšt
passed by
‘Shapur walked past the outside of the garden.’
2.1.1.5.5 Anterior location
At Rest
The preposition jelow(-ye) ‘in front of indicates anterior ‘at rest’ location.
(185) jelow(-ye) mæn be-šin
in front of me IMP-sit
‘Sit in front of me.’
Motion To
This is expressed as in example (185), except that a motion verb is used.

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(186) bo-ro jelow(-ye) mæn
IMP-go in front of me
‘Go in front of me.’
Motion From
Anterior ‘motion from’ uses the preposition æz in addition to jelow(-ye).
(187) æz jelow(-ye) mæn kenar bo-ro
from in front of me side IMP-go
‘Move away from in front of me.’
Motion Past
Anterior ‘motion past’ is expressed with æz jelow(-ye) ‘from in front of in conjunction with a verb such as gozæštæn
‘to pass by’ or ræd šodæn, which also means ‘to pass by’.
(188) æz jelow(-ye) sinema gozæšt-im
from in front of movie theater passed by-1P
‘We passed by in front of the movie theater.’
(189) æz jelow(-ye) mæqaze ræd--šod
from in front of shop passed by
‘She passed by in front of the store.’
2.1.1.5.6 Posterior location
At Rest
Posterior ‘at rest’ location is indicated with the preposition pošt-e ‘behind’.
(190) gorbe pošt-e sændæli-e
cat behind chair-is
‘The cat is behind the chair.’
Motion To
Posterior ‘motion to’ can be expressed with pošt-e ‘behind’, optionally preceded by the preposition be ‘to’.

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(191) bo-ro (be) pošt-e xune
IMP-go (to) behind house
‘Go behind the house.’
Motion From
Posterior ‘motion from’ is expressed with æz pošt-e ‘from behind’.
(192) xærguš æz pošt-e deræxt doid birun
rabbit from behind tree ran out
‘The rabbit ran out from behind the tree.’
Motion Past
The preposition ta pošt-e ‘to behind’ is used to express ‘motion past’.
(193) ahu-a ta pošt-e xune umæd-ænd
deer-PL up to behind house came-3P
‘The deer came up to behind the house.’
2.1.1.5.7 Superior location
At Rest
Superior ‘at rest’ location is expressed with bala-ye ‘above’.
(194) bala-ye sæth-e zæmin
above surface-EZ ground
‘above the ground’
Motion To
Superior ‘motion to’ is expressed in the same way as superior ‘at rest’ location, with bala-ye ‘above’.
(195) hævapeyma-ro be-bær bala-ye sær-e tæpe
airplane-OM IMP-take above top-EZ hill
‘Take the plane up above the hill.’

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Motion From
The preposition æz ‘from’ followed by bala-ye expresses superior ‘motion from’.
(196) Leslie æz bala-ye pellekan oftad
Leslie from above stairs fell
‘Leslie fell from the top of the stairs.’
Motion Past
Superior ‘motion past’ is indicated with the prepositions æz ru-ye ‘over’, bala sær-e ‘overhead’ or æz bala-ye ‘above’.
(197) hævapeyma æz ru-ye ab pærvaz--kærd
airplane over water fly--did
‘The airplane flew over the water.’
The use of bala sær-e is restricted to objects with nonflat surfaces such as mountains or buildings but not bodies of
water or plains:
(198) hævapeyma bala sær-e kuh-a pærvaz--kærd
airplane over mountain-PL fly--did
‘The airplane flew over the mountains.’
2.1.1.5.8–8a Superior-contact/surface location
At Rest
The preposition ru-(ye) is used for this purpose.
(199) gorbe ru-ye qali mi-xab-e
cat on rug DUR-sleep-3S
“The cat is sleeping on the rug.’
Motion To
Typically, the same preposition ru-ye is used to express ‘motion to’. Less common and rather literary is the use of
the preposition be ‘to’ preceding ru-ye.

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(200) gorbe (be) ru-ye sændæli pærid
cat (to) onto chair jumped
‘The cat jumped onto the chair.’
Motion From
‘Motion from’ is expressed with æz ru-ye.
(201) gorbe æz ru-ye sændæli pærid
cat from off chair jumped
‘The cat jumped off the chair.’
Motion Past
‘Motion past’ is indicated with ru-ye ‘over/across’.
(202) Leslie ru-ye yæx liz--xord
Leslie over ice slip--struck
‘Leslie slipped over the ice.’
2.1.1.5.9–10 Inferior and inferior-contact location
At Rest
The preposition zir-e ‘under’ is used to show ‘at rest’ location.
(203) zir-e ab
under water
‘under the water’
Motion To
The preposition zir-e ‘under’ is used to express ‘motion to’.
(204) mašin zir-e pol ræft
car under bridge went
‘The car drove under the bridge.’
Motion From
‘Motion from’ is expressed with æz zir-e .

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(205) ye muš æz zir-e pelle-ha doid birun
a mouse from under stair-PL ran out
‘A mouse ran out from under the stairs.’
Motion Past
‘Motion past’ is expressed with zir-e in conjunction with verbs such as gozæštæn or ræd šodæn, both meaning ‘to
pass’.
(206) rudxune zir-e kuh mi-gzær-e
river under mountain DUR-pass-3S
‘The river runs under the mountain.’
2.1.1.5.11–12 Lateral and lateral-contact location
At Rest
The preposition dæm-e ‘next to/beside’ is used exclusively for lateral noncontact location. ‘At rest’ for both lateral
and lateral contact location is expressed with the prepositions pælu-ye, the somewhat literary kenar-e and the more
colloquial bæqæl-e . All three prepositions mean ‘next to/beside’.
(207) bi-a dæm-e atiš be-šin
IMP-come beside fire IMP-sit
‘Come sit by the fire.’
(208) bi-a pælu-ye/bæqæl-e/kenar-e mæn be-šin
IMP-come beside me IMP-sit
‘Come sit beside me.’
Motion To
The same four prepositions used for ‘at rest’ location, dæm-e, pælu-ye, kenar-e bæqæl-e, all meaning ‘next
to/beside’are used for lateral ‘motion to’.
(209) mi-xa-m be-r-æm dæm-e atiš
DUR-want-1S SBJN-go-1S beside fire
‘I want to go by the fire.’

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(210) bi-a pælu-ye/bæqæl-e/kenar-e mæn
SBJN-come beside me
‘Come over next to me.’
Motion From
‘Motion from’ is indicated with the preposition æz bæqæl-e, pælu-ye or æz dæm-e or æz kænar-e .
(211) æz dæm-e rudxune umæd kenar
from beside river came aside
‘She moved away from beside the river.’
Motion Past
Same as above, though the use of æz is optional when expressing ‘along’ or ‘beside’.
(212) æz dæm-e ab ræd--šod
beside water pass--became
‘He passed by the water.’
(213) (æz) dæm-e/pælu-ye ab rah--ræft-im
(from) beside water walk--went-1P
‘We walked along the water.’
2.1.1.5.13–14 Citerior location and citerior-contact location
At Rest
At rest citerior location and citerior-contact location are expressed by the compound preposition in tæræf-e or the
more colloquial in vær-e, both meaning ‘this side of.
(214) deh-ešun in tæræf-e/in vær-e kuh-e
village-3P.PC this side of mountain-is
‘Their village is on this side of the mountain.’
Motion To
The prepositions in tæræf-e and in vær-e are used to convey ‘motion to’.

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(215) ayne-ro in tæræf-e otaq bi-ar
mirror-OM this side of room IMP-bring
‘Bring the mirror to this side of the room.’
Motion From
The preposition æz in tæræf-e describes ‘motion from’. A very colloquial option is in vær-e .
(216) šir æz in tæræf-e qæfæs betæræf-e ma doid
lion from this side cage toward us ran
‘The lion ran toward us from this side of the cage.’
Motion Past
The same construction used to indicate ‘motion from’ is used to express ‘motion past’.
2.1.1.5.15–16 Ulterior location
Ulterior and ulterior-contact location use the same constructions as in 2.1.1.5.13–14 except that un tæræf-e and un
vær-e (both literally meaning ‘that side of) are used instead of in tæræf-e and in vær-e .
2.1.1.5.17–18 Medial location
At Rest
In Persian the same prepositions are used to refer to medial location between two or three or more objects. The
prepositions beyn-e and mian-e express the notion ‘between, among’.
(217) miz beyn-e divar o sændæli-e
table between wall and chair-is
‘The table is between the wall and the chair.’
To clearly specify two (of the same class of object) the number two must be used. In the example (218) below,
‘trees’ can refer to two or more. Compare example (218) with example (219). In (219) the number of trees is
specified.

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(218) pærviz beyn-e deræxt-a istad
Parviz between/among tree-PL stood
‘Parviz stood between/among the trees.’
(219) pærviz beyn-e do-ta deræxt-a istad
Parviz between/among two-CL tree-PL stood
‘Parviz stood between the two trees.’
Motion To
The prepositions beyn-e and mian-e also express medial ‘motion to’ location.
(220) miz-o beyn-e do-ta sændæli gozošt
table-OM between two-CL chair put
‘He put the table between two chairs.’
Motion From
‘Motion from’ is indicated with æz beyn-e, æz mian-e, which mean ‘from between of’, and æz væsæt-e ‘from the
middle of’.
(221) xers æz beyn-e deræxt-a pærid birun
bear from between tree-PL jumped out
‘The bear jumped out from between the trees.’
Motion Past
Medial ‘motion past’ is expressed with the compound preposition æz beyn-e .
(222) pasebun-a æz beyn-e saxtemun-a gozæšt-ænd
police-PL between building-PL passed-3P
‘The police officers passed between the buildings.’
2.1.1.5.19 Circumferential location
At Rest
‘At rest’ location is expressed by dowr-e ‘around. Another, less common, preposition is gerd-e ‘round’.

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(223) tænab dowr-e deræxt picid-e--bud
rope around tree wrapped-PSPT--was
‘The rope was wrapped around the tree.’
Motion To
Both dowr-e and gerd-e can be used to show ‘motion to’.
(224) tænab-o dowr-e kæmær-eš be-pic
rope-OM around waist-3S.PC IMP-wind
‘Wind the rope around his waist.’
Motion From
(225) æz dowr-e miz pa--šod-ænd
from around table foot--became-3P
‘They got up from around the table.’
2.1.1.5.20 Citerior-anterior location
At Rest
‘At rest’ is indicated with the preposition ruberu-ye (literally ‘face-to-face’) or moqabel-e and jelow-ye, all meaning
‘opposite/across from’.
(226) ketabxune ruberu-ye kæfaši-e
library opposite shoe store-is
‘The library is opposite the shoe store.’
Motion To
Same construction as above:
(227) ruberu-ye xahær-et vasa
opposite sister-2P.PC stand
‘Stand facing you sister.’
Motion From
The prepositions æz ruberu-ye and moqabel-e indicate ‘motion from’.

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(228) æz ruberu-ye mæn pa--šod
from across from me foot--became
‘He got up from across from me.’
Motion Past
The same construction as ‘motion from’ is used to express ‘motion past’.
2.1.1.5.21 Interior motion-long object (direction of length)
Motion through the inside of a long object can be indicated with the prepositions daxel-e ‘inside’, æz miyun-e
‘through’, æz tu-ye ‘through the inside of, sær ta sær-e ‘from one end to the other’.
(229) ab æz miyun-e lule mi-gzær-e
water from through pipe DUR-pass-3S
‘Water passes through the pipe.’
2.1.1.5.22 Exterior motion-long object (direction of length)
There is no particular way to express exterior motion along an object’s length.
2.1.1.5.23 Superior motion-long object (direction of length)
No special form exists which indicates motion along the surface of a long object. Such motion is indicated as in
2.1.1.5.7.
2.1.1.5.24–24a Superior-contact motion-long object (direction of length)
No special form exists to indicate motion in contact with the surface of a long object. Such motion is indicated as in
2.1.1.5.8–8a.
2.1.1.5.25 Inferior motion-long object (direction of length)
No special form exists. See 2.1.1.5.9.
2.1.1.5.26 Inferior motion-long object (direction of length)
No special form exists to express ‘inferior motion in the

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direction of the length of a long object See 2.1.1.5.10.
2.1.1.5.27–29 Motion past long object (at right angles to its length)
No special form exists to show motion perpendicular to a long object.
2.1.1.6 Location in time
2.1.1.6.1 General time expressions
Time expressions include adverbs such as emruz ‘today’ and hala ‘now’, and prepositions such as piš ‘before’, qæbl
æz ‘before’, bæd æz ‘after’, dær ‘in’, as discussed below.
2.1.1.6.1.1 Time of day
The word sa’æt is used to express ‘hour’ and ‘time’. It also means ‘watch’ and ‘clock’. No preposition is used to
indicate time of day.
(230) sa’æt-e pænj mi-bin-æm-et
hour-EZ five DUR-see-1S-2S.PC
‘I’ll see you at five o’clock.’
Requests for time are made using the question word cænd ‘how much / how many’:
(231) sa’æt cænd-e?
time how much-is
‘What time is it?’
All increments of an hour follow the numeral and are typically expressed by either using the particle -o ‘and’ to
indicate minutes after the hour (see example (232)), or kæm ‘less’ to indicate minutes before the hour, as in
example (233).
‘Terms denoting a quarter of an hour, rob’, and half past the hour, nim, are used in the same manner, shown in
examples (234)– (235). nim literally means ‘half and can be used in other measure contexts. For example, ‘half a
kilo’ is nim kilo, ‘half a meter (of material)’ is nim metr .

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(232) dæh-o bist dæqiqe-st
ten-and twenty minute-is
‘It’s 10:20.’
(233) cahar-o dæh dæqiqe kæm-e
four-and ten minute less-is
‘It’s ten minutes to four.’
(234) yazdæh-o rob’-e
eleven-and quarter-is
‘It’s a quarter past eleven.’
(235) pænj-o nim-e
five -and half-is
‘It’s half past five.’
Other expressions such as bæ’d æz ‘after’ (literally ‘next from’) and qæbl æz ‘before’ (literally ‘before from’) are also
used to indicate minutes after or before the hour. Here the order of minutes with respect to the hour is reversed so
that they precede the hour: minutes+ bæd æz/qæbl æz +hour.
(236) se dæqiqe qæbl æz hæft-e
three minute before seven-is
‘It’s three minutes before seven.’
(237) se dæqiqe bædæz hæft-e
three minute after seven-is
‘It’s three minutes after seven.’
Finally, the preposition be ‘to’ can be used with the verb ‘to be‘or the past participle form of the verb ‘to remain’,
munde, to express the number of minutes before the hour.
(238) bist dæqiqe be pænj-e
twenty minute to five-is
‘It’s twenty minutes to five.’
(239) bist dæqiqe munde be pænj
twenty minute remain-PSPT to five
‘It’s twenty to five.’

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In addition to the numeric reference to noon (twelve o’clock), Persian has a separate lexical item for that time of
day, zohr .
2.1.1.6.1.2 Period of day
No preposition is used with adverbial time expressions for periods of the day. Word indicating periods of the day are:
sæhær ‘sunrise’
sobh ‘morning’
zohr ‘noon’
bædæz zohr ‘afternoon’
qurub ‘dusk, sunset’
šæb ‘evening/night’
(240) bædæz zohr šiva-ro did-æm
afternoon Shiva-OM saw-1S
‘I saw Shiva in the afternoon.’
2.1.1.6.1.3 Day of the week
Adverbial expressions referring to days of the week do not use prepositions.
(241) jom’e mi-r-im baqevæhš
Friday DUR-go-1P zoo
‘We’re going to the zoo on Friday.’
Words for the days of the week (Sunday through Thursday) are constructed using the numerals one through five
plus the word for Saturday, šæmbe. Friday has a separate lexical item, jom’e.
šæmbe Saturday
yek-šæmbe Sunday (literally, ‘one-Saturday’)
do-šæmbe Monday
se-šæmbe Tuesday
cahar-šæmbe Wednesday
pænj-šæmbe Thursday
jom’e Friday
There are two main ways to ask about the day of the week. First, the interrogative pronoun can be used with the
word ruz ‘day’,

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as in example (242). Or one can ask ‘how many’ with regard to the number of days that have passed since
Saturday, as in example (243).
(242) emruz ce ruz-i-e?
today what day-IND-is
‘What day is it today?’
(243) emruz cænd šambe-st
today how many Saturday-is
‘What day is it today?’
2.1.1.6.1.4 Month of the year
The preposition dær ‘in’ is optional in adverbial expressions of time by using only the words for the months of the
year. However, as shown in (245), dær is obligatory when describing habitual action.
(244) (dær) janviye mi-r-im italya
in January DUR-go-1P Italy
‘We’re going to Italy in January.’
(245) dær mah-e octobr xeyli barun mi-ya-d
in month-EZ October a lot rain DUR-come-3S
‘It rains a lot in October.’
The Persian calendar is based on a solar cycle of twelve months which begins on 20 March. The four seasons, bahar
‘spring’, tabessun ‘summer’, paiz ‘autumn’ and zemessun ‘winter’, each consist of three months, named after
Zoroastrian angels.
bahar ‘spring’
(first of) færværdin =20 March
ordibehešt
xordad
tabessun ‘summer’
tir
mordad
šæhrivær
paiz ‘autumn’
mehr

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aban
azær
zemessun’ winter’
de
bæhmæn
esfænd
Persian also uses Western equivalents for the names of the months as well as the Arabic names for the months of
the Islamic calendar. Western month names, which are borrowed from French, are typically used in reference to
Western events such as independence days, elections, religious (non-Islamic) holidays, etc. Islamic month names are
only used to refer to Islamic events (holidays, feasts, fasting, etc).
Western month names
janviye January
fevriye February
mars March
avril April
mey May
žuæn June
žuye July
ut August
septamr September
octobr October
novamr November
desamr December
Islamic month names
Arabic words are used for the lunar Islamic calendar, which contains alternating months of thirty and twenty-nine
days.
mohærræm Moharram (30 days)
sæfær Safar (29)
ræbi’ ol-ævvæl Rabi I (30)
ræbi’ ol-axær or ræbi’ os-sani Rabi II (29)
jomadi ol-ola or jomadi ol-ævvæl Jumada I (30)
jomadi ol-oxra or jomadi os-sani Jumada II (29)

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ræjæb Rajab (30)
šæ’ban Shaban (29)
ræmezan Ramadan (30)
šævval Shawwal (29)
zol-qæ ‘dæ or zel-qæ ‘dæ Dhu-l-Qa’ da (30)
zol-hejjæor zel-hejjæ Dhu-1-hijjah (29 or 30)
2.1.1.6.1.5 Year
The preposition dær ‘in’ is also optional when making reference to a specific year.
(246) (dær) hezar-o noh-sæd-o car be donya umæd
(in) 100-and 900-and four to world came
‘She was born in 1904.’
2.1.1.6.1.6 Festivals
No preposition is used in adverbials of time referring to a festival. In the example below eyd refers to the Persian
New Year, which is celebrated on the vernal equinox.
(247) hæmiše eyd mi-r-im xune-ye æmu-m
always New Year DUR-go-1P house-EZ uncle-1S.PC
‘At New Year we always go to my uncle’s house.’
2.1.1.6.1.7 Seasons
The four seasons (fæsl) are paiz ‘autumn’, zemessun ‘winter’, bahar ‘spring’ and tabessun ‘summer’ (see section
2.1.1.6.1.4). These terms for the seasons may be used with or without the preposition dær ‘in’.
(248) gol-e nærges (dær) bahar birun mi-ya-d
flower-OM daffodil (in) spring out DUR-come-3S
‘Daffodils come out in spring.’
2.1.1.6.2 Frequentatives
Frequentative action may be expressed in one of two ways: by either using hær ‘every’ before a time expression, or
by adding the plural inflection -ha to the time expression.

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(249) hær došæmbe šena mi-r-æm.
every Monday swimming DUR-go-1S
‘I go swimming every Monday.’
(250) došæmbe-ha šena mi-r-æm.
Monday-PL swimming DUR-go-1S
‘I go swimming on Mondays.’
2.1.1.6.3 Punctual-future
No preposition is used to express the punctual future. However, dige ‘else’ must follow the time stated. The verb is
commonly in the simple present tense rather than the stilted future tense. See section 2.1.3.2.1.4 for more details on
the future tense.
(251) ferešte yek sa’æt dige mi-ya-d
ferešte one hour else DUR-come-3S
‘Fereshte will come in an hour.’
2.1.1.6.4 Punctual past
piš ‘ago’ is used to show punctual-past location in time, piš always follows the time expression.
(252) do sa’æt piš
two hour ago
‘two hours ago’
(253) se hæfte piš širaz bud-im.
three week ago Shiraz was-1P
‘Three weeks ago we were in Shiraz.’
2.1.1.6.5 Duration
No preposition is used to indicate duration.
(254) se sal dær žapon zendegi--kærd-æm
three year in Japan live--did-1S
‘I lived in Japan three years.’
For emphasis, however, the word modæt-e ‘for the period of can precede the time.

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(255) modæt-e se sal dær žapon
for the period three year in Japan
zendegi--kærd-æm
live--did-1S
‘I lived in Japan three years.’
2. 1.1.6.6–7 Anterior-duration-past/-future
Both anterior-duration past and future are expressed using the preposition ta ‘until’.
(256) ta diruz hicci ettefaq--nae-yoftad
until yesterday nothing happen--NEG-fell
‘Nothing happened until yesterday.’
(257) pæri ta færda ne-mi-ya-d
Parri until tomorrow NEG-DUR-come-3S
‘Parri won’t come until tomorrow.’
2.1.1.6.8–9 Posterior-duration-past
To convey posterior-duration-past location, Persian uses the construction æz…ta hala, which literally means ‘from…
until now’. The time or date being referred to immediately follows æz ‘from’. This construction can be used with
either the simple past or with the past or present perfect tense.
(258) æz diruz ta hala hicci næ-xord-æm
from yesterday until now nothing NEG-ate-1S
‘I didn’t eat anything since yesterday.’
(259) æz diruz ta hala hicci næ-xord-e-æm
from yesterday until now nothing NEG-ate-PSPT-1S
‘I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.’
(260) æz diruz ta ye sa’æt piš hicci
from yesterday until one hour ago nothing
næ-xord-e bud-æm
NEG-ate-PSPT was-1S
‘I hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday.’

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2.1.1.6.8–9 Posterior-duration-future
The compound preposition bæ ‘d æz ‘after’ is used to express ‘after’.
(261) bæ’d-æz jom’e daftær-o mi-bænd-im
after Friday office-OM DUR-close-1P
‘We will close the office after Friday.’
The notion ‘from (time/date) on’ is indicated with æz…(be bæd) ‘from…(to after)’. The use of be bæd is for
emphasis.
(262) æz færda (be bæd) dige gušt ne-mi-xor-æm
from tomorrow (to after) else meat NEG-DUR-eat-1S
‘From tomorrow (on) I’m not eating meat anymore.’
2.1.1.6.10 Anterior general
To express the notion ‘previous to’, the compound preposition qæbl æz ‘before’ is used.
(263) qæbl æz emruz cænd bar inja umæd-æm.
before today many time here came-1S
‘I came here several times previous to today.’
2.1.1.6.11 Posterior general
To express ‘subsequent to’, bæd æz ‘after’ is used.
(264) bæd æz jom’e mæšhæd-im
after Friday Mashhad-1P
‘Subsequent to Friday we’ll be in Mashhad.’
2.1.1.6.12 Point in period-past
The constructions dær ærz-e…(piš) ‘in the course of…(ago)’ and dær moddæt-e…(piš) ‘in the period of…(ago)’ are
used.
(265) dær ærz-e do sa’æt-e (piš) pænj næfær umæd-ænd
in past two hours five people came-3P
‘Five people came in the last two hours.’

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(266) dær moddæt-e yek sa’æt car-ta fæks dašt-im
in the period of one hour four-CL fax had-1P
‘We had four faxes in one hour’
2.1.1.6.13 Point in period-future
The preposition ta ‘until’ is used with dige to talk about point in period-future.
(267) ta do sa’æt dige bær-mi-gærd-æm.
until two hour else around--DUR-turn-1S
‘I’ll be back within two hours.’
2.1.1.7 Double case-marking
Persian does not display double case marking.
2.1.1.8 Number-marking system
2.1.1.8.1 Nature of number-marking system
Modern Persian has two numbers for nouns: singular, which is unmarked; and plural, which is marked depending on
specificity of the noun (See 2.1.1.8.2). Historically, Persian used the suffix -an ( -yan after vowels) for animate beings
and -ha ( -a after consonants) for inanimate beings. In modern spoken Persian -ha has become more generalized
and is used for both animate and inanimate nouns. The suffix -an is still used sometimes, but only for animate
nouns, as shown in examples (270) and (271).
(268) gorbe-ha
cat-PL
‘cats’
(269) mašin-a
car-PL
‘cars’
(270) mærd-an
man-PL
‘men’

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(271) geda-yan
beggar-PL
‘beggars’
It should be noted that the -an plural takes the form -gan when the stem ends in [e] followed by ‘silent h’. The
‘silent h’ is indicated in Persian orthography. The rule is apparently nonproductive does apply to a few relatively
frequent nouns. Since the -ha form is preferred even in these nouns, the -gan plurals are probably lexicalized.
(272) bæcce-gan
child-PL
‘children’
(273) može-gan
eyelash-PL
‘eyelashes’
(274) pærænde-gan
bird’PL
‘birds’
Although nouns of Arabic origin often take Arabic plural form -at, many Arabic loans can also take the Persian plurals
-ha and -an. Another Arabic plural, -jat, seems lexicalized in a few words such as sæbzi-jat ‘greens’ and mive-jat
‘fruits’.
(275) ettefaq-at
incident-PL
‘incidents’
(276) ettefaq-ha
incident-PL
‘incidents’
In addition, Persian has taken a number of Arabic nouns whose plurals are irregular. Arabic nouns often form
discontinuous plurals based on a consonantal root, into which are inserted vowels and consonants. Persian borrowed
both the singular and plural of many of these words. Often the relationship between the singular and plural forms in
Persian is relatively transparent in both phonetic form

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and meaning.
Singular Plural
(277) fe’l æf’al
‘verb’ ‘Verbs’
(278) šæxs æšxas
‘person’ ‘people’
(279) dælil dælayel
‘reason’ ‘reasons’
Sometimes the phonetic forms of the singular and plural are less transparently related, although Persian has
maintained a consistent singular/plural semantic relationship between them.
(280) ruh ærvah
‘soul’ ‘souls’
(281) sahel sævahel
‘shore’ ‘shores’
(282) hadese hævades
‘incident’ ‘incidents’
(283) ‘no’ ‘ænva’
‘kind’ ‘kinds’
Occasionally, both the singular and plural Arabic word forms have been maintained in Persian, but the semantic
singular/plural distinction between them has been lost.
(284) hal æhval
‘health’ ‘health’
That is, one can say either
(285) hal-et cetowr-e?
health-2S.PC how-is
‘How are you?’

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or, with exactly the same meaning, say
(286) æhval-et cetowr-e
health-2S.PC how-is?
‘How are you?’
Finally, there are cases where not only is the relationship between the singular and plural forms phonetically opaque
but where the meaning of the plural has diverged from the meaning of the singular.
(287) sæbæb æsbab
‘cause/reason’ ‘goods/chattel’
2.1.1.8.2–3 Extent to which number-marking is obligatory
Singular is unmarked. Plural is obligatorily marked on nouns carrying specific reference and obligatorily unmarked on
nonspecific nouns (see Section 2.1.1.8.1 for the plural morphemes). We define “specific” as identifiable by the
speaker though not necessarily identified by the hearer. Since the noun is specific in both (288) and (289), the plural
morpheme is used.
(288) doxtær-a tu-ye hæyat-ænd
girl-PL. in courtyard-are
‘The girls are in the courtyard.’
(289) do-ta doxtær-a tu-ye hæyat-ænd
two-CL girl-PL in courtyard-are
‘The two girls are in the courtyard.’
Note that example (288) cannot be interpreted as ‘(some) girls are in the courtyard’. Nor can example (289) indicate
a nonspecific pair of girls. When referring to a plural nonspecific noun, -ha is not used. Rather, either a number or
other quantifier precedes the noun.
(290) do-ta doxtær tu-ye hæyat-ænd
two-CL girl in courtyard-are
‘Two girls are in the courtyard.’

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(291) cænd-ta doxtær tu-ye hæyat-ænd
many-CL girl in courtyard-are
‘Some girls are in the courtyard.’
2.1.1.8.4–5 Distributive nouns
A few distributive forms exist in Persian, such as do be do ‘two by two/in pairs’, and yeki yeki ‘one by one’. A
construction using the classifier ta is productive: se ta se ta ‘three by three’, dæh ta dæh ta ‘ten by ten’, etc.
2.1.1.8.5 Collective nouns and singulatives
There are a number of collective nouns in Persian, such as:
(292) xanevade ‘family’
mærdom ‘people’
gælle ‘flock’
jæm’ ‘group’
jæm’iyæt ‘crowd’
dæste ‘group’
dolæt ‘government’
Generally, singulatives cannot be derived from collective nouns. Although in some cases the collective is recognizably
related to a singular form, the collective is not a simple plural and thus a singulative cannot be derived. For example,
mærdom ‘people’ is transparently related to mærd ‘man’. But mærd always means ‘man’ and never the singulative
‘person’.
2.1.1.8.6 Realization of number distinctions
See 2.1.1.8.1.
2.1.1.8.7 Number marking of foreign words
Arabic loans are discussed in 2.1.1.8.1. Loans from other languages are integrated into the Persian plural system
using -ha.
(293) radiyo-ha
radio-PL
‘radios’

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(294) manto-ha
coat-PL
‘coats’
2.1.1.9 Gender and noun classes
2.1.1.9.1–3 Gender and noun classes
Persian has neither noun classes nor grammatical gender. The third person singular pronoun u and the third person
plural pronouns išun and una refer to both male and female humans. A distinction is made in third person forms with
regard to humanness (See 2.1.2.1.2).
2.1.1.9.4 Classifiers
There are a number of classifiers in Persian. The most common classifier with the most general application is -ta ‘-
fold’. This classifier is optionally used when quantifying count nouns, -ta is positioned after the quantifying element
and can cooccur with the plural marker on a [+specific] noun (see 2.1.1.8.2).
(295) do(-ta) pesær
two(-CL) boy
‘two boys’
(296) do(-ta) pesær-a
two(-CL) boy-PL
‘the two boys’
Other classifiers, which are used optionally, also follow the number and precede the noun they modify: -tæn ‘body
(for people)’,—jeld ‘volume (for books)’, -dune ‘grain/seed’ ( -dune can be used with any singular count noun, for
example, ye-dune ængoštær ‘one ring’), -ræ’s ‘head’ (for sheep, horses, etc.).
(297) bist(-jeld) ketab
twenty-volume book
‘twenty books’
(298) cel(-ræ’s) gusfænd
forty-head sheep
‘forty sheep’

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2.1.1.9.5 Assignation of loan-words to noun classes
See Section 2.1.1.9.1–3.
2.1.1.10 Definiteness in noun phrases
We are defining “definiteness” as a feature of the NP that indicates reference to a specific entity identifiable by both
speaker and hearer. Several means indicate definiteness of the noun phrase.
No morphological marking for definiteness
Unmodified NPs in subject and indirect object position are typically interpreted as definite and sometimes as generic.
(299) mašin tu garaž-e
car in garage-is
‘The car is in the garage.’
(300) dad-eš be mo’ælem
gave-3S.PC to teacher
‘She gave it to the teacher.’
(301) værzeš bæra-ye behbudi lazem-e
excercise for health necessary-is
‘Excercise is necessary for health.’
Using demonstratives as indicators of definiteness
Persian has inherent definites such as demonstrative pronouns, personal pronouns, and proper names as well as
demonstrative adjectives, superlatives and ordinals, which cooccur with nouns and force a definite reading of the NP.
Plural inflection on a noun phrase also renders a definite interpretation.
(302) un bošqab
that plate
‘that plate’
(303) mohem-tærin nevisænde
important-SUPR writer
‘the most important writer’

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(304) ævvælin ša’er
first poet
‘the first poet’
(305) ceraq-a
light-PL
‘the lights’
Use of -ra to mark definiteness
Persian also uses the postposition -ra, in this text glossed as ‘OM’ (object marker), on definite direct object NPs. A
full discussion of this postposition is provided in Section 2.1.1.10.1.2 below.
Use of -e to mark definiteness
Another marker of definiteness is the suffix -e, which optionally attaches to any singular proper or common NP in
subject or object position to indicate definiteness. The use of this inflection is restricted to colloquial Persian. See
Section 2.1.1.10.1.3 below.
2.1.1.10.1 Marking of definiteness
2.1.1.10.1.1 Demonstratives
The demonstratives in ‘this’ and un ‘that’ in the singular are used adjectivally and precede singular or plural NPs to
indicate definiteness. Direct objects preceded by one of the demonstratives must also be followed by the object
marker -ra. Also see Section 2.1.2.5.4.
(306) in otaq xeyli kucik-e
this room very small-is
‘This room is very small.’
(307) un bæsse-ha-ro be-zar ru miz
that package-PL-OM IMP-put on table
‘Put those packages on the table.’
In both the singular and plural forms demonstratives may be used as pronouns: in ‘this’, un ‘that’, ina ‘these/these
people’ and una ‘those/them’. In the plural, these forms may refer to both

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animate and inanimate NPs; in the singular they can only refer to inanimate NPs.
(308) in-o ne-mi-xa-m
this-OM NEG-DUR-want-1S
‘I don’t want this.’
(309) in-a fayde næ-dar-e
this-PL use NEG-have-3S
‘These are useless.’
(310) un-a ba ma mi-ya-n
that-PL with us DUR-come-3P
‘They’re coming with us.’
(311) ma un-a-ro dust--dar-im
we that-PL-OM friend--have-1P
‘We like them/those.’
2.1.1.10.1.2 The postposition -ra
There is some controversy about the precise functions and scope of -ra (and its phonological variants -o and -ro ).
Most scholars have traditionally identified -ra as a marker of definite direct objects (Phillott 1919, Sadeghi 1970,
Vazinpoor 1977). More recently, however, some researchers (Browne 1970, Karimi 1989, Windfuhr 1990) have
disputed this interpretation and suggested that -ra, while often suggesting definiteness, is primarily an indicator of
topicalization or specificity.
In example (312), Windfuhr argues that -ra is not a definiteness marker since it cooccurs with the indefinite marker -
i, when -i is suffixed to an NP which refers to a specific, unique entity:
(312) xane-i-ra atiš--zæd-ænd
house-IND-OM burn--struck-3P
‘They burned a (certain) house.’
He also suggests that objects can appear without -ra and still be interpreted as definite and that -ra can also appear
in nonobject position, in a topicalizing function. Examples (313) and (314) are from Windfuhr (1990:534).

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(313) dombal-e aparteman mi-gærd-æm
after-EZ apartment DUR-turn-1S
‘I am looking for the apartment.’
(314) emšæb-ra inja has
tonight-OM here be
‘Be/stay here’ (for) ‘tonight.’
In example (312), the cooccurrence of -ra with the specific/indefinite -i marker distinguishes the NP as referential.
Without -ra, the noun phrase would have to be interpreted as indefinite, nonspecific/nonreferential (see Section
2.1.1.11.5 and 2.1.1.12).
Example (313) is not a convincing counterexample to -ra as a definite direct object marker. First, a definite reading
for ‘apartment’ is, at best, questionable and strained. The more acceptable interpretation is a generic reading for
‘apartment’. Second, the compound verb dombal-e gæštæn, ‘to look for’ does not allow any object to take -ra, no
matter how definite. In example (315) madæræm ‘my mother’ can only be interpreted as definite but does not take
-ra with the verb dombal-e gæštæn .
(315) dombal-e madær-æm mi-gærd-æm
after-EZ mother-1S.PC DUR-turn-1S
‘I’m looking for my mother.’
(316) *dombal-e madær-æm-o mi-gærd-æm
after-EZ mother-1S.PC-OM DUR-turn-1S
‘I’m looking for my mother.’
Therefore, the use of -ra is not an option in these cases. Rather, the use of -ra is prohibited with this verb. (This
discontinuous compound verb is constructed from the nominal preposition dombal-e ‘after’ and the verb gæštæn ‘to
turn or wander’. One simple explanation for its restriction on the use of the -ra marker which attaches to definite
direct objects is that the object is obligatorily incorporated into the compound and is considered the object of the
preposition dombal-e .)
Although example (314) is an acceptable sentence, the -ra is optional as a topicalizer. (Karimi 1989 interprets
examples such as (314) as following a rather narrow rule whereby -ra cooccurs with adverbial noun phrases
modifying intransitive verbs.) Further, when—ra is functioning as a topicalizer, it does so more frequently with

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direct objects than with other elements. For examples of -ra as topic marker see Section 1.12.
While we agree with Windfuhr and others that -ra has more than one function, we maintain that the primary
function of -ra is that of marking a definite direct object because of two important points:
1) When an object NP is clearly definite, i.e. identifiable by both speaker and hearer, -ra must be used. In contrast,
when an object is clearly nonspecific -ra is not used. Putting these two facts in a broader context, we can consider
object noun phrases on a scale of most definite to least definite, where -ra marks object NPs toward the higher,
more definite end of the scale.
Nouns on the most-definite end of the scale include those previously mentioned in the discourse, pronouns, proper
nouns, nouns taking a definite determiner, nouns possessed by another noun in the possessive case, first and
second persons, specific and referential nouns, or at least delimited in some way. Least-definite nouns tend to be
those not previously mentioned, common nouns, nouns taking an indefinite determiner, third persons, generics,
nonspecifics and nonreferential nouns.
The object mæn ‘me’ in example (317) is clearly toward the most-definite end of the scale since it fulfills several of
the criteria mentioned in the previous paragraph. It is a first-person pronoun referential to the speaker. The object
mo’ælem-eš ‘his teacher’ in (318) is also definite. The possessive clitic -eš binds it to hæsan, a specific, identifiable
entity. The objects mæn in (317) and mo’ ælem-eš in (318) are therefore marked with -ra as definite direct objects.
(317) bæhram mæn-o bord mædrese
Bahram me-OM carried school
‘Bahrain took me to school.’
(318) hæsan mo’ælem-eš-o dust--næ-dar-e
Hasan teacher-3S.PC-OM friend--NEG-have-3S
‘Hasan doesn’t like his teacher.’
The object in (319) is clearly indefinite because it fulfills none of the criteria above.
(319) belæxære ye mehmunxune peyda--kærd-im
finally a hotel visible--did-1P
‘Finally, we found a hotel.’

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In example (320) while the object is not technically definite, it does fulfill at least some of the definiteness criteria.
First, by using the deictic ina ‘these’, the speaker assumes the hearer knows the scope of possible referents. The
direct object also is in the form of a definite demonstrative. Even though the referent is not definite in that it fails to
be identifiable by both speaker and hearer, it fulfills some of the definiteness criteria cited above and is contained in
a delimited class of things in the world. It is placed higher on the definiteness hierarchy than the completely
unidentifiable object mehmunxune ‘hotel’ in (319) and therefore takes -ra.
(320) yeki æz ina-ro vær--dar
one from these-OM take--have
‘Take one of these.’
That is, while -ra sometimes marks noun phrases that are not completely definite, those noun phrases are somewhat
definite in that they refer to some delimited class of objects rather than a completely nonspecific object.
2) On the other hand -ra is not a topic marker because not all topics need take -ra. Persian has various strategies
for topicalization besides -ra, such as stress (see section 3.3.4.3–4 on contrastive stress), preposing and postposing
(see Section 1.14.2 on postposing).
In conclusion, another way of stating 1) and 2) is to say that while a definite direct object implies -ra, topicality does
not.
2.1.1.10.1.3 The postposition -e
The postposition -e/-æ optionally attaches to any singular proper or common NP subject, direct object, indirect
object and other cases to indicate definiteness. The use of -e is a discourse device to indicate that both speaker and
hearer have mutual knowledge of the marked NP through recent mention.
(321) zæn-e be mæn goft
woman-DEF to me said
The woman said to me’ (The woman’ was introduced in the discourse prior to this mention.)
When -e (-æ) appears in object position, -ra must follow.

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(322) film-æ-ro did-æm
film-DEF-OM saw-1S
‘I saw that film.’
2.1.1.10.2 Optionality of definiteness markers
Marking for definiteness is obligatory since without some morphological ( -ra, -e, possessive construction, etc.) or
lexical (in, un) indication, the NP is interpreted as indefinite or generic.
2.1.1.10.3–4 Form of definiteness and spatial relations
Except in the case of the demonstratives (see Section 2.1.2.1.6) the form of the definiteness marker does not
depend on spatial relationships among participants and referents in the speech act.
2.1.1.10.5–6 Definiteness markers, proper names and abstract nouns
Definiteness is not marked on proper names in subject position. In direct object position it is obligatory.
(323) mæhæsti ræft doktor
Mahasti went doctor
‘Mahasti went to the doctor.’
(324) zæhra-ro næ-did-æm
Zahra-OM NEG-saw-1S
‘I didn’t see Zahra.’
In subject position, abstract nouns are not marked. As direct objects, abstract nouns are considered universal and
unique and are therefore followed by the definite direct object marker -ra.
(325) bædbini bi hasel-e
pessimism without product-is
‘Pessimism is unproductive.’
(326) taqæt-e duruqgui-o næ-dar-æm
tolerance-EZ lying-OM NEG-have-1S
‘I can’t tolerate lying.’

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(327) esq-o ne-mi-š-e--xærid
love-OM NEG-DUR-become-3S--bought
‘One can’t buy love.’
2.1.1.11 Indefiniteness in noun phrases
2.1.1.11.1 Marking of indefiniteness in noun phrases
Indefiniteness in noun phrases can be marked by ye(k) ‘a, one’, the suffix -i which indicates [-definite] and
[+specific], or the cooccurrence of ye(k) and -i .
(328) ye durbin
one camera
‘a camera’
(329) durbin-i
camera-IND
‘a (certain) camera’
(330) ye durbin-i
one camera-IND
‘a (certain)camera’
2.1.1.11.2 Optionality of indefiniteness markers
Marking of indefiniteness is obligatory for both subject and object noun phrases. Unmarked object noun phrases are
interpreted as definite or generic.
(331) mæjele ru-ye miz-e
magazine on table-is
The magazine is on the table.
(332) sib dust--næ-dar-æm
apple friend--NEG-have-1S
‘I don’t like apples.’
Unmarked object NPs are usually interpreted as generic, though in some cases an indefinite reading is possible.
Compare example (333) where the NP ye dæsbænd can only be interpreted as indefinite with example (334) and
(335).

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(333) ye dæsbænd xærid-æm
a bracelet bought-1S
‘I bought a bracelet.’
(334) emruz gol kašt-æm
today flower planted-1S
‘I planted flowers today’
*‘I planted a flower today.’
(335) ketab xund-æm
book read-1S
‘I read a/some book.’
‘I read books.’
2.1.1.11.3–4 Form of indefiniteness and spatial relations
The form of the indefiniteness marker does not vary according to spatial relationships among the speakers and
referents.
2.1.1.11.5–6 Indefiniteness markers and nonsingular and mass nouns
The indefinite -i and the ye(k)…-i combination are used with plural count nouns to mean ‘some’.
(336) (ye) danešju-ha-i
a student-PL-IND
‘some students’
Used with mass nouns, ye(k) and ye(k)…-i indicate singularity. The -i suffix used alone indicates ‘some’. When the -i
suffix follows a plural mass noun, the latter is interpreted as ‘some kinds of.
(337) ye qæve-(i)
a coffee-(IND)
‘a coffee’
(338) qæve-i
coffee-IND
‘some coffee’

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(339) qæve-ha-i
coffee-PL-IND
‘some kinds of coffee’
2.1.1.12 Referential and nonreferential indefiniteness
2.1.1.12.1–4 Referential and nonreferential indefiniteness
Persian distinguishes between referential and nonreferential indefinite direct objects. Referential indefiniteness is
indicated with ye(k)…-i followed by the object marker.
(340) ye ketab-i-o xærid-æm
a book-IND-OM bought-1S
‘I bought a certain book.’
Without the object marker the same sentence can be interpreted as referential or nonreferential.
2.1.1.13 Genericness
There is no morphological marking for genericness. Generic nouns occur as bare nouns in the singular, i.e. lacking a
plural or any other form of definite or indefinite inflection such as pronominal clitics, -i, -ra or -e .
(341) zærrafe dær iran peyda--ne-mi-š-e
giraffe in Iran visible--NEG-DUR-become-3S
‘Giraffes are not found in Iran.’
2.1.1.14 Degree of importance of actor
There is no morphological means to distinguish more important actors from less important ones.
2.1.2 Pronouns
2.1.2.1 Personal pronouns
2.1.2.1.1 Free pronouns

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2.1.2.1.1.1–2 Free pronouns and their distribution
Free pronouns are used in all persons and numbers as subjects, objects, indirect objects, parts of comparative
constructions, etc. Persian is, however, a pro-drop language and usually omits the subject pronoun of all persons
and numbers. See Table 2.3 in Section 2.1.2.1.2 for a list of the free pronouns.
2.1.2.1.1.3 Pronouns and emphasis
2.1.2.1.1.3.1 Noncontrastive, nonemphatic use of pronouns
When the referent is not being contrasted or emphasized, the pronoun is commonly dropped in nonformal contexts.
2.1.2.1.1.3.2 Emphatic use of pronouns
When the referent is being emphasized the pronoun is typically used. As with nouns, emphasis of pronouns is
achieved through stress and movement. See Section 1.11.2.2.1–4.
2.1.2.1.1.3.3 Unemphatic pronouns with imperative verbs
Pronouns are not used in unemphatic contexts with imperative verbs.
(342) bo-ro xune
IMP-go home
‘Go home.’
2.1.2.1.1.3.4 Emphasized pronouns with imperative verbs
A pronoun is optionally used when it is being emphasized with an imperative verb.
(343) to bo-ro xune
you IMP-go home
‘YOU, go home!’
2.1.2.1.1.3.5 Pronouns answering ‘who’ questions
When answering a ‘who is it?’ question, the pronoun must be

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used, along with the verb budæn ‘to be’.
(344) ki-e? mæn-æm.
who-is I-am.
‘Who is it?’ ‘It’s me’.
2.1.2.1.1.3.6 Pronouns in cleft and pseudocleft constructions
With cleft and pseudocleft sentences the appropriate pronoun must occur.
(345) mæn bud-æm ke be danešgah ræft-æm
I was-1S that to university went-1S
‘It was I who went to the university.’
(346) kesi ke be tætili ehtiaj--dar-e
someone who to holiday need--have-is
mæn-æm
I-am
‘The one who needs a holiday is me.’
2.1.2.1.1.4 Emphatic/nonemphatic contrast
Free pronouns do not typically occur in unemphatic contexts. See Sections 2.1.2.1.1.3.3 and 2.1.2.1.1.3.4.
2.1.2.1.1.5 Restriction on position of reduced pronouns
Reduced pronouns appear as clitics in Persian and are restricted to suffix position on nouns, verbs and prepositions.
For a fuller account of Persian clitics, see sections 2.1.1.4.6, 2.1.2.1.19 and 2.1.5.3.
2.1.2.1.2 Person and number distinction in pronouns
Pronouns reflect one of three persons and two numbers. The third person singular has separate forms for humans
and nonhumans. una, the plural of un ‘that’ refers to either human or nonhuman third person plurals, anan is a
literary/formal alternative which is only used for humans.

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Table 2.3
Personal Pronouns
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON mæn ‘I/me’ ma ‘we/us’
SECOND PERSON to ‘you’ šoma ‘you’
THIRD PERSON HUMAN u, išun ‘he/she’ ina ‘these people’
una ‘those people’
anan ‘those people’
THIRD PERSON NONHUMAN un ‘it’ una ‘they/them’
The use of to is restricted to family and close friends. The plural form šoma is used when addressing someone less
familiar. šoma is also used to convey the speaker’s respect for the hearer based on the age or status relationship
between them.
For example, grandchildren nearly always use šoma when addressing their grandparents; grandparents, in turn, use
to toward their grandchildren. Between contiguous generations there is some variation on the use of to and šoma.
In some families, children may refer to parents as to while in others šoma is preferred.
Pronoun use between persons of different social status also varies. Typically, persons of different social status, such
as a professor and student or janitor and teacher, will each use šoma when addressing the other. The distinction
between u and išun is similar to that between to and šoma.
2.1.2.1.3 Inclusion versus exclusion distinction
No distinction is made regarding inclusion or exclusion of the speaker in the first-person pronoun.
2.1.2.1.4 Number marking in pronouns
2.1.2.1.4.1 Number marking in pronouns
Persian pronouns have separate lexical forms for singular and plural. See 2.1.2.1.2. No dual, trial or paucal forms
exist.

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2.1.2.1.4.2 Number distinction in pronouns
Plural marking is obligatory to indicate a plural referent in Persian. Sometimes, however, for emphasis the first
person plural is used with a singular referent.
(347) ma æz in adæm-a nist-im
we from this person-PL NEG.BE-1P
‘I’m not that sort of person.’
The second person plural form šoma is used as a polite form with a singular referent. See 2.1.2.1.2.
2.1.3.1.4.3–5 Overlapping of number categories
Persian does not have lexical means to describe overlapping number categories and delimitations.
2.1.2.1.4.6 Pronoun association with numerals
Numerals can be used with pronouns. There is no obvious limit on the association of numbers with pronouns, but
high numbers sound awkward, probably for pragmatic reasons.
(348) ma do-ta
we two-CL
‘we two’
(349) ma dæh-ta
we ten-CL
‘we ten’
(350) šoma se-ta
you three-CL
‘you three’
2.1.2.1.4.7 Collective and distributive numbers
No distributive forms exist. A collective construction can be made with the preposition be ‘to’ and numberals, e.g. do
be do ‘two by two’. See Section 2.1.1.8.4–5.

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2.1.2.1.4.8 Nonsingulars
Persian does not have different types of nonsingular pronouns.
2.1.2.1.5 Degree of obviation
Persian does not have an obviative pronoun.
2.1.2.1.6 Degree of proximity in third-person pronouns
The pronouns per se do not differentiate proximity versus remoteness of the referent. However, the demonstrative
adjectives in the plural forms ina ‘these’ and una ‘those’ are used as demonstrative pronouns in order to differentiate
a proximate third-person plural referent from a remote third-person plural referent. Also see Section 2.1.1.10.1.1 on
demonstratives.
2.1.2.1.7 Anaphoric third-person pronouns
There are no special anaphoric third-person pronouns.
2.1.2.1.7.1 Natural/grammatical gender conflicts
Since Persian has no grammatical gender, no confusion can arise with pronouns based on natural gender.
2.1.2.1.8 Gender/class distinction in pronouns
No masculine/feminine distinction is made in the pronouns. The third person singular u can mean ‘he’ or ‘she’ for
human referents. The third person pronoun un refers to nonhuman objects. No gender distinction is made in the
pronouns with regard to the speaker. No formal distinctions are made in the pronoun system with regard to social
class. However, polite forms of the second and third person singular pronouns are used in certain contexts. See
section 2.1.2.1.2.
2.1.2.1.9 Tribal, sectional, family and other relationships
No special forms exist.

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2.1.2.1.10 Forms of pronouns
See 2.1.2.1.2.
2.1.2.1.11 Pronouns and tense
Tense is not marked on pronouns. Only verbs are inflected for tense. See section 2.1.3.2.1.
2.1.2.1.12 Status distinction in pronouns
Status distinction may be marked through pronouns. See Section 2.1.2.1.2.
2.1.2.1.13 Nonspecific indefinite pronouns
bæzia ‘some people’, formed from bæzi ‘some’ and the plural suffix -a, can be used to indicate a nonspecific
indefinite pronoun.
(351) bæzia hic erade næ-dar-ænd
some people none will NEG-have-3P
‘Some people have no will.’
Other nonspecific indefinite pronouns are kesi ‘no one/anyone’, hiški, (from hic kæs ‘no person’) ‘no one’, hær kes(-i)
‘anyone’, folan ‘anything/something’ and folani ‘someone’. folan is often followed by kæs ‘person’ or ciz ‘thing’. In
other cases, a nonspecific indefinite referent is indicated through obligatory ellipsis of the third person plural
pronoun, shown in example (354). Note that folan and folani can also be used as specific indefinite pronouns. See
2.1.2.1.14.
(352) kesi inja nist
no one here isn’t
‘There’s no one here.’
(353) kesi cizi mi-xa-d?
anyone something DUR-want-3S
‘Does anyone want anything?’
(354) mi-g-ænd færda barun mi-ya-d
DUR-say-3P tomorrow rain DUR-come-3S
They say it’s going to rain tomorrow.’

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2.1.2.1.14 Specific indefinite pronouns
Persian has several specific indefinite pronouns: yeki ‘someone’ and, as mentioned in 2.1.2.1.13, folan
‘anything/something’ and folani ‘someone’.
(355) yeki dæm-e dær-e
someone at-EZ door-is
‘There’s someone at the door.’
2.1.2.1.15 Emphatic pronouns
No special emphatic forms exist. Reflexives can be used for emphasis. See Section 2.1.2.2.7.
2.1.2.1.16 Complex pronouns
No complex forms exist.
2.1.2.1.17 Pronoun-noun reference
Pronoun-noun constructions are possible in the first and second person plural.
(356) ma irani-a
we Iranian-PL
‘we Iranians’
(357) šoma danešju-a
you student-PL
‘you students’
2.1.2.1.18 Pairs of pronouns
Pronoun constructions of the form ‘we and the priest’ which have the meaning ‘I and the priest’ cannot be found in
Persian.
2.1.2.1.19 Secondary pronoun system (clitics)
In addition to the free pronouns listed in 2.1.2.1.2, Persian uses a set of pronominal clitics to indicate: 1)
possessiveness, by replacing the free pronoun in a genetive construction (see Section

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2.1.1.4.6), 2) direct definite objects, by appearing at the end of a verb (see Section 2.1.1.4.3), and 3) oblique
arguments, by attaching to certain prepositions to form personal prepositional forms 2.1.5.3). The pronominal clitic
paradigm given in Table 2.4 is repeated below for convenience. (The phonetically variant forms are explained with
Table 2.1.)
Table 2.4
Pronominal clitics
SINGULAR PLURAL
2.1.2.1.20 Case system of pronouns
Pronouns do not inflect for case. The one instance where a case is morphologically implied on nouns, pronouns and
noun phrases is when the particle -ra is suffixed to a nominal element to indicate reference to a definite direct
objects. See Section 2.1.1.10.1.2 for a discussion of -ra.
2.1.2.2 Reflexive pronouns
2.1.2.2.1–3 Reflexive pronouns
Three reflexive pronouns are used in Persian: xod, xiš and xištæn, all meaning ‘self. The three forms are used in all
persons and numbers.
xod is used generally, while xiš and xištæn are somewhat archaic. The reflexives appear in object position, function
as objects and refer to the subject of the sentence, though the subject may be dropped as in other sentence
constructions. The reflexives are commonly used with the pronominal clitics, though they may occur without the
clitics.

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Table 2.5
Reflexives with clitic suffixes
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON xod-æm xod-emun
SECOND PERSON xod-et xod-etun
THIRD PERSON xod-eš xod-ešun
Below are examples of typical uses of reflexive forms. Example (358) shows a full noun phrase subject and a
pronominal clitic on the reflexive object. In example (359) an optional pronoun subject noun phrase is followed by
the reflexive object, which is used without a pronominal clitic. Example (360) is a sentence with an optional pronoun
subject noun phrase and a pronominal clitic on reflexive pronoun.
(358) mæryæm xod-eš-o amade--kærd
Maryam self-3S.PC-OM prepare--did
‘Maryam got herself ready.’
(359) (u) xod-ra košt
(he/she) self-OM killed
‘He killed himself.’
(360) (to) xod-et-o divune mi-kon-i
(you) self-2S.PC-OM crazy DUR-do-2S
‘You’ll make yourself crazy.’
No special forms of the reflexive are used to specify inclusion, obviation, proximity, gender/class, status or
kinship/tribal affiliation.
2.1.2.2.4–5 Reflexive case
Since reflexive pronouns are inherently definite, they take the definite direct object marker -ra in direct object
position. See example (360) immediately above.

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2.1.2.2.6 Other ways to express reflexivity
No other ways exist to express reflexivity.
2.1.2.2.7 Emphatic uses of the reflexive
The cliticized reflexives are often used for emphasis of the subject rather than as an anaphoric object. In these cases
the reflexive is placed either immediately after the subject or after the object.
(361) pune xod-eš šam-o dorost--kærd
Puneh self-3S.PC dinner-OM fix--did
‘Puneh made the dinner herself.’
(362) pune šam-o xod-eš dorost--kærd
Puneh dinner-OM self-3S.PC fix--did
‘Puneh made the dinner herself.’
(363) xod-et tæmum-eš--kon
self-2S.PC end-3S.PC--do
‘Finish it yourself.’
xod may also be used emphatically in an ezafe construction, in which case it precedes the pronoun or noun.
(364) xod-e pune šam-o dorost--kærd
self-EZ Puneh dinner-OM fix--did
‘Puneh herself made the dinner.’
(365) xod-e mæn ina-ro nevešt-æm
self-EZ I these-OM wrote-1S
‘I myself wrote these.’
2.1.2.3 Reciprocal pronouns
Persian has three reciprocal pronouns: hæm, hæmdige and yekdigær, which are used for all persons. The dige and
digær portions of hæmdige and yekdigær are morphological variants, both meaning ‘else’.
No special forms exist to indicate inclusion, obviation, proximity, gender/class, status or kinship/tribal affiliation. All
three forms function as objects with an anaphoric reference to the subject.

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The reciprocals take the definite direct object marker.
(366) mæn-o to hæmdige-ro dust--dar-im
I-and you each other-OM friend--have-1P
‘You and I like each other.’
(367) šoma do-ta hæmdige-ro mi-šnas-id?
you two-CL each other-OM DUR-know-2P
‘Do you two know each other?’
(368) bæcce-ha hæmdige-ro busid-ænd
child-PL each other-OM kissed-3P
‘The children kissed each other.’
(369) peyman-o šiva æz arezu-ha-ye
Peyman-and Shiva from hope-PL-EZ
hæm agah-ænd
each other aware-are
‘Peyman and Shiva are aware of each other’s hopes.’
(370) be yekdigær hedye dad-ænd
to each other gift gave-3P
‘They gave each other gifts.’
2.1.2.4 Possessive pronouns
2.1.2.4.1–6 Possessive pronouns
Persian does not have independent possessive pronouns. Pronoun possession is shown by either the ezafe
construction with the personal pronoun or through the use of pronominal clitics. For a complete discussion and
examples of both types of possessive constructions, see Section 2.1.1.4.6–7.
No distinction is made in possessive constructions with regards to alienability/inalienability,
permanence/nonpermanence, present/past, case or persons/animals/things.
2.1.2.4.7 Reflexive possessive pronouns
Persian expresses a reflexive possessive with the word xod ‘self suffixed with the pronominal clitics. For convenience,
Table 2.5 from Section 2.1.2.2 is repeated here as Table 2.6.

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Table 2.6
Reflexives with clitic suffixes
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON xod-æm xod-emun
SECOND PERSON xod-et xod-etun
THIRD PERSON xod-eš xod-ešun
(371) bædri lebas-e xod-eš-o pare--kærd
Badri dress-EZ self-3S.PC-OM rip--did
‘Badri ripped her own dress.’
2.1.2.4.8 Reciprocal possessive pronouns
The reciprocal pronouns hæm, hæmdige and yekdigær are used to show reciprocal possessiveness. Also see Section
2.1.2.3.
(372) nahar-e hæmdige-ro xord-ænd
lunch-EZ each other-OM ate-3P
‘They ate each other’s lunch.’
2.1.2.4.9 Emphatic possessive pronouns
Persian does not have emphatic possessive pronouns.
2.1.2.5 Demonstrative pronouns
Persian has two demonstrative pronouns: in ‘this’ and un ‘that’, along with their plural forms ina and una . The
singular forms of the demonstrative pronouns are also used as demonstrative adjectives. It should be noted that ina
and una are also used as third person plural personal pronouns. See Section 2.1.2.1.2 for person and number
distinction in pronouns.
(373) in-o/un-o be-zar ru miz
this-OM/that-OM IMP-put on table
‘Put this/that on the table.’
(374) un-a-ro bi-ar inja

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that-PL-OM IMP-bring here
‘Bring those here.’
2.1.2.5.1 Parameters involved in demonstrative pronouns
2.1.2.5.1.1–3 Relative distance from the speaker and hearer
The demonstrative pronoun in ‘this’ specifies an object near the speaker while un ‘that’ refers to something distant.
2.1.2.5.1.4–20 Relative location to speaker or hearer
No special forms indicate contact with the hearer or speaker, specific lateral or vertical location with the speaker,
between the speaker and hearer, interiority or exteriority.
2.1.2.5.1.21 Visibility/invisibility
There are no special forms indicating whether the pronoun referent is invisible or visible to either speaker or hearer.
2.1.2.5.1.22 Known/unknown
No special forms exist to indicate whether the pronoun referent is known or unknown to speaker, hearer or a third
person.
2.1.2.5.1.23–25 Reference in previous discourse and time dimension
Referents in the present time are specified with the pronoun in ‘this’ while in the past and future they are specified
with un ‘that’.
2.1.2.5.1.26–2.1.2.5.3 Other parameters
There are no other parameters involved.
2.1.2.5.4 Number
As mentioned in Section 2.1.2.5, Persian marks the demonstrative pronouns in and un for plural.

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2.1.2.5.5–7 Other parameters
Demonstrative pronouns are not marked for class, gender, case or other grammatical categories.
2.1.2.5.8 Attributive/adjectival use
When demonstratives are used as adjectives, they precede the noun but only occur in singular form: i.e. they do not
take plural inflection even when the noun is plural.
(375) un mærd
that man
‘that man’
(376) in doxtær-a
this girl-PL
‘these girls’
(377) *in-a doxtær-a
these girl-PL
‘these girls’
2.1.2.6 Interrogative pronouns and other question words
Persian has two interrogatives which are fully pronouns and a number of other question words (also see section
1.1.1.2.2.)
2.1.2.6.1 Interrogative pronouns
The words ki ‘who/whom’ and ci ‘what’ are the only interrogative pronouns in Persian that occur alone in both
subject and object position.
(378) ki dær-o baz--kærd?
who door-OM open-did
‘Who opened the door?’
(379) naser ba ki ræft?
Nasser with who went
‘Who did Nasser go with?’

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(380) ci ru-ye miz-e?
what on-EZ table-is
‘What is on the table?’
(381) doktor ci goft?
doctor what said
‘What did the doctor say?’
(382) ci-ro xord-i?
what-OM ate-2S
‘What did you eat?’
2.1.2.6.2 Other question words
Other question words in Persian include ke ‘when’, koja ‘where’, cera ‘why’, cænd ‘how much (price) / how many’,
and interrogative adjectives: kodum (yek) ‘which (one)’, cænd-ta ‘how many’, ceqædr ‘how much (quantity)’. Also
see Section 1.1.1.2.2.
The interrogatives ke, koja and cera are primarily adverbial. kodum can be either an interrogative pronoun or
interrogative adjective.
(383) una ke mi-res-ænd?
they when DUR-arrive-3P
‘When will they arrive?’
(384) xahær-et koja ræft?
sister-2S.PC where went
‘Where did your sister go?’
(385) cera gerye—mi-kon-i?
why cry--DUR-do-2S
‘Why are you crying?’
(386) kodum yek-i-o did-i?
which one-NOM-OM saw-2S
‘Which one did you see?’
(387) kodum-o did-i?
which-OM saw-2S
‘Which (one) did you see?’

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2.1.2.7 Relative pronouns and other relative words
2.1.2.7.1 Relative pronouns
There is one relative pronoun in Persian, ke ‘which/that/who/whom’, which is used both restrictively and
nonrestrictively.
2.1.2.7.1.1 Types of relative pronouns
2.1.2.7.1.1.1 Restrictive relative pronouns
As a relative pronoun in its restrictive sense, ke always cooccurs with the demonstrative -i : NP modified by relative
clauses are always suffixed with -i . The relative clause immediately follows the noun phrase it modifies (see Section
1.1.2.3.2 for a discussion on the distinction between restrictive and nonrestrictive relative clauses).
(388) mærd-i ke diruz did-æm
man-DEM who yesterday saw-1S
‘the man who I saw yesterday’
(389) kæfš-a-i ke qærz--kærd-æm
shoe-PL-DEM which borrow--did-1S
‘the shoes which I borrowed’
(390) mašin-e qermez-i ke mi-xa-i
car-EZ red-DEM that DUR-want-2S
‘the red car that you want’
2.1.2.7.1.1.2 Nonrestrictive relative pronouns
Used nonrestrictively, the relative pronoun ke occurs without the demonstrative -i .
(391) yek zæn-e pir ke palto pušid-e--bud
a woman-EZ old who coat wore-PSPT--was
‘an old woman who was wearing a coat’
2.1.2.7.1.1–3 Other relative words
In some cases, a relative clause may be introduced by hær

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‘each/every’ combined with kæs ‘person’ or ja ‘place’. In these constructions ke is optional.
(392) hærkes (ke) emrika ræft-e
whoever (that) America went-PSPT
‘whoever had been to America’
In other cases væqt ‘time’ may be used to indicate ‘when’. hær and ke are used optionally in this construction.
(393) (hær) væqt (ke) umæd-i ketab-æm-o
(each) time (that) came-2S book-1S.PC-OM
bi-ar
IMP-bring
‘Whenever you come, bring my book.’
2.1.3 Verb morphology
2.1.3.1 Voice
2.1.3.1.1 Passive
2.1.3.1.1.1 Personal passive
As explained in 2.1.1.2.13, the passive construction is typically used in spoken Persian when one does not know who
the agent is or does not want to mention the agent. Thus, Persian passives are generally agentless. Passive is
formed by combining the past participle of a verb with the appropriately inflected form of the auxiliary verb šodæn
‘to become’.
(394) livan šekæst-e šod
glass broke-PSPT became
‘The glass was broken.’
The agent is sometimes mentioned in literary or formal language or in describing technical procedures with any of
several phrases preceding the agent: be væsile-ye ‘by means of, (be) tævæssote ‘by (the intermediary of)’, æz .
tæræfe ‘on the part of, be dæste ‘by (the hands of)’. For more examples of the passive construction see Section
2.1.1.2.13.

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(395) ivan be dæste pedær-eš košt-e šod
Ivan by father-3P.PC killed-PSPT became
‘Ivan was killed by his father.’
2.1.3.1.1.2–3 Impersonal passive
Impersonal passives do not exist in Persian.
2.1.3.1.1.4 Passive tenses
2.1.3.1.1.4.1 Passive tenses
The passive voice may be used in the same tenses and aspects as the active voice.
2.1.3.1.1.4.2 Dynamic versus static passives
Persian distinguishes between dynamic and static passives. Dynamic passive constructions use the verb daštæn ‘to
have’ as an auxiliary which precedes the past participle of the main verb.
(396) xunæ-mun dar-e saxt-e mi-š-e
house-1P.PC have-3S built-PSPT DUR-become-3S
‘Our house is being built.’
The static passive is indicated with the present tense of the verb ‘to be’, which follows the past participle of the
auxiliary šodæn as the final element of the passive construction.
(397) xunæ-mun saxt-e šod-e-æst
house-1P.PC built-PSPT became-PSPT-is
‘The house is (already) built.’
2.1.3.1.2.1–2 Means of decreasing the valency of verb
The verb’s valency can be decreased in some cases by simply using a verb in an intransitive sense without any
morphological change in the verb outside a possible change in agreement inflection. In these cases the subject of
the transitive sentence is not specified in the intransitive while the object of the transitive becomes the overt
syntactic subject of the intransitive. Compare examples (398) and (399).

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(398) hæsæn ab-o rixt
Hasan water-OM spilled
‘Hasan spilled the water.’
(399) ab rixt
water spilled
‘The water spilled.’
In some cases, when the direct object of the transitive construction has been previously mentioned and is therefore
understood, the direct object can be dropped, thus decreasing valency of the verb by one argument.
(400) šam xord-i? are xord-æm
dinner ate-2S yes ate-1S
‘Did you eat dinner?’ ‘Yes, I did.’
Verb valency can also be decreased in some cases by dropping the indirect object if it is understood. In such cases
the direct object may also be dropped, thus decreasing valency by two arguments.
(401) dæftær-o be æli dad-i? are dad-æm
notebook-OM to Ali gave-2S yes gave-1S
‘Did you give the notebook to Ali?’ ‘Yes, I did.’
In order to passivize and thus decrease the valency of compounds with kærdæn ‘to do’ and others, the kærdæn
element of the compound must be replaced by šodæn ‘to become’.
(402) hæmid dær-o baz--kærd
Hamid door-OM open-did
‘Hamid opened the door.’
(403) dær baz--šod
door open-became
‘The door opened.’
2.1.3.1.2.3 Reciprocal intransitive verbs
A reciprocal subject of an intransitive verb cannot be formed from a verb which takes subject and object.

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2.1.3.1.3 Means of increasing the valency of verb
2.1.3.1.3.1 Verbal causativization
2.1.3.1.3.1.1–3 Forming causatives
Verb valency may be increased through the formation of a causative construction. There are two ways to form
causatives. First, a causative construction is made by adding the suffix -undæn or— unidæn to the present stem of
some transitive and intransitive verbs to form causative infinitives:
Present stem Causative infinitive
res- ‘arrive’ resundæn ‘to cause to arrive’
suzun- ‘burn’ suzundæn ‘to cause to burn’
The second way to make causatives is by using ba’es šodæn ‘to cause’ to introduce a subordinate clause in the
subjunctive, šodæn is inflected to agree with the subject and may appear in any tense.
ba ‘eš šodæn+(ke)+ SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
(404) hæsæn ba’es--šod (ke) ma dir be-res-im
Hasan cause-became (that) we late SBJN-arrive-1P
‘Hasan caused us to arrive late.’
(405) hæsæn to ba’eš—mi-š-i (ke)
Hasan, you cause—DUR-become-2S (that)
ma dir be-res-im
we late SBJN-arrive-1P
‘Hasan, you’re going to make us late.’
The causative construction works the same for transitive and ditransitive verbs.
2.1.3.1.3.2 Agentivity of causee
The causee is typically an agent, but nonagent causees do occur, as in example (406):

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(406) gærma-ye šædid ba’es--šod zud bær--gærd-im
heat-EZ intense cause-became early back--turn--1P
‘The intense heat caused us to return early.’
(Note the verb bær gæštæn is one of a small group of verbs whose subjunctive lacks the subjunctive prefix be-. The
verb kærdæn ‘to do’ optionally uses the be- prefix in the subjunctive.)
In the case of the -undæn causatives, the causee is indicated as the subject of the verb in both intransitive and
transitive sentences, just as in causatives formed with ba’es šodæn. In examples (407) and (408) causatives are
formed with an intransitive base verb. In (409) the causative is formed using a transitive base verb. In (407)-(409)
the causee is agentive while in (410) the causee is nonagentive.
(407) bædri berenj-o suz-und
Bædri rice-OM burn-caused
‘Badri burned the rice.’
(408) næne bæcce-ro xabund
nanny child-OM sleep-caused
‘The nanny put the child to sleep.’
(409) ta tunest be mæn mive xor-und
till was able to me fruit eat-caused
‘She made me eat as much fruit as she could.’
(410) atiš xunæ-ro suz-und
fire house-OM burn-caused
‘The fire burned the house.’
2.1.3.1.3.3 Omission of the causee
When the causee is an agent it cannot be dropped.
2.1.3.1.4 Reflexive and reciprocal forms
There are no special reflexive or reciprocal forms.
2.1.3.2 Tense
Tense and aspect are intricately bound in Persian, with some scholars arguing that aspect is the more salient of the
two in the

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Persian verbal system. Persian tense/aspect forms are derived from either the present stem or the past stem. The
past stem itself is derived directly from the infinitive. The relationship of the present stem to the infinitive/past is not
always transparent. Often the present stem is derived from the infinitive by simply dropping an infinitival ending.
Often, however, the are additional differences between the infinitive form and the present stem, and occasionally
there is no discernible relationship between the infinitive and present stem. See 2.1.3.2.1.3 for a sample list of
present/past stems.
2.1.3.2.1 Tense distinctions
2.1.3.2.1.1 Universal time reference
There is no tense form used exclusively for referring to generic statements, habitual actions and universal truths. To
express these the ordinary present is used. The ordinary present is formed by prefixing the durative mi- to the
present stem, which is then followed by the personal inflections.
(411) xahær-æm hær sal mi-r-e paris
sister-1S.PC every year DUR-go-3S Paris
‘My sister goes to Paris every year.’
(412) mah dowr-e zæmin mi-cærx-e
moon around-EZ earth DUR-turn-3S
‘The moon revolves around the earth.’
Note that in modern Persian a few verbs such as daštæn ‘to have’ do not take the durative prefix mi-. For
expressing universal truths with such verbs, the present stem is used without mi-.
(413) hæme pærænde-gan pær dar-ænd
all bird-PL feather have-3P
‘All birds have feathers.’
2.1.3.2.1.2 Present
2.1.3.2.1.2.1 Subject agreement suffixes
In the simple indicative present, the present stem of the verb (see 2.1.3.2.1.2.2 on the derivation of the present
stem from the

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infinitive) receives both the durative prefix mi- and the personal suffixes indicating subject-verb agreement with
respect to person and number. The prefix mi- is used to show durative in both the present and the past. The
personal suffixes are shown below.
Table 2.7
Personal present verb endings
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON -æm -im
SECOND PERSON -i -id
THIRD PERSON -e/-d -ænd/-d
The most common third person singular inflection is -e, which is added to present stems ending in a consonant. The
third person singular -d form is used for verbs whose present stems end with a vowel, as in mi-ya-d ‘he/she/it
comes’ and mi-xa-d ‘he/she/it wants’.
(414) mæn mi-r-æm dæftær
I DUR-go-1S office
‘I’m going to the office.’
(415) šiva dærs—mi-xun-e
Shiva lesson—DUR-read-3S
‘Shiva is studying.’
One exception to the regular present tense formation is the verb budæn ‘to be’. The present tense of the verb ‘to be’
is expressed in three ways: through the clitic form, the hæst form and the present stem baš.
The clitic form
The most common way to express the verb ‘to be’ in the present is through the use of a set of unstressed clitics,
presented in Table 2.8. The choice of third person singular clitics is based on both phonological considerations and
level of formality, with -æst being the most formal.

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Table 2.8
Paradigm of the present tense clitics of ‘to be’
SINGULAR PLURAL
THIRD PERSON -æst/-s(t)/-e -ænd
These clitics are suffixed directly to noun phrases and adjective phrases. Clitic forms can only be used in a copulative
sense and cannot be used existentially (see the hæst form below for the existential ‘to be’).
(416) qermez-e
red-is
‘It is red.’
(417) danešju-im
student-we are
‘We are students.’
(418) inja-st
here-is
‘He’s here.’
The hæst form
Another way to express the copula in the present tense is by using the nonenclitic lexical item hæst . hæst
appropriately inflects to agree with the subject in person and number.
Note that the paradigm for hæst is irregular in that, unlike most present tense verbs which are inflected with -e in
the third person singular, hæst takes no third person singular inflection.
Table 2.9 below presents the paradigm for the present copula hæst.

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Table 2.9
Paradigm of the present tense of ‘to be’
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON hæst-æm hæst-im
SECOND PERSON hæst-i hæst-id
THIRD PERSON hæšt hæst-ænd
(419) qermez hæšt
red is
‘It’s red.’
(420) danešju hæst-im
student we are
‘We are students.’
Unlike the clitics, hæst can be used existentially.
(421) cænd-ta doxtær tu-ye hæyat hæst-ænd
some girl in-EZ courtyard be-3P
‘There are some girls in the courtyard.’
hæst- may be interpreted as having either an empty subject or not.
(422) mæn hæst-æm
I am
‘It’s me.’ / ‘I am (here).’
If the stress is on hæst-, the meaning changes to ‘I am/will be here’. See Section 3.3.4.3–4 on constrastive stress.
The baš form
While the present tense form derived from the present root baš is constructed regularly, it is seldom used in the
simple present, being restricted primarily to literary contexts.

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(423) mi-baš-æm
DUR-be-1S
‘I am.’
However, baš is also commonly used in subjunctive and imperative constructions.
(424) momken-e baš-æm
possible-is be-1S
‘I might be here.’
(425) šayæd ræft-e baš-ænd
maybe gone-PSPT be-3P
‘They might have gone.’
(426) movazeb baš
careful be
‘Be careful!’
In the negative, the present tense of ‘to be’ takes two forms. The regular form derived from baš, like its positive
counterpart, is restricted to use in literary contexts. The form used exclusively in both spoken and written modern
Persian, nist+personal endings, is shown in Table 2.10.
Table 2.10
Paradigm of nist
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON nist-æm nist-im
SECOND PERSON nist-i nist-id
THIRD PERSON nist nist-ænd
(427) emrikai nist-æm
American NEG.be-1S
‘I’m not American.’
2.1.3.2.1.2.2 Present stem
We describe the present stem in terms of being derived from

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the infinitive. There is no consistent transparent morphological relationship between the infinitive and the present
stem in Persian verbs, although a few patterns predominate. Persian scholars have grouped verbs into patterns of
present/infinitive alternations into classes and subclasses, noting that there still remain within most of the classes,
depending on how one defines the classes, irregularities. (The alternation is often described between the present
stem and the past stem, but as mentioned in Section 2.1.3.2.1.3 the past stem is formed regularly by dropping the -
an from the infinitive.)
We base the following classification on Moinfar 1978. We name the verb class in the subsection head and mention
the number of verbs Moinfar cites belonging to that class in his list. The rule for deriving the present stem is stated,
and the infinitive, present stem and first person singular forms are given. Note also that we omit some of the verbs
from Moinfar’s list which are uncommon.
CLASS I. The -idæn class (202 verbs)
In what is by far the most common class, and the one to which verbs from other classes spread by analogy as well
as the one that is used for classifying borrowings from other languages, the idæn of the infinitive is dropped to get
the present stem. Note that busidæn ‘to kiss’ is from French and fæhmidæn ‘to think’ is from Arabic.
Infinitive English Present Stem First person singular
xanidæn ‘to laugh’ xand mi-xand-æm
picidæn ‘to turn’ pic mi-pic-æm
malidæn ‘to rub’ malid mi-malid-æm
xaridæn ‘to scratch’ xar mi-xar-æm
xæridæn ‘to buy’ xær mi-xær-æm
boridæn ‘to cut’ bor mi-bor-æm
busidæn ‘to kiss’ bus mi-bus-æm
fæhmidæn ‘to think’ fæhm mi-fæhm-æm
CLASS II. The -adæn class (4 verbs)
This class is similar to the -idæn class but the vowel of the infinitive is /a/ instead of /i/. The -adæn class contains
only a handful of verbs.

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oftadæn ‘to fall’ oft mi-oft-æm
ferestadæn ‘to send’ ferest mi-ferest-æm
istadæn ‘to stand’ ist mi-ist-æm
CLASS III. The -dæn class (96 verbs)
The verbs in this large class drop the -dæn of the infinitive to get the present stem. More than half follow this rule
alone. The rest not only drop -dæn but also alter the vowel of the stem.
æfkændæn ‘to throw’ æfkæn mi-æfkæn-æm
pærakændæn ‘to strew’ pærakæn mi-pærakæn-æm
mundæn ‘to stay’ mun mi-mun-æm
ræhandæn ‘to free’ ræhan mi-ræhan-æm
xundæn ‘to read’ xun mi-xun-æm
Within the -dæn class, many verbs change or drop the vowel of the infinitive as well.
šodan ‘to become’ š mi-š-æm
dadæn ‘to give’ d mi-d-æm
bordæn ‘to carry’ bær mi-bær-æm
mordæn ‘to die’ mir mi-mir-æm
šenudæn ‘to hear’ šeno mi-šeno-æm
( šenudæn has a šenidæn variation of Class I verbs as well as a Class VII very informal, colloquial variant,
šenoftæn .)
Some -dæn verbs change the /d/ of the infinitive to /n/:
cidæn ‘to pick’ cin mi-cin-æm
afæridæn ‘to create’ afærin mi-afærin-æm
Moinfar puts two common verbs didæn ‘to see’ and

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amædæn‘to come’ in the -dæn class, although, as a result of unpredictable sound alternations, their present forms
are very different from the infinitives.
didæn ‘to see’ bin mi-bin-æm
amædæn ‘to come’ a mi-ya-m
CLASS IV. The -tæn class (59 verbs)
While fairly large, this class contains many irregularities in forming the present stem from the infinitive. The rule
which applies to all these verbs is to drop the -tæn of the infinitive. But few Class IV verbs do only that. Often a
stem vowel and/or consonant changes as well.
baftæn ‘to knit’ baf mi-baf-æm
šekaftæn ‘to split’ šekaf mi-šekaf-æm
Some -tæn verbs change the /f/ of the infinitive to a /b/, and some of these also change the vowel:
šetaftæn ‘to hurry’ šetab mi-šetab-æm
yaftæn ‘to find’ yab mi-yab-æm
roftæn ‘to sweep’ rub mi-rub-æm
A small group changes the /š/ of the infinitive to /r/:
daštæn ‘to have’ dar mi-dar-æm
negaštæn ‘to write’ negar mi-negar-æm
engaštæn ‘to suppose’ engar mi-engar-æm
kaštæn ‘to plant’ kar mi-kar-æm
Another subclass of -tæn verbs changes the /x/ of the infinitive to /z/:

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baxtæn ‘to be defeated’ baz mi-baz-æm
ændaxtæn ‘to throw’ ændaz mi-ændaz-æm
saxtæn ‘to build’ saz mi-saz-æm
pærdaxtæn ‘to pay’ pærdaz mi-pærdaz-æm
Other -tæn verbs undergo a number of changes and/or deletions of vowels and/or consonants.
jaštæn ‘to jump’ jah mi-j-æm
xastæn ‘to want’ xa mi-xa-m
xastæn ‘to get up’ xiz mi-xiz-æm
nešæstæn ‘to sit’ nešin mi-nešin-æm
bæstæn ‘to close’ bænd mi-band-æm
peyvæstæn ‘to unite’ peyvænd mi-peyvand-æm
CLASS V. The -stæn class (7 verbs)
Verbs in this small class drop -stæn from the infinitive to get the present stem. In addition, some of the verbs in this
class undergo other changes between infinitive and present stem.
šostæn ‘to wash’ šur mi-šur-æm
jostæn ‘to seek’ ju mi-ju-yæm
goristæn ‘to cry’ geri mi-geri-yæm
negæristæn ‘to look’ negar mi-negar-æm
CLASS VI. The -estæn class (7 verbs)
Verbs in this class are regular, forming the present stem by dropping the -estæn of the infinitive.
tunestan ‘to be able’ tun mi-tun-æm
danestæn ‘to know’ dun mi-dun-æm

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CLASS VII. The -ftæn class (6 verbs)
In this class the -ftæn of the infinitive is dropped, while other vowel alternations occur.
goftæn ‘to say’ g mi-g-æm
ræftæn ‘to go’ r mi-r-æm
gereftæn ‘to receive’ gir mi-gir-æm
pæziroftæn ‘to accept’. pæzir mi-pæzir-æm
šenoftæn ‘to hear’ šeno mi-šeno-æm
(This verb also has Class I and Class III variants.)
2.1.3.2.1.3 Past
The simple indicative past tense, used to refer to a past completed action, is indicated by suffixing appropriate
inflections for person and number to the past stem. The past stem is derived regularly from the infinitive (citation)
form by dropping the -æn:
English Infinitive Past stem
‘to go’ ræftæn ræft-
‘to say’ goftæn goft
‘to sleep’ xabidæn xabid
‘to do’ kærdæn kærd-
Table 2.11
Simple past personal verb endings
SINGULAR PLURAL
THIRD PERSON Ø -ænd
Therefore, the inflectional paradigm for the past tense of kærdæn ‘to do’ is:

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Table 2.12
Simple past paradigm of the verb kærdæn ‘to do’
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON kærd-æm kærd-im
SECOND PERSON kærd-i kærd-id
THIRD PERSON kærd kærd-ænd
As for the verb ‘to be’, in the past the regular past-tense personal endings are suffixed to the past stem bud-.
Table 2.13
Simple past paradigm of the budæn ‘to be’
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON bud-æm bud-im
SECOND PERSON bud-i bud-id
THIRD PERSON bud bud-ænd
2.1.3.2.1.3.1–2 Degree of remoteness in the past
The pluperfect or past perfect is a tense in that it refers to a time preceding another referenced past event. It is also
aspectual in that it implies completion of that earlier action.
The past perfect is formed by combining the past participle of the main action verb with a form of budæn ‘to be’.
(428) ræft-e bud-im
gone-PSPT was-1P
‘we had gone’
(429) xord-e bud
ate-PSPT was
‘she had eaten’

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2.1.3.2.1.4 Future
Although Persian has a future tense construction it is rarely used in conversation, being restricted primarily to formal
announcements and lecture formats. The future construction consists of xah (the present stem of the verb
want)+present tense verbal inflection to agree with the subject+the third person past stem of the action being
referred to:
(430) xah-æm ræft
want-1S went
‘I will go.’
In spoken Persian, future time is generally indicated with the present tense. If necessary, an adverbial is added for
clarity.
(431) barun mi-ya-d
rain DUR-come-3S
‘It’s raining.’
(432) færda barun mi-ya-d
tomorrow rain DUR-come-3S
‘It’s going to rain tomorrow.’
2.1.3.2.2–3 Absolute and relative tense distinctions
The same tense distinctions obtain in all moods and nonfinite forms. Tenses are generally absolute, but there are
several cases where tense of the verb does not correspond to the time of the action.
In some conditionals, the past is used for an unknown present condition as well as the result contingent upon that
condition.
(433) æge esm-eš-o mi-dunest-æm be-het
if name-3S.PC-OM DUR-knew-1S to-2S.PC
mi-goft-æm
DUR-said-1S
‘If I knew her name, I would tell you.’
Also, when the condition refers to a single present action and precedes the result, the condition is expressed in the
simple indicative past.

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(434) æge dir ræft-ænd be mamam telefon--be-zæn
if late went-3P to mom telephone--IMP-strike
‘If they leave late, call Mom.’
The tense of the subordinate clauses in the subjunctive is not absolute. Rather, the time of the verb corresponds to
the time indicated by the absolute tense in the main verb. In both examples (435) and ()b, the present subjunctive
beræm ‘that I go’ is used. The time of the beræm in example ()a is the present since the main verb mixam ‘I want’
is in the present. However, the time of beræm is example (436) is past, since the main verb is in the past.
(435) mi-xa-m be-r-æm
DUR-want-1S SBJN-go-1S
‘I want to go.’
(436) mi-xast-æm be-r-æm
DUR-wanted-1S SBJN-go-1S
‘I wanted to go.’
2.1.3.3 Aspect
2.1.3.3.1 Perfect aspect
2.1.3.3.1.1–2 Forms and tenses of the perfect aspect
The present perfect is formed with the past participle of the main verb followed by the clitic form of the verb ‘to be’
(see Table in Section 2.1.3.2.1.2).
(437) inja šiš sal zendegi--kærd-e-im
here six year life--did-PSPT-1P
‘We’ve lived here for six years.’
Note that in everyday speech the past participle suffix -e is dropped.
The past perfect is formed with the past participle of the main verb followed by a form of budæn ‘to be (past tense)’.
(438) ma hærgez unja næ-ræft-e bud-im
we never there NEG-went-PSPT were-1P
‘We had never gone there.’

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2.1.3.3.1.3 Situations indicated by the perfect aspect
2.1.3.3.1.3.1 Present result of past situation
The present perfect form is used. See Section 2.1.3.3.1.1–2.
2.1.3.3.1.3.2 Past situation leading up to the present
Either the present perfect form is used (see Section 2.1.3.3.1.1–2) or the simple present is used.
2.1.3.3.1.3.3 Past situation continuing in the present.
The present perfect form is used. See Section 2.1.3.3.1.1–2.
2.1.3.3.1.4 Similarity between expression of perfect aspect and recent past tense
Both perfect aspect and recent past tense, which is expressed by the simple past form, are similar in that the main
action is conveyed by the past stem of the verb.
2.1.3.3.2 Aspect and duration
2.1.3.3.2.1 Nature of marking
2.1.3.3.2.1.1 Perfective aspect
No special form is used to indicate a perfective situation, i.e. where the situation is viewed in its totality. To show
completion of the action the simple past or past perfect is used.
2.1.3.3.2.1.2 Imperfective aspect
Imperfective aspect is shown by verbs using the durative mi-prefix with the past stem and the personal suffixes.
(439) færanse zendegi--mi-kærd-æm
France life--DUR-did-1S
‘I used to live in France.’

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2.1.3.3.2.1.3 Habitual aspect
Habitual action is also shown via the durative prefix mi-. The past stem is used, as in 2.1.3.3.2.1.2, to indicate
habitual action in the past. In the present, habitual aspect is not morphologically differentiated from the simple
present mi-+present stem form. In both the past and present cases, time adverbials s are used to indicate the
habitual nature of the action.
(440) hær ruz berenj mi-xord-im
every day rice DUR-ate-1P
‘We used to eat rice every day.’
(441) hæmiše inja mi-šin-æm
always here DUR-sit-1S
‘I always sit here.’
2.1.3.3.2.1.4–5 Continuous/progressive aspect
Progressive aspect in both present and past is expressed with the auxiliary verb daštæn ‘to have’ preceding the main
action verb. Both the auxiliary daštæn and the main verb take the same personal suffixes.
(442) dar-æm bazi--mi-kon-æm
have-1S play--DUR-do-1S
‘I am playing.’
(443) dašt-im hærf--mi-zæd-im
had-1P word--DUR-hit-1P
‘We were talking.’
2.1.3.3.2.1.6 Ingressive aspect
The ingressive is expressed in at least two ways. In both past and present a progressive construction is used with
sum kærdæn ‘to begin’ followed by the subjunctive form of the main verb.
(444) dar-im šuru--mi-kon-im dærs--be-xun-im
have-1P start--DUR-do-1P lesson--SBJN-read-1P
‘We’re starting to study.’

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(445) dašt-im šuru--mi-kærd-im šam boxor-im
had-3S start--DUR-did-1P dinner SBJN-eat-1P
‘We were starting to eat dinner.’
Another ingressive form is to substitute the subjunctive with the construction be ‘to’+infinitive of the main verb.
(446) dar-im šuru--mi-kon-im be dærs--xundæn
have-1P start--DUR-do-1P to to study
(447) dašt-im šuru--mi-kærd-im be šam xordæn
had-1P start--DUR-did-1P to dinner to eat
‘We were starting to eat dinner.’
2.1.3.3.2.1.7 Terminative aspect
The past tense, present perfect and past perfect may all be used to express the terminative aspect. The past perfect
indicates a completed action that precedes another past situation.
(448) name-ro nevešt-æm
letter-OM wrote-1S
‘I wrote the letter.’
(449) name-ro nevešt-e-æm
letter-OM wrote-PSPT-1S
‘I have written the letter.’
(450) name-ro nevešt-e bud-æm
letter-OM wrote-PSPT was-1S
‘I had written the letter.’
2.1.3.3.2.1.8 Iterative aspect
In the present, the simple present is used to express the repetition of a situation. In the past, iterativity is expressed
with the imperfective aspect.
(451) hær ruz mi-r-æm danešgah
every day DUR-go-1S university
‘I go to the university every day.’

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(452) hær ruz mi-ræft-æm danešgah
every day DUR-went-1S university
‘I used to go to the university every day.’
2.1.3.3.2.1.9 Semelfactive
No special form exists. Semelfactivity is expressed either with the simple past tense or the past perfect. In either
case the adverbial phrase ye(k) bar ‘one time’ must be used to clarify.
(453) ye bar mar xord
one time snake ate
‘She ate snake once.’
(454) ye bar unja ræft-e bud-im
onetime there went-PSPT was-1P
‘We had gone there once.
2.1.3.3.2.1.10 Punctual aspect
There is no special form. Punctuality is generally expressed with simple past forms. Some verbs are inherently
punctual
(455) steve diruz mord
Steve yesterday died
‘Steve died yesterday.’
2.1.3.3.2.1.11 Durative aspect
The durative aspect is expressed with the prefix mi-, which may be used with either the present stem (see Section
2.1.3.2.1.2) or the past stem (see section 2.1.3.3.2.1.2). The durative aspect in the past tense indicates ongoing
action in a past time.
2.1.3.3.2.1.12–14 Simultaneous and telic aspect
There is no special form to indicate simultaneous aspect or telic aspect.
2.1.3.3.2.2 Combinatory restrictions on the aspectual system
Tenses, aspects, moods and voices may combine in most

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possible ways. For example, active and passive voice verbs may occur in present, past, present perfect and past
perfect tense/aspects.
Restrictions include the following. Imperative exists only in the present. Subjunctives cannot take a progressive
auxiliary (see Section 2.1.3.3.2.1.4–5 on the continuous/progressive aspect). Some verbs of cognition and
perception, such as dunestæn ‘to know’, bavær kærdæn ‘to believe’, bu kærdæn ‘to smell’ and mæzze kærdæn ‘to
taste’, are not used is progressive aspect.
2.1.3.4 Mood
2.1.3.4.1 Indicative mood
Indicative mood is unmarked, although the durative prefix mi- implies the indicative mood since its use precludes the
subjunctive or imperative prefix be- (see Section 2.1.3.4.4 on the forms of the subjunctive and Section 2.1.3.4.3 on
the imperative). Indicative mood is the most commonly used mood, with the primary exceptions explained in Section
2.1.3.4.2.
2.1.3.4.2 Conditional forms
Conditional clauses are commonly introduced by æge ‘if. Depending on the truth or falsity of the proposition in the
clause or the degree of possibility that the conditional will be fulfilled and on the tense of the clauses, the conditional
clause uses either the subjunctive or indicative mood for the verb. The conditional clause usually precedes the result
clause.
a) Conditionals using the subjunctive
The conditional clause usually calls for the subjunctive when:
i) the possible condition and the result are in the future time. Both clauses use present tense.
(456) æge be-mun-i xune mæn-æm mi-mun-æm
if SBJN-stay-2S home I-also DUR-stay-1S
‘If you stay home I’ll stay home too.’
ii) the possible condition refers to a present-time event or state when the verb budæn ‘to be’ (present stem, baš) is
used (see (b, ii) below

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for verbs other than ‘to be’). Note that ‘to be’ is irregular in modern Persian in that its present subjunctive does not
take the prefix be-.
(457) æge xæste baš-e ne-mi-mun-im
if tired be.SBJN-3S NEG-DUR-stay-1P
‘If she is tired we won’t stay.’
iii) the possible condition is in the past time described in the perfect tense and the result is in the present or future
time. The conditional appears in the perfect subjunctive. (If the condition is described in the simple past, it is usually
in the indicative. See (b, ii) below.)
(458) æge næ-resid-e baš-e
if NEG-arrived-PSPT be-3S
telefon--mi-zæn-æm
telephone--DUR-strike-1S
‘If she hasn’t arrived, I’ll call.’
iv) there is no element of doubt in the conditional situation. In such a case either the subjunctive or the indicative
can be used (see (b,v) below on the indicative conditionals).
(459) æge be-xa-i be pærvaz-et be-res-i
if SBJN-want-2S to flight-2S.PC SBJN-arrive-2S
zud baš
fast be.IMP
‘If you want to make your flight, hurry.’
Other conditionals that use the subjunctive include those introduced by the phrases bedun-e inke ‘without’, piš æz
inke ‘before’, mæge inke ‘unless’. These are less common than æge .
(460) piš æz inke be-r-æm xune mi-r-æm sælmuni
before SBJN-go-1S home DUR-go-1S barber
‘Before I go home I’m going to the barber.’
b) Conditionals using the indicative
The conditional clause usually calls for the indicative when:
i) the reference is to an impossible condition in the present or past. Both the conditional and result clauses are in the
continuous past.

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(461) æge mi-dunest-æm cera be-het mi-goft-æm
if DUR-knew-1S why to-2S.PC DUR-said-1S
‘If I knew why, I would tell you.’
(462) æge mi-tunest-æm šoql-e paris-o
if DUR-was able-1S job-EZ Paris-OM
qæbul--mi-kærd-æm
accept--DUR-did-1S
‘If I could have, I would have taken the job in Paris.’
ii) the condition refers to a single action and precedes the result. In this case the simple indicative past may be
used.
(463) æge zud ræft-ænd be mæn telefon--be-zæn
if early went-3P to me telephone--IMP-strike
‘If they leave early, call me.’
iii) the condition in the past is expressed in the simple past tense.
(464) æge pul-o gom--kærd-i be-het
if money-OM lose--did-1S to-2S.PC
qærz--mi-d-æm
loan--DUR-give-1S
‘If you lost the money I’ll lend you some.’
iv) the possible condition refers to a present event or state for any verb except budæn (see (a, ii) above for
budæn). In such cases the present tense is used in the conditional.
(465) æge qæza mi-xor-ænd æziyæt-ešun--næ-kon
if food DUR-eat-3P bother-3P.PC--NEG-do
‘If they’re eating don’t bother them.’
v) there is no element of doubt in the conditional situation. In such a case the present tense can be used instead of
the subjunctive. Compare examples (465) and (466).
(466) æge mi-xa-i be pærvaz-et be-res-i
if DUR-want-2S to flight-2S.PC SBJN-arrive-2S
zud baš
fast be.IMP
‘If you want to make your flight, hurry.’

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2.1.3.4.3 Imperative
The imperative mood is formed by adding be-/bo- to the present stem of a verb. No personal suffix is used in the
singular. Note that bo- is used before syllables containing an [o]. (See Section 3.2.6.4.2 on inflections undergoing
vowel harmony.) The be- prefix is often omitted with kærdæn verbs, as shown in example (469).
(467) bo-xor
IMP-eat
‘Eat!’
(468) be-xab-id
IMP-sleep-2P
‘Sleep!’
(469) tond-tær kar--kon
fast-COMPR work--do
‘Work faster!’
The verb ‘to be’ also (obligatorily) lacks the be- prefix in the imperative.
(470) sa’æt-e pænj unja baš
hour-EZ five there be.IMP
‘Be there at 5.’
2.1.3.4.4 Subjunctive
Persian has both a present subjunctive and a past subjunctive. The present subjunctive construction is formed with
the prefix be-/bo-added to the present stem, which also receives the personal endings. In compound verbs, such as
those using kærdæn, the be- prefix is often omitted. The verb ‘to be’ also lacks the subjunctive prefix be-.
The subjunctive construction is used for a variety of functions in the subordinate clause such as conditional (see
2.1.3.4.2), optative, intentional, debitive, potential, hortative (for these five see the following sections).
Table 2.14 contains the present paradigm of the verb ræftæn ‘to go’ as an example of the present subjunctive forms
of a verb.

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Table 2.14
Present subjunctive forms of the verb ræf tæn to go’
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON be-r-æm be-r-im
SECOND PERSON be-r-i be-r-id
THIRD PERSON be-r-e be-r-ænd
In the past, the subjunctive construction consists of the past participle of the main verb and the present stem of ‘to
be’, baš, with person/number agreement inflections added to baš.
The past subjunctive is used to refer to an action about which there is doubt or to an action thought to have been
completed.
In example (471) the action in the subordinate clause is suspected but not assumed by the speaker to have taken
place.
(471) fekr—mi-kon-æm ræft-e baš-ænd
thought—DUR-do-1S went-PSPT be-3P
‘I think they may have gone.’
It should be noted that the present subjunctive form has a past meaning if the main clause is in the past. See
Section 2.1.3.4.5.2 for an example.
2.1.3.4.5 Optative/Intentionality
2.1.3.4.5.1 Optative
One of the important functions of the subjunctive form of the verb is the optative. By using the optative the speaker
expresses a wish for something to come about. The subordinate clause takes a subjunctive verb.
(472) omidvar-æm tabessun be-r-æm iran
hopeful-am summer SBJN-go-1S iran
‘I hope to go to Iran this summer.’
2.1.3.2.5.2 Intentionality
Intentionality is also expressed with the subjunctive form.

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Verbs commonly used in the main clause to show intention are xastæn ‘to want’, qæsd daštæn ‘to have intention’
and xial daštæn ‘to have the thought of’.
(473) mi-xa-m æræbi yad--be-gir-æm
DUR-want-1S Arabic memory--SBJN-get-1S
‘I want to learn Arabic.’
(474) qæsd--dar-e færda be-r-e
intention--have-3S tomorrow SBJN-go-3S
‘He intends to leave tomorrow.’
When the main clause is in the past, the present subjunctive form in the subordinate clause has a past meaning.
(475) qæsd--dašt ruz-e bæ’d be-r-e
intention--had day-EZ next SBJN-go-3S
‘He intended to leave the next day.’
2.1.3.4.6 Debitive
Obligation to do something is conveyed by means of modals such as bayæd ‘must’, mæjbur budæn ‘to be forced to’
and lazem budæn ‘to be necessary’. These introduce a clause in the subjunctive.
(476) bayæd dærs--be-xun-æm
must lesson--SB JN-read-1S
‘I have to study.’
There is no distinction made between moral and physical obligation. (Note in example (477) that the be- prefix is
optional with the verb kærdæn ‘to do’. See Section 2.1.3.4.4.)
(477) mæjbur-æm komæk-eš-kon-æm
forced-I am help-3S.PC--do-1S
‘I have to help him.’
(478) mæjbur-im benzin be-xær-im
forced-we are gasoline SBJN-buy-1P
‘We have to buy gas.’
A stronger sense of obligation can be conveyed with the

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zæruri budæn ‘to be imperative’, væzife ‘duty’, mædyun budæn ‘to be under obligation / to owe a favor in return’.
(479) zæruri-st benzin be-xær-im
forced-is gasoline SBJN-buy-1P
‘It is imperative that we buy gas.’
2.1.3.4.7 Potential
Potential is indicated with several verbs. The verb tunestæn ‘to be able to’ is quite general, referring to either
learned or inherent ability. The verb bælæd budæn ‘to know how’ also can be used generally but seems to suggest
an ability that is more learned than inherent. Both these verbs appear in the indicative in the main clause, with the
subordinate clause in the subjunctive.
(480) mæryæm mi-tun-e Sanskrit be-xun-e
Maryam DUR-be able-3S Sanskrit SBJN-read-3S
‘Maryam can read Sanskrit.’
Colloquial Persian makes no distinction between physical ability and permission. The verb tunestæn is used in both
cases. In more polite contexts, such as a student wanting to leave a professor’s office or someone wishing to leave
the dinner table or children wanting permission to do something, the compound verb ejaze dadæn ‘to give
permission’ or ejaze daštæn ‘to have permission’ is used, followed by a verb in the subjunctive.
Persian makes no distinction between inherent and learned abilities.
(481) ejaze--dar-æm be-r-æm xune?
permission--have-1s SBJN-go-1S home
‘May I go home?’
2.1.3.4.8 Degree of certainty
Degree of certainly is conveyed through the use of modal phrases such as momken-e and emkan dar-e both
meaning ‘might’ and šayæd ‘maybe’, all taking the subjunctive in the subordinate clause. Other modals indicating
degree of certainty take the indicative, such as guya ‘very likely’, bišæk ‘undoubtedly’, hætmæn ‘certainly/definitely’
and qæt’ æn ‘definitely/decisively’.

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(482) emšæb šayæd be-mun-æm xune
tonight maybe SBJN-stay-1S home
‘Maybe I’ll stay home tonight.’
(483) emšæb hætmæn mi-mun-æm xune
tonight certainly DUR-stay-1S home
‘I’ll definitely stay home tonight.’
2.1.3.4.9 Authority for assertion
The speaker can claim authority for an assertion by using the word guya ‘very likely’, which suggests the speaker
has witnessed a situation or heard information through a reliable source.
(484) guya zæn-eš irani-e
very likely wife-3S.PC Iranian-is
‘It seems that his wife is Iranian.’
2.1.3.4.10 Hortatory
The imperative form is used to express a hortatory meaning,
(485) be-r-im
IMP-go-1P
‘Let’s go.’
2.1.3.4.11 Monitory
The imperative is used to issue a warning.
(486) movazeb baš
careful be
‘Be careful!’
2.1.3.4.12–13 Narrative and consecutive moods
There is no consecutive or narrative form.
2.1.3.4.14 Contingent mood
Besides conditional clauses (see Section 2.1.3.4.2) there are several modal phrases that can be used to indicate
contingency such

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as momken-e (ke) and emkan dar-e (ke), both meaning ‘it is possible that’ and both introducing a clause in the
subjunctive.
(487) momken-e (ke) færda barun bi-ya-d
possible-is (that) tomorrow rain SBJN-come-3S
‘It could rain tomorrow.’
2.1.3.4.15 Promissory
The main promise clause is marked for the appropriate tense and the subordinate clause, optionally introduced with
ke ‘that’, is in the subjunctive.
(488) qol mi-d-æm (ke) zud bi-ya-m
promise DUR-give-1S (that) fast SBJN-come-1S
‘I promise I’ll come quickly.’
2.1.3.5 Finite and nonfinite forms
Finite and nonfinite forms are clearly distinguished. Finite verbs inflect for both tense and agreement with the
subject while also taking negative, subjunctive and durative prefixes. Nonfinite forms take none of these. Of the
verbal forms that are clearly nonfinite, the infinitive is rarely used in Persian. The use of the infinitive in the
subordinate clause is called for in a small class of ingressive verbs including sum kærdæn ‘to begin’, mæšqul šodæn
‘to become busy with’, pærdaxtæn ‘to set to work to’ and bæna kærdæn ‘to begin’. These verbs require the
preposition be ‘to’ followed by the infinitive:
VERB+be+INFINITIVE
(489) dar-im šuru--mi-kon-im be xordæn
have-3S start--DUR-do-1P to eat
‘We’re starting to eat.’
Past participles are also nonfinite, interpreted for time by the tense of the accompanying auxiliary verb. It is also the
auxiliary which agrees with the subject while the auxiliary retains a constant form, outside phonological variation. For
examples of the use the past participle see Sections 2.1.3.1.1.1 and 2.1.3.2.1.3.1.
The present participle is another nonfinite verbal form. The present participle is formed from the present root+-an.
This is a

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productive means of making adverbials.
(490) bæcce-ha gerye--konan doid-ænd xune
child-PL cry--do.PRPT ran-3P home
‘The children ran home crying.’
2.1.3.6 Agreement (numbers, persons, etc.)
2.1.3.6.1 Items coded in the verb and verb agreement
2.1.3.6.1.1 Subject
Subject must be coded on the verb via the personal endings, which agree with the subject in person and number
(see tables in Section 2.1.3.2.1.2). The subject must be coded on the verb even if the subject NP is pro-dropped. An
important exception to subjectverb agreement is with inanimate plural subjects, which can take a singular verb. See
Section 2.1.1.2.1–2.
(491) azær ba mæn mi-r-e
Azar with me DUR-go-3S
‘Azar will go with me.’
(492) (una) inja mi-mun-ænd
(they) here DUR-stay-3P
‘They will stay here.’
2.1.3.6.1.2 Direct object
Objects may be coded on the verb in the form of the pronominal clitics. The pronominal clitic follows the personal
endings. In the case of compound nouns the pronominal clitic may attach to either part of the compound (see
Sections 2.1.1.4.6–7, 2.1.2.1.19).
(493) did-æm-eš
saw-1S-3S.PC
‘I saw her.’
(494) peyda-kærd-æm-eš
find--did-1S-3S.PC
‘I found her.’

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(495) peyda--š-kærd-æm
find-3S.PC--did-1S
‘I found her.’
Note that the object clitic does not necessarily replace the object noun: both may appear in the sentence. (Also see
Section 2.1.3.6.3.3 on the relationship between the cliticized object and definiteness.) Some verbs, such as goftæn
‘to say’, do not allow a cliticized object in modern spoken Persian.
(496) belæxære un mašin-o xærid-ænd-eš
finally that car-OM bought-3P-3S-PC
They finally bought that car.’
2.1.3.6.1.3–5 Indirect objects, benefactives and other cases
Indirect objects, benefactives and other case relations are not coded on the verb.
2.1.3.6.2 Agreement marking
See Section 2.1.3.6.1 for agreement marking.
2.1.3.6.3 Conditioning factors
2.1.3.6.3.1 Word order
Word order does not affect what is coded on the verb.
2.1.3.6.3.2 Topic/comment structure
Topic/comment structure does not affect what is coded on the verb.
2.1.3.6.3.3 Definiteness of noun phrase
Definiteness of the noun phrase does not affect subject agreement coding on the verb, but definiteness of the direct
object noun phrase does affect coding of the object on the verb. The pronominal object clitic can be coded on the
verb only if the object of the verb is definite and known to both speaker and hearer. In example (498) the clitic -eš
implies that ‘it’ is identifiable by the hearer even

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though the subject noun phrase is not mentioned.
(497) ketab-o tæmum--kærd-æm
book-OM finish--did-1S
‘I finished the book.’
(498) tæmum-eš--kærd-æm
finish-3S.PC--did-1S
‘I finished it.’
However, a cliticized object cannot refer to an indefinite object. The clitic in examples (500) cannot be read to refer
to ‘a book’.
(499) ye ketab xærid-æm
one book bought-1S
‘I bought a book.’
(500) *xærid-æm-eš
bought-1S-3S.PC
‘I bought it.’
2.1.3.6.3.4 Animacy
Animacy of subject or objects is not coded on the NPs.
2.1.3.6.3.5 Deletion or nonoccurrence of noun phrase
As demonstrated in the examples in Section 2.1.3.6.1.1, the subject need not be present in Persian.
2.1.3.6.4 Features of noun phases coded in the verb
The verb must be coded to agree with the number and person of the subject noun phrase whether it is a noun or
pronoun. Coding of the object noun phrase is optional but when done must agree with number and person of the
object, whether a noun or pronoun. As discussed in 2.1.3.6.3.3, coding of the object on the verb implies that the
object is definite.

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2.1.3.6.5 Effect on coding of incompatible features
2.1.3.6.5.1 Syntactic/semantic discrepancy
A plural inanimate subject can be coded as singular on the verb. (Also see Section 2.1.1.2.1–2.)
(501) sændæli-a unja-s
chair-PL there-is
‘The chairs are over there.’
2.1.3.6.5.2 Coordination of noun phrases in different agreement classes
Different agreement classes do not exist in Persian.
2.1.3.6.6 Agreement features
Agreement is the same for all voices, tenses, aspects moods, except for the infinitive, which does not code any
agreement.
2.1.3.6.7 Identity between subjects of different verbs
Identity of subjects of coordinate finite verbs is not specifically indicated, though it is often suggested when the
personnumber inflection is the same on two or more verbs.
When two sequential finite verbs, one main and one subordinate, both have a first person inflection or both have a
second person inflection, the subjects of the two verbs are assumed to be identical. In example (502), the main verb
mixai ‘you want’ and the subordinate verb beri ‘that you go’ are both inflected for second person. The verbs
therefore have identical subjects.
(502) mi-xa-i be-r-i
DUR-want-2S SBJN-go-2S
‘Do you want to go?’
In a similar construction using the third person, the subjects may or may not be identical. Although both finite verbs
in example (503) are third person singular, the two subjects may or may not be identical.

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(503) mi-g-e ke mi-r-e
DUR-say-3S that DUR-go-3S
‘He says that he will go.’
There is no ambiguity when the subordinate clause uses a nonfinite verb. Although an infinitival verb does not take a
free noun subject, free pronoun subject or person inflection, the semantic subjects of the two verbs must be
identical. (See Section 2.1.3.3.2.1.6 for discussion of the infinitive construction.)
(504) dar-im šuru--mi-kon-im be dærs--xundæn
have-1P start--DUR-do-1P to to study
2.1.3.6.8–9 Reflexive and reciprocal forms
There is no special morphological marking to indicate reflexivity or reciprocity. For a discussion of reflexivity see
Section 2.1.2.2. For a discussion of reciprocity see Section 2.1.2.3.
2.1.3.6.10 Marking of actions involving motion
No morphological distinction is made among actions depending on motion towards or away from the speaker or
hearer or third person.
2.1.3.6.11 Modes of body orientation
No morphological distinction is made among different modes of body orientation.
2.1.3.6.12 Incorporation of other sentence constituents in the verb
The only elements which can be incorporated onto the verb are the definite direct object pronouns, which are
incorporated as pronominal clitics. See 2.1.3.6.1.2 and 2.1.3.6.3.3. In example (505) the third person singular clitic -
eš implies that both the speaker and hearer know what the direct object of the verb is even though it’s not
mentioned.

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(505) did-æm-eš
saw-1S-3S.PC
‘I saw her.’
2.1.3.7 Change or loss of features in a string of verbs
Items such as the negative marker, pronominal clitics used as direct objects and the ingressive aspect are used on
only one verb in a sequence. For example, the negative prefix ne-/næ is used on only one verb in (506)–(507).
(506) ne-mi-xa-m be-r-æm
NEG-DUR-want-1S SBJN-go-1S
‘I don’t want to go.’
(507) mi-xa-m næ-r-æm
DUR-want-1S NEG-go-1S
‘I want to not go.’
Note that while a double negative can be used, the meaning of the sentence is altered:
(508) ne-mi-xa-m næ-r-æm
NEG-DUR- want-1S NEG-go-1S
‘I don’t want to not go.’
The pronominal clitic appears on the last verb in the series.
(509) dar-æm mi-r-æm
have-1S DUR-go-1S
be-bin-æm-eš
SBJN-see-1S-3S.PC
‘I’m going to see him.’
In cases of the ingressives, the ingressive verb takes the inflection while the main verb does not.
(510) šuru--kærd-im be hærf--zædæn
start--did-1P to word--to strike
‘We started to speak.’

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2.1.4 Adjectives
2.1.4.1 Predicative/attributive forms
With the exception of superlatives, attributive adjectives appear in ezafe constructions and follow the noun.
Superlative adjectives precede the noun.
(511) dæstmal-e qermez
handkerchief-EZ red
‘a red handkerchief’
(512) qermez-tærin dæstmal
red-SUPR handkerchief
‘the reddest handkerchief’
Predicate adjectives follow the noun without the use of ezafe.
(513) in dæstmal qermez-e
this handkerchief red-is
‘This handkerchief is red.’
2.1.4.2 Absolute/contingent distinction
No morphological distinction is made between adjectives describing permanent and contingent states.
2.1.4.3 Adjective agreement
Neither attributive nor predicative adjectives show any form of agreement.
2.1.4.4 Comparisons
2.1.4.4.1 Equality
Equality is shown by using hæmun qædr, hæmun meqdar, ‘the same amount’, and hæm-ændaze ‘same size / same
amount’.
(514) mæn hæmun qædr xošhal-æm ke to hæst-i
I same amount happy-am that you you are
‘I’m as happy as you are.’

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(515) æli-o merdad hæm-ændaze hæst-ænd
Ali-and Merdad same size they are
‘Ali and Merdad are the same size.’
(516) æli hæmændaze-ye merdad-e
ali same size-EZ Merdad-is
‘Ali is the same size as Merdad.’
Some equatives are lexicalized, such as hæm-væzn ‘same weight’, hæm-sen ‘same age’ and hæm-qæd ‘same
height’.
(517) šiva-o kuroš hæm-sen-ænd
Shiva-and Kurosh same age-are
‘Shiva and Kurosh are the same age.’
2.1.4.4.2 Comparative
When two items are being compared, the suffix -tær is affixed to an adjective in predicate position. The word æz
‘from’ follows the item being compared and precedes the standard of comparison.
(518) dana æz naser bolænd-tær-e
Dana from Nasser tall-COMPR-is
‘Dana is taller than Nasser.’
An alternative comparative form, when the items of comparison appear in different clauses, uses the conjunction ta .
(519) dana bolænd-tær-e ta naser
Dana tall-COMPR-is than Nasser
‘Dana is taller than Nasser (is).
2.1.4.4.3 Superlative
When contrasting more than two different items, or the same item from more than two perspectives, the suffix -
tærin is used. Superlative adjectives are attributive and precede the noun.
(520) æzim-tærin rudxune
wide-SUPR river
‘the widest river’

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Superlative -tærin forms are not used predicatively. In order to express a superlative predicatively, the comparative
suffix is used in a comparative construction where the standard of comparison is always ‘everyone else’ hæme, or ‘all
of us/you/them’ hæme-ye ma/šoma/una
(521) šæhin æz hæme xošgel-tær-e
Shahin from all pretty-COMP-3S
‘Shahin is prettier than everyone else.’
2.1.4.5 Degrees of quality
2.1.4.5.1 Large measure
To express large measure, the adverb xeyli ‘very’, or besyar ‘very/many/much’ is used before the adjective. The
word biændaze ‘immeasurably/incredibly/unbelievably’ is another modifier which expresses large measure, but
biændaze is most often used for emphasis.
(522) xeyli jaleb
very interesting
‘very interesting’
(523) xosro biændaze arum bud
Khosro incredibly calm was
‘Khosro was incredibly calm.’
2.1.4.5.2 Superabundance
To show superabundance, ziyad or ziyadi precedes the adjective.
(524) ziyadi bolænd-e
too tall-is
‘He’s too tall.’
2.1.4.5.3 In small measure
To show small measure, the adverb nesbætæn ‘relatively’ precedes the adjective.

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(525) nesbætæn xošhal-e
relatively happy-is
‘She’s relatively happy.’
2.1.4.6 Predicate adjectives and verbal morphology
Verbal morphology is not expressed in the adjective morphology. Predicate adjectives are expressed by means of a
copular verb such as budæn ‘to be’ or šodæn ‘to become’.
(526) æsæbani šod
angry became
‘She became angry.’
A copular clitic can also be used
(527) æsæbani-e
angry-is
‘She is angry.’
2.1.5 Prepositions
2.1.5.1 List of prepositions
Prepositions may be divided into two groups: bare prepositions and ezafe prepositions. Bare prepositions never take
any additional particle. Ezafe prepositions are of two types. The first type of ezafe preposition can either take an
ezafe or appear without an ezafe. The meaning of the preposition is the same whether it uses the ezafe or not. The
second type of ezafe preposition must occur with an ezafe. Following are lists of the most commonly used
prepositions in spoken Persian.
Bare prepositions
PREPOSITION: æz
GLOSS: from, of, made of, than, out of
FUNCTIONS: In its most basic functions, æz indicates origin of location or source. It also can be used in comparative
constructions or to denote the material that things are made of. It also appears in compound forms: birun æz, xarej
æz ‘outside’; qæbl æz, piš æz ‘before in time’; bæd æz, pæs æz ‘after’; qer æz ‘other

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than’. Also see Section 2.1.1.4.2.
PREPOSITION: ba
GLOSS: with
FUNCTIONS: Used to show accompaniment or instrumental case
ALSO SEE SECTIONS: 2.1.1.4.3, 2.1.1.4.4
PREPOSITION: be
GLOSS: to
FUNCTIONS: Its main use is to indicate ‘motion toward’ or the dative.
ALSO SEE SECTIONS: 2.1.1.5
PREPOSITION: bi
GLOSS: without
FUNCTIONS: The negative of ba, in both its instrumental and comitative functions.
PREPOSITION: ta
GLOSS: up to, until, than
FUNCTIONS: Indicates ‘motion as far as a certain location but not beyond’. It is also used to introduce some
conditional clauses and in some comparative constructions.
ALSO SEE SECTIONS: 2.1.1.5.4–2.1.1.6.13, 2.1.3.4.2, 2.1.4.4.2
PREPOSITION: joz, bejoz
GLOSS: except
FUNCTIONS: Indicates omission of certain members of a group.
PREPOSITION: dær
GLOSS: in, into, at
FUNCTIONS: Designates interiority or used for the locative case.
ALSO SEE SECTIONS: 2.1.1.5.3–4, 2.1.1.6.1.4–7
Prepositions that can take ezafe
As mentioned above, there is no difference in meaning or usage between the ezafe and ezafe-less variants.
PREPOSITION: ru/ru-ye
GLOSS: on top of, over, above
FUNCTIONS: Indicates locative superiority

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ALSO SEE SECTIONS: 2.1.1.5.7–8
PREPOSITION: tu/tu-ye
GLOSS: in, inside, into
FUNCTIONS: Indicates locative interiority.
PREPOSITION: pælulpælu-ye
GLOSS: beside, next to
FUNCTIONS: Indicates locative laterality.
PREPOSITION: jelow-ye
GLOSS: in front of
FUNCTIONS: Indicates locative anteriority.
Prepositions that must take ezafe
PREPOSITION: pošt-e
GLOSS: behind
FUNCTIONS: Indicates locative posteriority.
PREPOSITION: bæra-ye
GLOSS: for
FUNCTIONS: Indicates the benefactive case or purpose.
PREPOSITION: zir-e
GLOSS: under
FUNCTIONS: Indicates locative inferiority.
PREPOSITION: bedun-e
GLOSS: without
FUNCTIONS: Same as bi.
ALSO SEE SECTIONS: See bi above.
2.1.5.2 Prepositions and agreement
Prepositions in Persian do not show agreement for any

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grammatical category with the nouns they govern.
2.1.5.3 Combinations of prepositions and pronouns
The prepositions be ‘to’, ba ‘with, æz ‘from’ and bæra-ye ‘for’ combine with the pronominal clitics to make a series
of personal forms, where the clitic denotes the object of oblique cases. For the prepositions ending with vowels, two
variants of each personal form occur. As a model, consider the forms with be ‘to’ given below:
Table 2.15
Preposition-pronoun forms
FULL FORM PREP+PRON LONG FORM SHORT FORM
1P SINGULAR be mæn be-hem be-m
2P SINGULAR be to be-het be-t
3P SINGULAR be u be-heš be-š
1P PLURAL be ma be-hemun be-mun
2P PLURAL be šoma be-hetun be-tun
3P PLURAL be una be-hešun be-šun
(528) kilid-o be-m dad
key-OM to-1S.PC gave
‘She gave me the key.’
(529) mæn ba-hatun mi-r-æm
I with-2P.PC DUR-go-1S
‘I’ll go with you.’
Note that vowel harmony is involved in the prepositional form in example (529). For a discussion on vowel harmony
see Section 3.2.6.4.
2.1.5.4 Combinations of prepositions and articles
Prepositions do not combine with the articles of the noun phrases they govern.

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2.1.6 Numerals/quantifiers
2.1.6.1 Forms of numerals
The cardinal numbers 1–100 are as follows. Compound numerals can be created by using the conjunction -ol-yo
‘and’ between two numerals, with the larger number preceding the smaller number. Note that car ‘four’ also has the
variant cahar and that cel ‘forty’ has the variant cehel. Also see Section 3.4.4.1.1 on h-deletion.
1–100
1 yek 11 yazdæh 21 bist-o yek 31 si-yo yek
2 do 12 dævazdæh 22 bist-o do 32 si-yo do
3 se 13 sizdæh 23 bist-o se 33 si-yo se
4 car 14 cardæh 24 bist-o car 34 si-yo car
5 pænj 15 punzdæh 25 bist-o pænj 35 si-yo pænj
6 šiš 16 šunzdæh 26 bist-o šiš 36 si-yo šiš
7 hæft 17 hivdæh 27 bist-o hæft 37 si-yo hæft
8 hæšt 18 hiždæh 28 bist-o hæšt 38 si-yo hæšt
9 noh 19 nuzdæh 29 bist-o noh 39 si-yo noh
10 dæh 20 bist 30 si 40 cel
41 cel-o yek 51 pænja-o yek 61 šæst-o yek 71 hæftad-o yek
42 cel-o do 52 pænja-o do 62 šæst-o do 72 hæftad-odo
43 cel-o se 53 pænja-o se 63 šæst-o se 73 hæftad-o se
44 cel-o car 54 pænja-o car 64 šæst-o car 74 hæftad-o car
45 cel-o pænj 55 pænja-o pænj 65 šæst-o pænj 75 hæftad-o pænj
46 cel-o šiš 56 pænja-o šiš 66 šæst-o šiš 76 hæftad-o šiš
47 cel-o hæft 57 pænja-o hæft 67 šæst-o hæft 77 hæftad-o hæft
48 cel-o hæšt 58 pænja-o hæšt 68 šæst-o hæšt 78 hæftad-o hæšt
49 cel-o noh 59 pænja-o noh 69 šæst-o noh 79 hæftad-o noh
50 pænja 60 šæst 70 hæftad 80 hæštad
81 hæštad-o yek 91 nævæd-o yek
82 hæštad-o do 92 nævæd-o do
83 hæštad-o se 93 nævæd-o se
84 hæštad-o car 94 nævæd-o car
85 hæštad-o pænj 95 nævæd-o pænj
86 hæštad-o šiš 96 nævæd-o šiš
87 hæštad-o hæft 97 nævæd-o hæft
88 hæštad-o hæšt 98 nævæd-o hæšt
89 hæštad-o noh 99 nævæd-o noh
90 nævæd 100 sæd

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100s UP to 1000
200 divist 700 hæfsæd
300 sisæd 800 hæšsæd
400 carsæd 900 nohsæd
500 punsæd 1000 hezar
600 šišsæd
100s UP to 100,000
2000 do hezar 20,000 bist hezar
3000 se hezar 30,000 si hezar
4000 car hezar 40,000 cel hezar
5000 pænj hezar 50,000 pænja hezar
6000 šiš hezar 60,000 šæst hezar
7000 hæft hezar 70,000 hæftad hezar
8000 hæšt hezar 80,000 hæštad hezar
9000 noh hezar 90,000 nævæd hezar
10,000 dæh hezar 100,000 sæd hezar
2.1.6.2 Cardinal numerals as attributes
No distinct cardinal-numeral attributive forms exist.
2.1.6.3 Counting different kinds of objects
No other forms of cardinals exist other than those in 2.1.6.1.
2.1.6.4 Ordinal numerals
Ordinal numbers are formed by adding the suffix -om to the cardinal numbers. This derivational process is regular
with the exception of the first three ordinals. The Arabic ordinal ævvæl ‘first’ is used to mean ‘first’, though the
regular form yek-om ‘first’ is used for all compounds, as in, for example, si-yo-yek-om ‘thirty-first’. The second and
third ordinals, dovvom and sevvom ( doyyom and seyyom are very colloquial alternatives) are irregular, with the
inserted consonant breaking up contiguous vowels.
The ordinals ‘first’ through ‘tenth’ are given below.
(530) ævvæl ‘first’
dovvom ‘second’
sevvom ‘third’
car-om ‘fourth’

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pænj-om ‘fifth’
šiš-om ‘sixth’
hæft-om ‘seventh’
hæšt-om ‘eighth’
noh-om ‘ninth’
dæh-om ‘tenth’
2.1.6.5 Other derivatives of numerals
The word bar ‘time/turn’ can be added to cardinal numbers to make a compound adverbial referring to a number of
occasions.
(531) do-bar
two-times
‘twice’
(532) sæd-bar be-het goft-æm
100-times to-2S.PC said-1S
‘I’ve told you a hundred times’
2.1.6.6 Quantifiers
The most common nonnumerical quantifiers are bæzi (æz.) and cænd-ta ‘some’, cændin ‘several’, hær ‘each’,
hæme(-ye) ‘every’, tæmum-e ‘all’, hic ‘no’, xeyli and besyar ‘many, a lot’. Of these, only hæme ‘every’ can be used
nominally, meaning ‘everyone’. (Also see Sections 2.1.1.4.19.3–6.)
(533) hæme ræft-ænd
everyone went-3P
‘Everyone left.’
2.1.6.6.1 Quantifier compounds
The words hær ‘every’ and hic ‘nothing’ are used to create quantifier compounds: hærkodum ‘either / any one of a
group’, hickodum ‘neither/none’, hær-do ‘both’, hiški (hic kæs) ‘no one’, hærja ‘anywhere’, hæmeja ‘everywhere’,
hærkæs ‘anyone’, hærvaqt ‘anytime’. Also see Section 2.1.2.1.13.

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2.1.6.6.2 Other means of quantification
Several reduplicative forms exist in Persian with quantificational meaning, such as dæse-dæse ‘group by group’,
cænta-cænta ‘several at a time’ and ‘kæm-kæm ‘little by little’, ( do-ta do-ta and related forms are discussed in
Section 2.1.1.8.4–5).
(534) danešju-a dæse-dæse vared--šod-ænd
student-PL group by group enter--became-3P
‘The students arrived in groups.’
2.1.7 Adverbs
Adverbs typically precede the verbs and adjectives they modify.
2.1.7.1 Comparison
2.1.7.1.1 Equality
To show equality hæmun qædr ‘the same amount’ and hæmun-ændaze ‘same size/same amount’ are used.
(535) sima hæmun qædr tond mi-do-e
Sima same amount fast DUR-run-3S
ke to mi-do-i
that you DUR-run-2S
‘Sima runs as fast as you do.’
2.1.7.1.2 Comparative
Adverbial comparison is expressed in the same manner as with adjectives. The comparative suffix -tær is affixed to
the adverb and the preposition æz ‘from’ follows the item being compared and precedes the standard of comparison.
The entire adverbial phrase precedes the verb.
(536) pæri æz surur tond-tær mi-do-e
Pari from Surur fast-COMPR DUR-run-3S
‘Pari runs faster than Surur.’
An alternative comparison, when the items of comparison

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appear in different clauses, uses the conjunction ta .
(537) mæn mi-tun-æm tond-tær be-do-æm
I DUR-can-1S fast-COMPR SBJN-run-1S
ta to
than you
‘I can run faster than you (can run).’
2.1.7.1.3 Superlative
To express superlative comparison with adverbs, the comparative suffix is used in a comparative construction where
the standard of comparison is always ‘everyone else’ hæme, or ‘all of us/you/them’ hæme-ye ma/šoma/una .
(538) mæs’ud æz hæme yævaš-tær mi-xor-e
massud from all slow-COMP DUR-eat
3S
‘Massud eats slower than everyone else.’
2.1.7.2 Degrees of quality
2.1.7.2.1 Large measure
As with adjectives, the most common way to express large measure is to use xeyli ‘very’ or besyar ‘very, many,
much’ before the adverb. For more emphasis biændaze ‘immeasurably, incredibly’ is preferred.
(539) besyar vaze hærf--mi-zæn-i
very clear word--DUR-strike-2S
‘You speak very clearly.’
2.1.7.2.2 Superabundance
Superabundance is shown with ziyad or ziyadi before the verb.
(540) ziyadi hærf--mi-zæn-e
too word--strike-3S
‘She talks too much.’

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2.1.7.2.3 In small measure
To show small measure, nesbætæn ‘relatively’ is used in conjunction with the adverb to modify the verb.
(541) nesbætæn zud resid
relatively fast arrived
‘She arrivedÆ relatively ‘quickly.’
2.1.8 Clitics and particles
A set of pronominal clitics appears on nouns (see 2.1.1.4.6), prepositions (see 2.1.5.3) and verbs (see 2.1.2.1.2.19).
In addition to the pronominal clitics there are two other clitics: the connectives -o ‘and’ and -hæm/-æm ‘also’.
(542) mæn-o to
I-and you
‘you and me’
(543) mæn-æm mi-ya-m
I-also DUR-come-1S
‘I’ll come too.’
2.2 DERIVATIONAL MORPHOLOGY
2.2.1 Derivation of nouns
2.2.1.1 Nouns from nouns
The following suffixes are used to derive nouns from nouns. These suffixes are semantically regular.
Suffix Noun Noun Productivity
(544) -i (stressed) mærd mærdi yes
abstract nom. man manliness
(545) -ban baq baqban no
one who garden gardener

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(546) -(e)stan/(e)sun qæbr qæbresun limited
place grave graveyard
(547) -ga(h) daneš danešgah yes
place knowledge university
(548) -ci post posci limited
one who post office mail carrier
(549) -dan/dun qælæm qælæmdun limited
container pen penholder
(550) -gi bærde bærdegi limited
abstract nom. slave slavery
(551) -e dæst dæste no
nominalizer hand group
(552) -kar/-gar gona gonakar yes
one who sin sinner
(553) -gær ahæn ahængær limited
one who iron blacksmith
(554) -æk doxtær doxtæræk yes
diminutive girl little girl
(555) -ce ketab ketabce yes
diminutive book notebook
2.2.1.2 Nouns from verbs
Semantically regular, the following suffixes are attached to the present stems of some verbs to derive nouns.
Suffix Present stem Noun Productivity
(556) -(y)ænde -gu guyænde limited
nominalizer say announcer
(557) -e -xænd- xænde no
nominalizer laugh laughter

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(558) -(y)eš -færma- færmayeš no
abstract nom. command order
(559) -ak -xor- xorak no
nominalizer eat food
The nominalizer suffix -ar is added to the past stem of verbs to derive nouns: didi ‘saw’ becomes didar
‘view/sight/meeting’. This process has limited productivity.
Additionally, nouns may be derived from various forms of the verb. For example, the infinitive form of verbs are
used nominally, as gerunds, with no additional morphology. This is a productive process and applies to virtually all
verbs.
(560) ašpæzi--kærdæn xeyli væqt mi-gir-e
cook--to do very time DUR-get-3S
‘Cooking takes a lot of time.’
Present and past stems of some verbs are also used nominally, but the process seems nonproductive and the forms
lexicalized.
(561) furuš
sell
‘sale’
(562) xærid
bought
‘shopping’
2.2.1.2.1 Syntax of deverbal nouns
Syntactically, deverbal nouns behave like nonderived nouns.
2.2.1.3 Nouns from adjectives
Nouns are derived from adjectives in one of the following ways. All are semantically regular.
Suffix Adjective Noun Productivity
(563) -i xub xubi yes
abstract nom. good goodness

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(564) -gi æfsorde æfsordegi limited
abstract nom. sad sadness
(565) -a pæhn pæhna limited
abstract nom. wide width
(566) -e sefid sefide limited
nominalizer white egg white
The prefix hæm ‘also/like’ combines with adjectives to produce compound nouns.
(568) hæm+kelas-i > hæmkelasi yes
same+ class-ATTR > classmate
2.2.1.3.1 Syntax of deadjectival nouns
Syntactically, deadjectival nouns behave like nonderived nouns.
2.2.1.4 Nouns from adverbs
Adverbs are not a common source of nouns. One suffix for forming nouns from adverbs is -(g)i-.
Suffix Adverb Noun Productivity
(569) -(g)i tond tondi yes
nominalizer fast quickness
2.2.2 Derivation of verbs
2.2.2.1 Verbs from nouns
Verbs are commonly derived from nouns through compounding (see in Section 2.2.6.3). One somewhat productive
means of deriving denominal verbs is by adding the infinitival suffix idæn to nouns: dozd ‘thief becomes dozdidæn
‘to steal’.
2.2.2.2. Verbs from verbs
Passivization and causativization are two common ways to

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make verbs from other verbs. Passive construction consists of the past participle of a verb plus some form of šodæn
‘to become’. Causatives are made by adding the suffix -undæn or -unidæn to the present stem of some transitive
and intransitive verbs or by using ba’es šodæn ‘to cause’ to introduce a subordinate clause in the subjunctive. See
Section 2.1.3.1 on voice and Section 2.1.3.1.3.1.1 on causative constructions.
Verbs may also be derived with the use of separable verbal particles. It is difficult to specify a meaning for these
particles, since they change the meanings of the verbs to which they are attached in so many different ways
(Moinfar 1978:183).
Although, for the most part, the particles listed below are no longer a productive way to derive verbs from verbs, it
should be noted that all do appear in an appreciable number of lexicalized verbs.
Particle Verb Derived verb Productivity
(570) bær gæštæn bær gæštæn limited
back/away to wander/turn to return/turn
(571) bær daštæn bær daštæn limited
back/away to have to take
(572) dær yaftæn dær yaftæn limited
in to find to receive
(573) pæs gereftæn pæs gereftæn no
behind, back receive to receive back
(574) piš ræftæn piš ræftæn no
before to go to advance
(575) furu nešestæn furu nešestæn no
through to sit to subside
(576) færa residæn færa residæn no
up, forward to arrive to arise
(577) va mundæn va mundæn no
again stay to be tired out
(578) baz gæštæn baz gæštæn no
again to wander/turn to return

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2.2.2.3–5 Verbs from adjectives, adverbs and other categories
This typically occurs in compounding. See Section 2.2.6.3.
2.2.3 Derivation of adjectives
2.2.3.1 Adjectives from nouns
Adjectives are derived from nouns by adding the suffixes and prefixes listed. All are semantically regular. Note that
words formed with the first three suffixes below, -ane, -gi and -e are also used adverbially. See Section 2.2.4.1 on
deriving adverbs from nouns.
Suffix Noun Adjective Productivity
(579) -one dust dustane yes
quality of friend friendly
(580) -gi hæfte hæftegi limited
-ly week weekly
(581) -e hær sal hær sale limited
related to every year annually
(582) -gane bæcce bæccegane yes
quality of child childish
Suffix Noun Adjective Productivity
(583) -i qæve qævei yes
attributive coffee brown
(584) -mænd servæt servætmænd limited
quality of wealth wealthy
(585) -gin qæm qæmgin limited
attributive sorrow sorrowful
(586) -nak dærd dærdnak no
attributive pain painful
(587) -var omid omidvar no
attributive hope hopeful

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(588) -yar huš hušyar no
attributive intelligence intelligent
(589) -in cub cubin no
made of wood wooden
There are two prefixes which form adjectives from nouns. One is the negative prefix na-, which is also used to
derive adjectives from adjectives (see Section 2.2.3.3). The preposition bi ‘without’ seems to be preposition-like in
forming adjectives as well.
Prefix Noun Adjective Productivity
(590) naomid naomid yes
negative hope hopeless
(591) hæm- ahæng hæmahæng yes
same/like music harmonious
(592) bi ehtiat biehtiat yes
without caution careless
2.2.3.2 Adjectives from verbs
The now nonproductive derivational morpheme -a was once used to derive adjectives from the present stem of
verbs: tævan ‘able’ >tævana ‘mighty’. Other means of deriving adjectives from verbs are discussed in the section on
compounding, Section 2.2.6.3.
2.2.3.3 Adjectives from adjectives
There are two productive prefixes which derive adjectives from other adjectives:
Prefix Adjective Adjective Productivity
(593) na- xoš naxoš yes
negative good sick
(594) qeyr- ræsmi qeyr-e ræsmi yes
negative official unofficial

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Also productive and regular are the comparative and superlative suffixes -tær and -tærin.
The suffixes -man and -var, no longer productive, were also used to derive adjectives from adjectives: šad ‘happy’
became šadman, also meaning ‘happy/joyful’, bozorg ‘big’ became bozorgvar ‘great’. Neither is the suffix -var very
productive. Adjectives may also be derived from adjectives through compounding. See Section 2.2.6.3.
2.2.3.4 Adjectives from adverbs
Most adjectives and adverbs of quality have the same form. Exceptions are those adverbs of quality derived from
nouns with a preceding bi ‘without’ or be ‘to’ (see Section 2.2.4.1) and adverbs formed with the suffix -vær (see
Section 2.2.4.3).
(595) seda-ye bolænd
sound-EZ loud
‘a loud sound’
(596) bolænd hærf--mi-zæn-e
loud word--DUR-strike-3S
‘She speaks loud.’
2.2.4 Derivation of adverbs
2.2.4.1 Adverbs from nouns
One relatively productive means of deriving adverbs from nouns is by adding the suffix -manænd ‘-like’ to nouns.
The three suffixes -ane, -gi and -e also form adverbs from nouns. The forms derived with -ane, -gi and -e, typically
used with time expressions to form adverbs of time, can also be used adjectivally (see Section 2.2.3.1 on deriving
adjectives from nouns).
Not as productive, and restricted to nouns of Arabic origin, is the suffix -am.
Suffix Noun Adverb
(597) -manænd gonjišk gonjiškmanænd
-like sparrow sparrowlike

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(598) -ane ruz ruzane
-ly day daily
(599) -gi hæfte hæftegi
-ly week weekly
(600) -e hær sal hærsale
-ly every year annually
(601) -æn æsl æslæn
adverbial origin actually
Adverbs may also be derived from nouns by adding the preposition bi ‘without’ to an abstract or concrete noun or
the preposition be ‘to’ to an abstract noun.
(602) bi+seda > biseda
without+sound > quietly
(603) be+xubi > bexubi
to+goodness > well
(604) be+zudi > bezudi
to+earliness > soon
2.2.4.2 Adverbs from verbs
Adverbs can be derived from verbs by adding the suffix -an to the present stem: xænd ‘laugh’ becomes xændan
‘laughingly’. This is a regular and highly productive process.
2.2.4.3 Adverbs from adjectives
As mentioned earlier, adverbs and adjectives generally have the same form. With the exception of a few derivational
affixes, there is no morphological means to derive adverbs from adjectives and vice versa.
(605) -var divane divanevar
-like crazy crazylike

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With Arabic adjectives only:
(606) -æn mæmuli mæmulæn
adverbial ordinary ordinarily
2.2.4.4 Adverbs from adverbs
Adverbs can be derived from adverbs by means of the comparative and superlative suffixes, -tær and -tærin.
2.2.5 Derivation of prepositions
2.2.5.1 Forming complex prepositions
2.2.5.1.1 Compound prepositions
Compound prepositions are formed from various combinations of preposition+preposition and preposition +
denominal preposition (for the formation of denominal prepositions see Section 2.2.6.1.2). The most common
prepositions used in compound derivations are æz ‘from’, dær ‘in’, be ‘to’ and ba ‘with’. Some of the more common
compound prepositions are:
(607) qer æz ‘other than’ æz qærar-e ‘according to’
bæ:d æz ‘after’ ba vujud-e ‘in spite of
pæs æz ‘after’ dær ætrof-e ‘about, around’
piš æz ‘before’ dær jæhæt-e ‘towards’
qæbl æz ‘before’ be tæræf-e ‘towards’
xarej æz ‘outside’ dær bare-ye ‘concerning’
2.2.5.1.2 Nominal formations
Denominal prepositions take the form noun+ezafe. Many of the nouns in such constructions are no longer used in
modern Persian as separate nouns but are bound to the ezafe as part of a complex preposition. Also see Section
2.1.5.
(608) pošt-e ‘behind’ jelow-ye ‘in front of’
pælu-ye ‘next to’ moqabel-e ‘across from’
daxel-e ‘inside’ dowr-e ‘around’
zedd-e ‘against’ xarej-e ‘outside’
birun-e ‘outside’ tu-ye ‘inside’

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bala-ye ‘above’ zir-e ‘under’
ru-ye ‘on’
2.2.6 Compound morphology
2.2.6.1 Compound nouns
Compound nouns are formed in a number of ways:
(a) Noun-noun compounds
N+N combinations are a common and productive source of compound nouns. In some cases the second noun is the
head, modified by the first noun.
(609) post+xune > postxune
post+house > post office
(610) ruz+name > ruzname
day+letter > newspaper
In other cases the two nouns are in a genitive relationship where the first noun is the head. Historically, these are
probably ezafe constructions with the ezafe having undergone syncope. In fact, some people will pronounce words
as those in (611) as madær-e šohær.
(611) madær+šohær > madæršohær
mother+husband > mother-in-law
(612) saheb+xune > sahebxune
owner+house > landlord
(b) Two nouns connected with the ezafe
This is the most productive strategy of noun compounding.
(613) toxm +e+morq > toxm-e morq
seed+EZ+chicken > egg
(614) gol +e +sorx > gol-e sorx
flower+EZ+red > rose

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(c) Noun+ o+ noun
These are exocentric compounds.
(615) ab+o +hæva > abohæva
water+air > climate
sær+o+seda > særoseda
head+and+noise > noise, fuss
(d) Adjective+noun
(616) no+ruz > noruz
new+year > New Year
(617) xoš+bæxt > xošbæxt
good+luck > good luck
(e) Combinations of nouns and verb stems
(618) šah+zad-e > šahzade
king+born > prince, princess
(619) ab+keš > abkeš
water+pull > sieve, colander
(620) daneš+ju > danešju
knowledge+look > student
There are several less-productive means of making compound nouns: noun+preposition+noun, as in etemad be
næfs ‘selfconfidence’; adjective+present stem, as in no amuz ‘beginner’; past stem+o +past stem, as in ræft o amæd
‘interaction/relationship / social intercourse’; past stem+o+ present stem, as in šost o šu ‘the act of washing’.
Compound nouns can also become stems for further compounding:
(621) isgah-e +(rah(-e) +ahæn) > isgah-e rah(-e) ahæn
station-EZ+(road(-EZ)+iron) > railroad station
(622) xælæban-e+(hæva+pema) > xælæban-e hæva pema
pilot-EZ+(air+travel) > airline pilot

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2.2.6.2 Compound verbs
Compounding has been and is a highly productive process for making verbs. Simple verbs are conjoined with nouns,
adjectives/adverbs, prepositions and prepositional phrases, kærdæn ‘to do’, šodæn ‘to become’, zædæn ‘to strike
and dadæn ‘to give’ are the most frequently used simple verbs for compounding. Others include xordæn ‘to eat’,
amadæn ‘to come’, dæštæn ‘to have’, gereftæn ‘to take’.
Whatever category is compounded with the simple verb, the nonverbal element precedes the verb. The person-
number inflections are suffixed to the verbal component of the compound. Pronominal clitics can be suffixed to
either component of the compound (see Section 2.1.2.1.19).
(a) Noun+verb
(623) šune+kærdæn > šune--kærdæn
comb+to do > ‘to comb’
(624) dærs+dadæn > dærs--dadæn
lesson+to give > to teach
(625) qædæm +zædæn > qædæm--zædæn
step+to strike > ‘to walk’
(b) Adjective/adverb+verb
(626) peyda+kærdæn > peyda--kærdæn
visible+to do ‘to find’
(627) bolænd kærdæn > bolænd--kærdæn
tall+to do > ‘to lift’
(628) piš +ræftæn > piš--ræftæn
forward+to go > ‘to make progress’
(c) Preposition+verb
(629) dær +mundæn > dær--mundæn
in+stay > ‘to be tired out’

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(630) furu +ræftæn > furu--ræftæn
through to go > ‘to pierce’
(d) Prepositional phrase+verb
(631) æz dæst +dadæn > æz dæst--dadæn
from hand+to give > ‘to give up something’
(632) dær miyun+gozoštæn > dær miyun--gozoštæn
in center+to put > ‘to discuss’
2.2.6.3 Compound adjectives
Various combinations can result in adjectives.
a) Noun+noun
(633) sæng+del > sængdel
stone+heart > cold-hearted
b) Noun+adjective
(634) del+baz > delbaz
heart+open > open-hearted
c) Noun+verbal
(635) gol +æfšan > golæfšan
flower+strewn > flower-strewn
(636) gel+alud > gelalud
mud+taint > muddy
d) Adjective+noun
(637) kæm+æql > kæmæql
little+mind > thoughtless
(638) kæm+hærf > kæmhærf
little+speech > quiet
(639) xoš+ru > xošru

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good+face > pleasant, happy
e) Preposition+noun
The most productive preposition used in this strategy is ba ‘with’.
(640) ba+ehsas > baehsas
with+feeling > sensitive
(641) ba+ensaf > baensaf
with+justice > fair, just

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PHONOLOGY
3.1 PHONOLOGICAL UNITS
3.1.1 Distinctive segments
Persian sounds are produced with a pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism. Modern Tehran Persian has twenty-
three consonantal and seven vocalic phonemes (six vowels and one diphthong). In the following tables of vocalic and
consonantal phonemes, IPA symbols, when different from our notation, are given in parentheses.
Table 3.1
PERSIAN VOCALIC PHONEMES
front back
high i u
mid e(ε) O
low æ a
diphthong ow (ou)
It should be noted that the phonemic status of the diphthong /ow/, along with the status of another diphthong, [ey],
which we are not considering phonemic, lacks unanimous consensus, with claims

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varying on whether the diphthongs add zero, one or two phonemes to the language. See section 3.1.2.2.2 on
diphthongs. Also see Section 3.4 for descriptions of allophonic variation of the units discussed in Section 3.1.2 below.
Table 3.2
PERSIAN CONSONANT PHONEMES
labiolabial/ apicoalveolar/ dorsopostalveolardorsopalataldorsoprevelardorsopostvelardorsouvularglottal
labio-dental apicodental
STOP
-voice p t k ‘(?)
+voice b d g q(G)
AFFRICATE
-voice c(t∫)
+ voice j(d3)
FRICATIVE
-voice f s š(∫) X
4- voice V z ž(3)
NASAL m n
LIQUID l, r
GLIDE
-voice h
+ voice y(j)
3.1.2 Phonetic characteristics
3.1.2.1 Nonsyllabics
3.1.2.1.1 Plosives and affricates
The voiceless plosives /p, t, c, k/ are aspirated in syllableinitial position and unaspirated at the end of a syllable.
/p/ is a voiceless labio-labial (bilabial) stop. There is some variation in the description, and presumably the
pronunciation, of voiceless /t/, being either an apico-alveolar or apico-dental stop. It is aspirated word-initially. /c/
(IP A /t∫/) is a voiceless dorso-postalveolar

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(alveopalatal) affricate. The consonant /k/ is a voiceless dorsoprevelar (velar) stop. It is somewhat aspirated word-
initially.
The voiced counterparts to the plosives just described, /b, d, j, g/, are unaspirated in both syllable-initial and
syllable-final positions. They partially devoice word-finally.
/b/ is a voiced labio-labial stop. Voiced /d/, like /t/, is either apico-alvelar or apico-dental. Voiced /g/ is a dorso-
prevelar stop, /j/ (IPA /d3/) is a voiced dorso-postalveolar affricate.
In both their articulatory and auditory qualities, the voiceless and voiced Persian plosives mentioned so far are very
similar to those in North American English.
Persian also has a glottal stop /i/ (IPA /i/), as in sa’æt ‘hour/time’, rob’ ‘a quarter (fraction)’. Glottals are often
omitted in conversational speech, particularly word-finally (see Section 3.4.4.1.2).
A glottal is also phonologically inserted before a vowel at the beginning of a breath group. Thus,
(1) /in/ [‘in]
‘this’
/æks/ [’æks]
‘photograph’
But when two words are combined into one breath group, the noninitial word loses its prevocalic glottal. Thus [’æks]
becomes [æks] in the example below.
(2) /in æks/ [’inæks]
‘this photograph’
The glottal stop is therefore not distinctive in initial position: a wordinitial glottal-vowel sequence never contrasts
with a word-initial vowel. The glottal is distinctive in noninitial positions. Compare the word no meaning ‘new’ with
no’ meaning ‘kind, sort’, though as mentioned above the word-final /’/ is particularly prone to deletion.
There is some question about the phonemic status of /q/, whether stop or fricative or even whether voiced or
voiceless. In any case, there are several varieties. Following the most common analysis, we classify the phoneme /q/
as a voiced dorso-uvular (uvular) stop (IPA /G/), which is often spirantized into the voiced dorso-uvular fricative
between voiced segments (see Section 3.4.4.1.4). It is important to note that the variation is not a matter of purely

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phonological conditioning, since a word containing /q/ can be pronounced as either an occlusive or spirant: e.g. aqa
‘man/sir’ can be pronounced [aGa] or However, /q/ cannot be a fricative wordinitially. Thus, qermez ‘red’ is
pronounced [Germez], not *
All plosives occur word-initially and word-finally, syllableinitially and syllable-finally as well as morpheme-initially and
morpheme-finally. The only qualification is that, as mentioned above, word-initial [’] is nonphonemic. Plosives also
occur in word-medial, syllable-medial and morpheme-medial positions. See Section 3.4 on segmental morphology.
(3) Distribution of plosives
INITIAL MEDIAL FINAL
Labio-labial (bilabial)
pain læppe cæp
‘down’ ‘split pea’ ‘left’
bozorg læbu šæb
‘large’ ‘beet’ ‘night’
Apico-alveolar/apico-dental (alveolar/alveodental)
tut ætse sæxt
‘berry’ ‘sneeze’ ‘difficult’
doxtær edare zærd
‘daughter/girl’ ‘office’ ‘yellow’
Dorso-postalveolar (alveopalatal)
ci kucik gæc
‘what’ ‘small’ ‘chalk’
jostæn ejaze borj
‘to seek’ ‘permission’ ‘tower’
Dorso-prevelar
kærdæm saket tarik
‘I did’ ‘quiet’ ‘dark’

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gæšæng šagerd ræg
‘beautiful’ ‘student’ ‘vein’
Dorso-uvular (uvular)
qermez æqlæb dæmaq
‘red’ ‘often’ ‘nose’
Glottal
As mentioned above, the word-initial glottal stop is nonphonemic.
‘ævvæl sa’æt rob’
‘first’ ‘clock’ ‘quarter of
3.1.2.1.2 Fricatives
Persian has a labio-dental voiceless/voiced pair, /f, v/, and an apico-alveolar /s, z/. The dorso-postalveolar
(alveopalatal) /š/ and /ž / are slightly rounded.
Voiceless /x/ has often been described as uvular but the point of articulation doesn’t seem quite as far back as that
of /q/. We classify /x/ as an unvoiced dorso-postvelar fricative. Also, /x/ has no voiced phonemic counterpart.
Fricatives occur word-initially and word-finally, syllableinitially and syllable-finally as well as morpheme-initially and
morpheme-finally. Fricatives also occur in word-medial, syllablemedial and morpheme-medial positions.
(4) Distribution of fricatives
Labio-dental
færda æfsus kif
‘tomorrow’ ‘regret’ ‘purse’
væli heyvun gav
‘but’ ‘animal ‘cow’

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Apico-alveolar
sib æsæb pæs
‘apple’ ‘nerve’ ‘then’
zæmin æzim miz
‘ground/ea arth’ ‘large’ ‘table’
Dorso-postalveolar
šam emšæb kæfš
‘dinner’ ‘tonight’ ‘shoe’
žale ež deha garaž
‘Zhale ‘dragon’ garage’
(woman’s name)
It should be noted that /ž/ is infrequent in any position.
Dorso-postvelar
xoda extiar šax
‘God’ ‘will’ ‘horn’
3.1.2.1.3 Nasals
Persian has a labio-labial nasal /m/ and an apicoalveolar/apico-dental /n/. Both are voiced. Neither is syllabic. Nasals
occur word-initially and word-finally, syllable-initially and syllablefinally as well as morpheme-initially and morpheme-
finally. Nasals also occur in word-medial, syllable-medial and morpheme-medial positions.
(5) Distribution of nasals
Bilabial
maman emaræt dam
‘mom’ ‘building’ ‘trap’

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Alveolar
noxod onsor xordæn
‘pea’ ‘element’ ‘to eat’
3.1.2.1.4 Liquids
The lateral /l/ is a somewhat tense and somewhat apico-dental liquid, with the tip of the tongue touching the upper
front teeth as well as the alveolar ridge. /l/ is voiced and nonsyllabic.
Voiced nonsyllabic /r/ is made by flapping the tip of the tongue forward against the alveolar ridge. There is
allophonic variation, with more trill at the beginning of a word than in the middle or at the end.
Both /l/ and /r/ occur word-initially and word-finally, syllable-initially and syllable-finally as well as morpheme-initially
and morpheme-finally. Liquids also occur in word-medial, syllablemedial and morpheme-medial positions.
(6) Distribution of liquids
læbu eltemas hal
‘beet’ ‘plea’ ‘health’
ræng arenj xahær
‘color’ ‘elbow’ ‘sister’
3.1.2.1.5 Glides
The voiced dorso-palatal glide /y/ (IP A /j/) is a palatal lateral approximant. It occurs in initial, medial and final
positions.
Unvoiced /h/ is a glottal approximant, similar to /h/ in English except in Persian it may also appear in syllable-final
position, as in rah ‘path’, and in certain clusters, such as shæhr ‘city’, /h/ is often deleted in noninitial positions. Thus
rah may be pronounced [rah] or [ra] and shæhr may be pronounced [šæhr] or [šær]. See Section 3.4.4.1 on
deletion processes.
(7) Distribution of glides

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yek maye pay
‘one’ ‘fluid’ ‘foot’
hal æhali ruh
‘condition’ ‘inhabitants’ ‘spirit/ghost’
3.1.2.1.6 Consonant length
Geminates typically appear in words of Arabic origin and are clearly pronounced.
(8) ævvæl ‘first
ællah ‘Allah’
sekke ‘coin’
Several minimal pairs exist based on consonant length:
(9) bæna bænna
‘building/base’ ‘mason/construction worker’
Note, however, that double consonants are pronounced as a single consonant unless a vowel follows. For example,
rædd ‘rejection’ is pronounced with a single [d] in (10) but [d:] in (11).
(10) [ræd]--šod
rejection-became
‘He failed.’
(11) [ræd:]-e pišnehad
rejection-EZ proposal
‘rejection of the proposal’
Also, there is variation in the pronunciation in some words with geminates as well as discrepancies between spelling
and pronunciation. The word bæcce ‘child’ is often pronounced with a [c] though the word is spelled as a geminate
in Persian orthography.
Some geminates in words of native Persian origin do exist, primarily resulting from assimilation. See Section 3.4.1.1
on assimilation and 3.4.1.1.5 for examples of Persian-origin geminates.

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3.1.2.2 Syllables
3.1.2.2.1 Vowels
All Persian vowels are voiced.
3.1.2.2.1.1 Monothongs
/i/ High front /i/ is long, tense and closed.
(12) širini ‘cookie’
in ‘this’
zendegi ‘life’
nist ‘is not’
/e/ Mid front /e/ is short, lax and slightly open.
(13) bæcce ‘child’
ke ‘that’
cešm ‘eye’
emšæb ‘tonight’
/æ/ Low front /æ/ is short, lax and open.
(14) sæxt ‘difficult’
kærdæn ‘to do’
doxtæræm ‘my daughter’
æge ‘if
/u/ High back /u/ is long, tense, closed and round.
(15) xormalu ‘persimmon’
nur ‘light’
buf ‘owl’
unja ‘there’
/o/ Mid back /o/ is short, lax, slighly open and rounded.
(16) bolænd ‘loud’
do ‘two’
lakpošt ‘turtle’
omr ‘life’

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/a/ Low back /a/ is long, tense and open.
(17) baba ‘dad’
ab ‘water’
dad ‘she gave’
almani ‘German’
Note that /a/, /u/ and /i/ are long and /e/, /æ/ and /o/ are short. In both long and short vowels, length is a
redundant feature.
3.1.2.2.1.2 Diphthongs
Linguists agree that at least two diphthongs, [ey] and [ow], exist in modern Persian, though there is dispute about
their status phonemically.
One claim is that the diphthongs [ey] and [ow] are allophonic to /e/ and /o/, respectively, occurring at the end of a
word or before a consonant. The analysis that [ey] and [ow] are word-final allophones of /e/ and /o/ is challenged
by the fact that both [e] and [o] also exist word-finally:
(18) be pey
‘to’ ‘follow’
co jow
‘like’ ‘barley’
kilo jelow
‘kilogram’ ‘front’
Also [e] and [o] contrast with [ey] and [ow] in minimal pairs, as in (19).
(19) ke key
‘that (complement)’ ‘when’
do dow
‘two’ ‘run (noun)’
Further, both [ey] and [ow] occur in nonfinal contexts just as [e] and [o] do.

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(20) del meyl
‘heart’ ‘preference’
(21) kot dowr
‘jacket’ ‘around’
In addition, [ey] and [ow] sometimes minimally contrast with [e] and [o] in nonfinal position:
(22) sel seyl
‘tuberculosis’ ‘flood’
Other analyses consider [ey] a sequence of contiguous phonemes, /e/ and /y/, and [ow] as resulting from a word-
final offglide. One argument for interpreting [ey] and [ow] as vowel + consonantal sequences is based on syllable
structure. Within a syllable, Persian vowels may be followed by as many as two consonants (see Section 3.2.5.2).
[ey] and [ow], however, may only be followed by a single consonant, thus leading one to think of the glide in [ey]
and offglide in [ow] as consonantal.
The argument that these two diphthongs are nonphonemic holds better for [ey] than for [ow] because the [y] has
independent status in Persian and can in fact occur as a clear glide consonant word-initially. The offglide in [ow], in
contrast, has no independent status and occurs only after the [o]. Further, while it is interesting that [ow] is never
followed by two consonants within the same syllable (Windfuhr 1990:529), this does not imply that the offglide is
unambiguously consonantal. Syllable structure provides another argument in favor of a phonemic analysis of [ow].
Given that a consonant between two vowels is syllabically assigned to the second vowel (see Section 3.2.5.1), if the
offglide is considered consonantal, when [ow] is followed by a vowel we should expect the offglide to be assigned to
the following syllable. That is, the prediction is that the phonetic sequence [ow]+V should syllabify as [o]+[w]V.
However, Persian [ow]+V sequences do not syllabify in this way.
Thus, while both [ey] and [ow] are diphthongs and neither is unambiguously phonemic, the analysis above indicates
that /ow/ is phonemic and [ey] is not.
3.1.2.3 Restriction of vowels to loanwords
None of the seven vocalic phonemes occurs exclusively in loanwords.

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3.1.2.4 Restriction of vowels to word classes
No vocalic segment is restricted to any word class and no word class excludes any vocalic segment.
3.2 PHONOTACTICS
3.2.1 Distribution of nonsyllabic segments
3.2.1.1 Word-final consonants
There are no restrictions on which consonants may appear at the end of a word, though different consonants occur
with varying frequency in that position. For example, word-final /v/ appears only after /a/ and /i/ and word-final /y/
is relatively rare. See Section 3.1.2.1–5 for examples of words ending in consonants.
3.2.1.2 Word-initial consonants
There are no restrictions on which consonants may appear at the start of a word, although word-initial glottal [’] is
not phonemic. The glottal is inserted via a rule specifying that any word-initial (or, more generally, breath group-
initial) vowel be preceded by a glottal (see Section 3.1.2.1.1 and Section 3.4.4.2 on glottal insertion). A word-initial
glottal-vowel sequence never contrasts with a word-initial vowel.
3.2.2.1 Consonant clusters
3.2.2.1.1 Word-initial consonant clusters
Word-initial consonant clusters do not occur in Persian. Borrowed words with initial clusters in the source language
are broken up with a vowel to prevent word-initial CC (Strain 1968). The consonant cluster may be broken up via
prothesis, where a vowel is inserted before the cluster to make two syllables with a single consonant assigned to
each, resulting in a VC+C sequence.
(23) esport
‘sport’

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estudiyo
‘studio’
espageti
‘spaghetti’
Alternatively, word-initial clusters may be broken up via anaptyxis, with the epenthetic vowel inserted between the
consonants, resulting in a CV+C sequence.
(24) færanse < French France
teræn < French train
doroške < Russian drožki ‘small carriage’
Persian speakers learning a language such as English which allows word-initial consonant clusters tend to break up
the clusters with epenthetic vowels. See Section 3.4.4.2.
It is arguable that consonant clusters do exist morphemeinitially, at least on an abstract level, in the present stems
of a few verbs such as gozæštæn ‘to pass’ (present stem gzær) and šenaxtæn ‘to recognize’ (present stem šnasid ).
However, these present stems never appear word-initially since they are preceded by the durative prefix mi- or the
subjunctive/imperative prefix be-.
3.2.2.1.2 Word-final consonant clusters
Two-consonant clusters of various types can occur syllablefinally. Most classes of consonants may conjoin, though
some particular combinations are more common than others.
In the list below, gaps should be interpreted as extremely rare occurrences, at best, though not necessarily
nonexistent.
plosive+plosive: kæbk ‘partridge’,
plosive+fricative: hæbs ‘imprisonment’, lotf ‘kindess’, boqz ‘spite’
plosive+nasal: xætm ‘finish’
plosive+liquid: qætl ‘murder’, æbr ‘cloud’
plosive+glide: sæth ‘surface’, væjh ‘manner’
nasal+plosive: jæm’ ‘group’, omq ‘depth’

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nasal+fricative: ons ‘bond/connection’, senf corporation’
nasal+nasal: æmn ‘secure/safe’
nasal+liquid: omr ‘life’
nasal+glide: --
liquid+plosive: xælq ‘creation’, gorg ‘wolf
liquid+fricative: hers ‘greed’, bærf ‘snow’
liquid+nasal: gærm ‘warm’
liquid+liquid: --
liquid+glide: solh ‘peace’
fricative+plosive: deræxt ‘tree’, dæst ‘hand’
fricative+fricative: bænæfš ‘purple’
fricative+nasal: esm ‘name’, ræzm ‘habit/custom’
fricative+liquid: shæhr ‘city’, qofl ‘key, lock’
fricative+glide: --
glide+plosive: nahj ‘manner’, qæht ‘famine’
glide+fricative: mæhv ‘abolition’, mæhz ‘pure’
glide+nasal: fæhm ‘understanding’, væhm ‘imagination’
glide+liquid: mohr ‘seal’
glide+glide: --
3.2.2.1.3 Word-medial clusters
Medial clusters are permitted in monomorphemic words: mæmnun ‘grateful’, peste ‘pistachio’, momken ‘possibility’.
Further, many other clusters result at the juncture of morphemes, with as many as three consonants permitted
contiguously. It should be noted that consonant clusters are often reduced. See Section 3.4.4.1.4.
(25) dæstmal
‘handkerchief
cærxbad
‘cyclone’
angoštnema
‘notorious’
bæxšname
‘circular’

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dæstgah
‘equipment’
3.2.2.2 Description of consonant clusters
See Sections 3.2.2.1.1–3, above for examples of clusters.
3.2.3 Admissible vowels
3.2.3.1 Word-final vowels
The three long vowels, /a/, /i/ and /u/, are frequent wordfinally:
(26) hala šoma inja
‘now’ ‘you’ ‘here’
(27) irani miduni bi
‘Iranian’ ‘you know’ ‘without’
(28) alu xormalu mu
‘plum’ ‘persimmon’ ‘hair’
Less common word-finally are the short vowels, /e/ and /o/ and /æ/. It should be noted that /e/ does occur in some
high-frequency words such as ke ‘that’ and be ‘to’ as well as occurring as the ending in the past participle forms of
verbs, for example, kærd-e ‘done’, ræft-e ’gone’, dad-e ‘given’. Word-final /o/, while infrequent overall, also appears
in some high-frequency words: to ‘you’, do ‘two’, boro ‘go (imperative)’, polo ‘cooked rice’.
3.2.3.2 Word-initial vowels
Any vowel may occur at the start of a word, some more frequently than others.
Word-initial /a/ is very common.
(29) ab alu ajor
‘water’ ‘plum’ ‘brick’
Word-initial /i/ is somewhat less common.

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(30) in iman ijad
‘this’ ‘faith’ ‘creation’
Word-initial /u/ is uncommon.
(31) u umæd unja
‘she/he’ ‘she came’ ‘there’
Of the short, lax vowels, /e/ and /æ/ are the most common in word-initial position.
(32) estefade ensaf emkan
‘use’ ‘justice’ ‘possibility’
(33) æks ændaze æfkar
‘photograph’ ‘size’ ‘thoughts’
(34) omr otaq ostad
‘life’ ‘room’ ‘professor’
Word-initial /ow/ is rare.
(35) owlad owza owqat
‘offspring’ ‘condition’ ‘mood’
3.2.3.3. Sequences of vowels
Most vowel-vowel combinations are possible, the majority of which occur across morpheme boundaries. The most
common VV combinations involve the sequence vowel+/i/ or /i/+vowel. Other combinations are less frequent. One
vowel combination that does not occur within a word is /a/+/a/. Although many VV combinations result from
sequences of a lexical morpheme plus either an inflectional or derivational morpheme, intramorphemic VV sequences
also occur. See Section 3.2.3.3.1 below on the phonological rules that apply to vowel sequences across morpheme
boundaries.
Examples of vowel sequences across morpheme boundaries
(36) /ziba-i/
‘beautiful-ATTR’
‘beauty’

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(37) /zendegi-æm/
life-1S.PC
‘my life’
(37) /palto-a/
coat-PL
‘coats’
(38) /mu-a/
hair-PL
‘hair’
(39) /bi-ændaze/
without-measure
‘immeasurably/extremely’
(40) /mi-do-æm/
DUR-run-1S
‘Iran’
Examples of vowel sequences within a morpheme
(41) /doidæn/
‘to run’
(42) /xiar/
‘cucumber’
(43) /sanie/
‘second (of time)’
(44) /ziad/
‘a lot’
3.2.3.3.1 Sequences of vowels across morpheme boundaries
Most vowel sequences in Persian are found across morpheme boundaries. When two contiguous vowels belonging to
separate morphemes conjoin, depending on the phonetic environment, either a [y], [h] or nothing is inserted
between them, or one of the two vowels is dropped. See Section 3.4.4.2 on insertion processes.

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3.2.4 Structure of lexical morphemes
The syllabic breakup of words does not necessarily correspond to morphological structure. The rules of syllabification
take precedence over morphemic integrity. In spoken Persian, morpheme, word and phrasal boundaries are
generally ignored in syllabification at both the phonemic and phonetic levels. Compare the morphological structure of
the following words with their syllabic structure. See Section 3.2.5 below for rules of syllabification.
(45) goft-e
[gof+te]
‘said’
azad-i
[a+za+di]
‘freedom’
mi-dun-i
[mi+du+ni]
‘you know’
3.2.5 Syllable structure
Six syllable types occur: V, VC, VCC, CV, CVC, CVCC. Examples of syllables of the simple type V are:
(46) u e+te+faq a+sun
‘she, he’ ‘experience’ ‘easy’
Examples of syllables of the type VC are:
(47) an os+tad al+mas
‘that’ ‘professor’ ‘diamond’
Examples of syllables of the type VCC are:
(48) æsb esm æšk
‘horse’ ‘name’ ‘teardrop’
Examples of syllables of the type CV are:

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(49) ba u+tu ae+da
‘with’ ‘iron’ ‘mimic’
Examples of syllables of the type CVC are:
(50) pæ+ræn+de jam baq
‘bird’ ‘goblet’ ‘garden’
Examples of syllables of the type CVCC are:
(51) pošt zæng hosn
‘behind’ ‘bell’ ‘beauty’
Combining these syllable types into words of more than one syllable, we have, for example:
atiš ‘fire’ (V+CVC)
dændun ‘tooth’ (CVC+CVC)
albalu ‘cherry’ (VC+CV+CV)
ærzun ‘cheap’ (VC+CVC).
3.2.5.1 Consonant clusters and syllables
3.2.5.1.1 Assignation of medial units and medial clusters
Two strategies guide the division of syllables and how consonant clusters are broken up syllabically. First, two
syllables are divided to keep the first syllable open. Thus, a consonant between two vowels is syllabically assigned to
the second vowel with the syllabic result being V+CV, as shown in the examples below.
(52) dæ+maq ‘nose’
ni+ru ‘force’
xa+heš ‘request’
a+dæm ‘man/person’
i+jad ‘creation’
Second, in cases of consonant clusters, the final consonant of the cluster is assigned to the second syllable. Thus, a
syllable break is between two successive consonants, with the resulting syllabic sequence VC+CV:

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(53) eš+kal ‘difficulty’
sæn+doq ‘box’
mæz+nun ‘infamous’
piš+va ‘leader’
eš+te+bah ‘error’
The latter rule applies to a series of three consonants. Three contiguous consonants are broken up so that the final
consonant is assigned to the second syllable and the first two consonants are assigned to the first syllable, with the
resulting syllabic structure VCC+CV. This is consistent with the prohibition against word-initial consonant clusters.
(54) qæ+šæng+tær ‘more beautiful’
dæst+mal ‘handkerchief
šæhr+dar ‘mayor’
sæng+del ‘hardhearted’
3.2.5.1.2 Canonical syllable type
The canonical syllable type is (C) V (C) (C). Considering that breath group-initial (including word-initial) vowels are
preceded by epenthetic [’], one can reinterpret the above phonemic canonical syllable type of words in citation form
or in breath-group initial position as phonetically C V (C) (C).
It has been suggested that a borrowed word like tæmr < French timbre ‘stamp’, which is spelled with a ‘b’ in
Persian, should be considered as ending in a triconsonantal cluster. However, the [b] is never pronounced in Persian
and it appears that the Persian spelling merely reflects its French source rather than Persian pronunciation. Even if
one were to accept CVCCC as a possible syllable type, it is an extremely marginal attempt to adopt a foreign
pronunciation.
Some syllable types are more common than others. According to several studies, the most common syllable type is
CVC while the least frequent is VCC. At the word level, the most common word type is CV+CVC, with the next most
common being CVC. Of 529 possible clusters, 183 actually occur (see references in Windfuhr 1979:143).
As a historical note, intramorphemic consonant clusters are predominantly of Arabic origin. One study showed that
word-final clusters fall into 11 groups in Persian-origin words and 126 groups in Arabic-origin words while there are
twice as many word-medial

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cluster combinations of Arabic types than of Persian types (see Windfuhr 1979:143).
3.2.6 Co-occurrence restrictions
3.2.6.1 Word/syllable initial elements
There are no restrictions on which syllabic element can follow a word-initial or syllable-initial consonant. As
mentioned earlier, word-initial consonant clusters are prohibited.
A word-initial vowel is seldom followed by another vowel.
3.2.6.2 Word/syllable-final elements
There are few absolute restrictions between word-final consonants/clusters and preceding vowels. Of the restrictions
that do exist, one specifies that word-final /v/ can only be preceded by /a/ or /i/, as in the following examples.
(55) gav
‘cow’
(56) div
‘devil’
3.2.6.3 Initial-final restrictions
There are no restrictions between syllable-initial units or clusters and syllable-final units or clusters.
Within a word, /a/ cannot end one syllable and begin the following syllable. Other than this restriction, cooccurrence
is free between which units end a syllable and which units start the next syllable.
3.2.6.4 Vowel harmony
Vowel harmony is a restricted phenomenon in Persian. Instances of vowel harmony involve a few prepositions, clitics
and inflections. In all cases, vowel harmony applies across morpheme boundaries and involves a lexical root which
triggers a change, either forward to the clitic or backward to an inflectional prefix.

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3.2.6.4.1 Prepositions effecting vowel harmony
The prepositions ba ‘with’, be ‘to’ and æz ‘from’ trigger vowel harmony on clitics which suffix to them.
Note also that in the cases of ba and be, both ending in vowels, an [h] is inserted between the final vowel of the
preposition and the initial vowel of the clitic. (Also see Section 3.4.4.2 for a discussion of insertion rules.)
(57) ba+æm [bah am] ‘with me’
ba+et [bahat] ‘with you’
ban+ eš [bahaš] ‘with her/him’
ba+emun [bahamun] ‘with us’
ba+etun [bahatun] ‘with you’
ba+ešun [bahašun] ‘with them’
(58) be+æm [behem] ‘to me’
be+et [behet] ‘to you’
be+eš [beheš] ‘to her/him’
be+emun [behemun] ‘to us’
be+etun [behetun] ‘to you’
be+ešun [behešun] ‘to them’
(59) æz+æm [æzæm] ‘from me’
æz+et [æzæt] ‘from you’
æz+eš [æzæš] ‘from her/him’
æz+emun [æzæmun] ‘from us’
æz+etun [æzætun] ‘from you’
æz+ešun [æzæšun] ‘from them’
3.2.6.4.2 Inflections undergoing vowel harmony
The negative prefix næ- and the subjunctive/imperative prefix be- undergo vowel harmony to assimilate to the
vowel in the following morpheme. In the case of næ-, only the durative prefix mitriggers harmony. Compare the
examples in (60) which do not undergo harmony and the examples in (61), where vowel harmony applies as /æ/ is
raised to [e].
(60) næ+xord [næxord] ‘he/she didn’t eat’
næ+rixt [nærixt] ‘he/she didn’t spill’
næ+xast [næxast] ‘he/she didn’t want’

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(61) næ+mi+xor+e [nemixore] ‘he/she doesn’t eat’
næ+mi+r+æm [nemiræm] ‘I’m not going’
næ+mi+xab+i [nemixabi] ‘you won’t sleep’
The subjunctive/imperative prefix be- undergoes harmony more generally than does næ-, be- become bo- before a
syllable containing an /o/. In spoken Persian the rule applies regularly before kon ‘do’ and r ‘go’, although the prefix
is often deleted in compounds made with kon ‘do’.
(62) ben+kon [bokon] ‘Do it.’
be+ro [boro] ‘Go.’
be+xor [boxor] ‘Eat.’
In a number of other verbs the harmony applies optionally. With respect to usage, in (640) [bopors] is less common
than [bepors].
(63) be+do [bedo] or [bodo] ‘Run.’
(64) be+pors [bepors] or [bopors] ‘Ask.’
3.2.6.5 Consonant harmony
See restrictions immediately below.
3.2.6.6 Restrictions between adjacent/nonadjacent segments
See Section 3.2.2.1 on permissible consonant clusters.
3.2.6.7 Phonotactic patterns with different word classes
There are no particular phonotactic patterns that correspond to particular word classes.
3.3 SUPRASEGMENTALS
3.3.1 Length distinction
3.3.1.1 Vowel length
There are no vowel distinctions based on length. The vowels

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/a/, /i/ and /u/ and the diphthong /ow/ are long; /e/, /æ/ and /o/ are short. Vowel length is a redundant feature in
Persian.
3.3.1.2 Length in other syllables
There are no nonvowel syllabics in Persian.
3.3.1.3 Length in glides/semivowels
There are no distinctions between glides or semivowels based on length.
3.3.1.4–7 Length in liquids, nasals, fricatives and plosives
Geminate consonants exist in Persian and occasionally result in minimal pairs. As mentioned in 3.1.2.1.6, geminate
consonants are more likely to be found in words of Arabic origin than in words of Persian origin. It should be noted
that a geminate is pronounced long only if followed by a vowel.
Following are some words of Arabic origin that contain geminates.
(65) ællah qesse madde
‘God’ ‘story’ ‘matter’
æmma edde sekke
‘but’ ‘group’ coin
Some geminates exist in Persian-origin words, but these are usually a result of assimilation. The assimilation is
common but not obligatory. See Section 3.4.1.1.5 on total assimilation.
(66) /peste/ [pesse] ‘pistachio’
/zemestun/ [zemessun] ‘winter’
Some Persian-origin words with geminates that do not stem from assimilation are bæcce ‘child’, tikke ‘piece’, tæppe
‘hill’ and læppe ‘split pea’. Note, however, that the geminates in these words are often, if not usually, reduced.

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3.3.2 STRESS
3.3.2.1 Role of stress
Word-stress placement is on the whole predictable. Persian stress is, therefore, generally not phonemic. Only in a
few word pairs does stress serve to distinguish meanings (see Section 3.5.1–2). On the whole, the role of stress
seems to be to demarcate words and phrases.
3.3.2.2 Phonetic correlates of stress
Stress in Persian involves both intensity and pitch. It is unclear whether pitch or intensity is the primary feature of
stress. Intensity and pitch are associated in that the syllable with strong stress is often the syllable with the highest
pitch level. Pitch levels are not absolute, but relative to each other and other intonation patterns in the sentence.
3.3.2.3 Levels of stress
There are two levels of stress, weak and strong. One syllable per word is assigned strong stress and the others
receive weak stress. See Section 3.3.2.4 for assignment of stress in the word.
Syllables also get different pitch levels within the word. In most cases, as many as three different pitch levels can be
realized (a fourth pitch level is used for extra emphasis). As mentioned above, typically the syllable in the word with
strong stress correlates with the highest pitch. There are, however, many exceptions to the cooccurrence of stress
and pitch when units longer than the word are involved. While each word in a sentence will, often, retain its stress
as assigned by the rules explained in Section 3.3.2.4.1, pitch assignment is more phrase-sensitive and is applied
beyond the word level.
In a one-word sentence, pitch and stress correlate. In example (67) the last non-enclitic syllable, nun, gets both the
strong stress and the highest pitch. Both of the other two syllables receive weak stress, but they get different pitch
levels, with the enclitic suffix -æm getting the lowest pitch and the nonstressed syllable of the stem, mæm, getting a
mid-level pitch. (In the following examples, bold underlined letters indicate that the syllable receives strong stress.
The superscripts 1, 2, and 3 preceding the syllable indicate the highest, mid and lowest pitch levels, respectively.)

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(67) 2æm1nun-3æm
grateful-am
‘I’m grateful.’
When the stress in on a syllable other than the last nonenclitic/noninflectional syllable of the word, the highest pitch
still cooccurs with the stress. Thus, the durative prefix mi-, which takes primary stress, also receives the highest
pitch level in the word.
(68) 1mi-2fæhm-3æm
DUR-understand-1S
‘I understand.’
But in the context of a longer phrase, although words will often keep the stress pattern assigned to them by word-
stress rules, the pitch levels tend to be phrase-sensitive, taking into account phrasal and sentential pitch for focus
and contrast.
(69) 2un1ja 2dæs3te1ras3te 2ban3ke
there hand-EZ right-EZ bank-is
‘Over there to the right of the bank.’
Note in example (69) that the word bank, although stressed, does not get a high pitch. This sentence would have
been used in a context where the emphasis is on which side of the bank something is located. If instead bank had
been a element of contrast or some other focus (‘to the right of the bank, not to the right of the insurance
company’), then it would have received high pitch as well as the stress given it by word-stress rules, as shown in
example (70).
(70) 2un1ja 2dæs3te 2ras3te 1ban3ke
there hand-EZ right-EZ bank-is
‘Over there to the right of the bank.’
Also see Section 3.3.4 for a discussion of intonation patterns.
3.3.2.4 Position of stress
3.3.2.4.1 General word-final stress
With few exceptions, stress is word-final in simple nouns, derived nouns, compound nouns, simple adjectives,
derived

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adjectives, compound adjectives, infinitives, the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives as well as in nouns
with plural suffixes. The regular word-final stress pattern also applies to borrowed words.
Simple nouns
(71) juje ‘chicken’
pasebun ‘police officer’
mædrese ‘school’
otobus ‘bus’
labratuar ‘laboratory’
Plurals (-a, -ha, -an, -gan)
(72) æsba ‘horses’
deræxtan ‘trees’
setareha ‘stars’
pærændegan ‘birds’
Derived nouns
(73) širini ‘cookie’
gorosnegi ‘hunger’
qarætgær ‘plunderer’
baqeban ‘gardener’
bibu ‘odorless’
danešmænd ‘scholar’
Compound nouns
(74) mehmunxune ‘hotel’
doxtærxale ‘female cousin’
gavæhæn ‘plowshare’
tæxtexab ‘bed’
Simple adjectives
(75) xošgel ‘pretty’
zeræeng ‘smart’
jaleb ‘interesting’

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Derived adjectives
(76) tæ’æsofamiz ‘unfortunate’
qæmgin ‘sorrowful’
bifæhm ‘stupid’
Compound adjectives
(77) xošæxlaq ‘good-natured’
bædbin ‘pessimistic’
tizrow ‘speedy’
basæfa ‘pleasant’
Comparatives (-tær)
(78) behtær ‘better’
bozorgtær ‘bigger’
balatær ‘higher
Superlatives (-tærin)
(79) kuciktærin ‘smallest’
mohemtærin ‘most important’
tæmiztærin ‘cleanest’
Infinitives
(80) duxtæn ‘to sew’
fekr kærdæn ‘to think’
saxtæn ‘to build’
3.3.2.4.2 Exceptions to word-final stress
There are a few exceptions to the general word-final stress pattern, mostly in multimorphemic words. A few are
lexically determined. Among the suffixes which do not take stress are the pronominal clitics -æm, -et, -eš, -emun, -
etun, -ešun. When these are used, the primary stress is on the penultimate syllable of the word.
(81) mašin-æm
‘my car’

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(82) qælæm-et
‘your pen’
Both the connectives, -o ‘and’ and -hæm ‘also’, are also unstressed.
(83) nun-o…
bread-and…
‘bread and…’
(84) mæn-æm…
I-also
‘I also…’
The definite direct object marker -ra/-ro/-o is unstressed. Stress thus falls on the last syllable of the nominal stem.
(85) pænieræ-ro
window-OM
‘the window’
The person/number endings of verbs take no stress and leave the primary stress of the word on the final syllable of
the verbal root.
(86) šost-ænd
washed-3P
‘They washed.’
The ezafe -e/-ye is unstressed, leaving word stress on the penultimate syllable.
(87) tu-ye
in-EZ
(88) eynæk-e
eyeglasses-EZ
‘eyeglasses’
In addition, the indefinite marker -i does not receive stress but leaves stress on the penultimate syllable.

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(89) æks-i
picture-IND
‘a picture’
(90) dæbestan-i
elementary school-IND
‘an elementary school’
The durative prefix mi-, the subjunctive/imperative prefix beand the negative prefix næ- all attract primary stress
from the verbal root when they occur as the first syllable of the word.
(91) mi-xun-æm
DUR-read-1S.PC
‘I’m reading.’
(92) be-xab
IMP-sleep
‘Sleep.’
If næ- appears with mi-, næ- gets the primary stress.
(93) ne-mi-dun-æm
NEG-DUR-know-1S.PC
‘I don’t know.’
Finally, there are some lexical items which are irregular in that, although not containing any inflections, they place
stress on a nonfinal syllable.
(94) bæle ‘yes’
šayæd ‘possibly’
bælke ‘not only, contrary to’
æmma ‘but’
mægær ‘but/unless’
hærgah ‘whenever’
3.3.2.5–6 Predictability of stress
Stress is generally predictable. See Section 3.3.2.4.1–2,

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3.3.3 Tone
Persian is not a tone language.
3.3.4 Intonation
3.3.4.1 Major intonation patterns
At least five important syntactic and semantic intonation patterns can be distinguished in conversational Persian. The
pitch levels in the intonation patterns are heavily influenced by the stress patterns of the syllables in the words and
phrases. Stressed syllables raise the pitch level higher than the general intonation pattern would ordinarily demand
and unstressed syllables lower the expected pitch levels of the intonation pattern. Therefore the following
descriptions of intonation patterns are meant to be general.
The five patterns can be labeled as:
a) rising-falling intonation, typically used in statements,
b) mid-rising intonation, typically used in yes/no questions,
c) low-rising intonation, typically used in a sequence of phrase groups,
d) mid-falling intonation, typically used in imperatives, and
e) high-falling intonation, typically used in WH-questions.
a) Rising-falling intonation
In a rising-falling intonation, which is used in declarative statements, the pitch starts from a low level, rises toward
the middle of the sentence and drops significantly at the end of the statement.
(95) hæfte-ye dige mi-r-im tæbriz
week-EZ else DUR-go-1P Tabriz
‘Next week we’ll go to Tabriz.’

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(96) pedær-eš ostad-e
father-3S.PC professor-is
‘Her father is a professor.’
b) Mid-rising intonation
In mid-rising intonation, used in yes/no questions, the sentence begins on a mid-level pitch and rises to a rather
high pitch at the end of the question.
(97) mi-r-i birun?
DUR-go-2S out
‘Are you going out?’
(98) pedær-et ostad-e?

father-2S.PC professor-is
‘Is your father a professor?’

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c) Low-rising intonation
In low-rising intonation, used to indicate that each of a set of phrase groups is to be followed with more information,
each phrase starts low and rises high. The pattern can be repeated an indefinite number of times. After the series of
phrases, the sentence resolves with a falling intonation as a declarative sentence.
(99) ye kif-o ye joft kæfš-o ye piræn xærid-æm
a purse- and a pair shoe-and a dress bought-1S
‘I bought a purse, a pair of shoes and a dress.’
d) Mid-falling intonation
Mid-falling intonation, which is used in imperative sentences, begins on mid-level pitch, maintains at a relatively mid
level and then falls at the end of the sentence.
(100) bo-ro mædrese
IMP-go school
‘Go to school.’
(101) otaq-et-o tæmiz--kon

room-2S.PC-OM clean--do
‘Clean your room.’

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Note that the intonation patterns in the imperatives in both (100) and (101) are the same, even though the verb is
at the beginning of the sentence in (100) and at the end in (101).
e) High-falling intonation
High-falling intonation, which is used in WH-questions, has an intonation peak on the WH-word, whether or not
there is sentential material preceding it, and falls at the end of the question.
(102) koja mi-r-i?
where DUR-go-2S
(103) ki tu hæyat-e?
who in courtyard-is
‘Who’s in the courtyard?’

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(104) pedær-et koja mi-r-e?
father-2S.PC where DUR-go-3S
‘Where’s your father going?’
3.3.4.2 Intonation peak

In normal nonemphatic, noncontrastive intonation, the peak of intonation overlaps with the stress of the most
prominent word in terms of focus, according to the various types of intonation patterns described in Section 3.3.4.1.
(In the following sentences, the bolded and underlined syllables receive both stress and intonation peak.)
a) In a rising-falling intonation pattern typical of declarative sentences, the intonation peak applies according to the
following hierarchy:
NEW INFORMATION>NEGATIVE VERBAL PREFIX næ->DURATIVE mi-
See examples in 3.3.4.1 (a).
b) With mid-rising intonation, typically used in yes/no questions, the intonation peak hierarchy is as follows:
NEGATIVE næ->DURATIVE PREFIX mi->LAST SYLLABLE OF QUESTION
See examples in 3.3.4.1 (b).
c) In the low-rising intonation pattern used in a concatenation of conjoined phrase groups, the intonation peak is on
the stressed syllable of each phrase group. Syllable stress is typically assigned by the usual stress rules requiring
stress on the last non-enclitic or non-inflectional syllable of the word.

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(105) ye kif-o ye joft kæfš-o ye piræn
a purse-and a pair shoe-and a dress
xærid-æm
bought-1S
‘I bought a purse, a pair of shoes and a dress.’
(106) ræft-im kuhnæværdi-o dæm-e sahel-o didæn-e
went-1P hiking-and next-EZ beach-and to see-EZ
dust-a-mun
friend-PL-1P.PC
‘We went hiking and to the beach and to see our friends.’
d) In the mid-falling intonation pattern typical of imperatives, the intonation peak hierarchy is applied as follows:
NEW INFORMATION>NEGATIVE or IMPERATIVE PREFIX
See examples in 3.3.4.1 (d).
e) In the high-falling intonation pattern of WH-questions, the intonation peak falls on the stressed syllable of the
WH-word. Syllable stress is typically assigned by the usual stress rules requiring stress on the last non-
enclitic/noninflectional syllable of the word.
(107) koja mi-r-im?
where DUR-go-1P
‘Where are we going?’
(108) un pærænde-ye zærd be Farsi ci-e
that bird-EZ yellow in Persian what-is
‘What do you call that yellow bird in Persian?’
3.3.4.3–4 Emphatic intonation and contrastive stress
In a sentence using contrastive stress or emphatic intonation, the stress and intonation patterns shift to the word
being contrasted or emphasized. For example, as described in Section 3.3.4.1 above, the stress/intonation peak in an
unmarked (nonemphatic, noncontrastive) yes/no question is at the end of the sentence, shown in example (109).
However, if someone wants to question whether one means of transportation rather than another is intended, the
stress/intonation shifts to the stressed syllable of the word referring to the means of

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transportation, as shown in example (110), Note again that holding and underlining indicate peaks of stress and
intonation.
(109) ba mašin mi-r-i tehrun?
with car DUR-go-2S Tehran
‘Are you going to Tehran by car?’
(110) ba mašin mi-ri tehrun?
with car DUR-go-2S Tehran
‘Are you going to Tehran by car (rather than by train)?’
Shifting the stress changes focus in many kinds of sentences. For example, the focus in the answer to the question
in (111) is on identifying who is present while in (112) the focus in on whether someone is or will be present.
(111) A: ki-e
‘Who’s there?’
B: mæn hæst-æm
I be-1S
‘It’s me.’/‘I am (here).’
(112) A: ne-mi-xa-m bæcce-ha-ro tænha be-zar-æm
‘I don’t want to leave the children alone.’
B: mæn hæst-æm
I be-1S
‘I’ll be here.’
In cases where the contrasted/emphasized element is already in the syntactically determined stress/intonational peak
of the unmarked sentence, the intonation of that element in the contrastive sentence will be raised higher than usual
in order to distinguish the contrastive/ emphasized sentence from the noncontrastive/ nonemphasized sentence.
Compare (113) and (114).
with car DUR-go-2S Tehran?
‘Are you going to Tehran by car?’

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‘Are you going by car to Tehran (rather than to Shiraz)?’
It is possible for more than one element to receive emphatic intonation/contrastive stress.
‘You’re going by car to Tehran ?’
3.3.4.5 Subtypes of intonation patterns
There are no noteworthy subtypes of intonation patterns other than those already described.
3.3.4.6 Interaction of intonations patterns with tone height
This is not relevant since Persian is not a tone language.
3.4 MORPHOPHONOLOGY (SEGMENTAL)
3.4.1 Morphophonology
3.4.1.1 Assimilatory processes
There are a number of straightforward assimilation rules in Persian. Following are some of the easily observable
assimilation phenomena.
3.4.1.1.1 Velarization and uvularization
/n/ velarizes before the back consonants /k/ and /g/ and uvularizes before /q/.
(116) Velar n
/ræng/ [ræŋg]
‘color’
/ængošt/ [æŋgošt]
‘finger’

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/enkar/ [eŋkar]
‘denial’
/enqæd/ [enqqæd]
‘this amount’
3.4.1.1.2 Labialization
/n/ labializes before /b/ and /p/ although it is hard to find an intraword /np/ sequence.
(117) /ænbær/ [æmbær]
‘amber’
/mænbæ’ [mæmbæ’]
‘source’
/donbal/ [dombal]
‘following’
/gonbæd/ [gombæd]
‘cupola’
/in pænir/ [impænir]
‘this cheese’
Before /v/ and /f/, /n/ assimilates and becomes either labial or labiodental.
/ænva/ [æmva]
‘variety’
/ænfiye/ [æmfiye]
‘snuff
3.4.1.1.3 Devoicing
The voiced stops partially devoice after a voiceless segment. (We use the symbol ‘k’ in (118) and (119) to represent
a partially devoiced velar stop.)
(118) /xošgel/ [xoskel]

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(119) /mošgel/ [moškel]
The voiced stops also partially devoice word-finally. It is important to note that the devoicing is not complete and
that a devoiced /b/, for example, is not homophonous with /p/ in word-final position. (Again, we use symbols for the
voiceless sounds to represent a partially devoiced stop.)
(120) /xub/ [xup]
‘good’
(121) /bad/ [bat]
‘wind/breeze’
3.4.1.1.4 Spirantization
The voiced dorso-uvular stop /q/, whose unclear phonemic status is discussed in Section 3.1.2.1.1, often spirantizes
between sonorants.
(122) /aqa/
‘šir, man’
(123) /qurbaqe/
‘frog’
(124) /æqræb/
‘scorpion’
(125) /æql/
‘intelligence’
If /q/ is considered a voiced dorso-uvular stop, then cases can be found where both Spirantization and devoicing
take place, as in (126) and (127).
(126) /væqt/ [væqt]
‘time’
(127) /ræqs/ [ræxs]
‘dance’

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3.4.1.1.5 Total assimilation
Total assimilation sometimes occurs when /s/ precedes /t/ within a morpheme.
(128) /bæste/ [bæsse]
‘package’
(129) /peste/ [pesse]
‘pistachio’
(130) /zemestun/ [zemessun]
‘winter’
(131) /estekan/ [essekan]
‘tea glass’
3.4.1.2 Dissimilation
Dissimilation does not seem to be very productive. There are, however, two processes involving affricates that can
be argued to be dissimilatory. The affricate /j/ sometimes spirantizes. The typical environment for affricate
spirantization seems to be before alveolars. The process can be considered dissimilatory in that the occlusive /j/
becomes a fricative before another occlusive.
(132) /ejtema/ [ežtema]
‘society’
(133) /hijdæ/ [hiždæ]
‘eighteen’
(134) tæjdid [tæždid]
‘renew’
(135) ejbar [ežbar]
‘obligation’
A similar case of dissimilation involves the affricate /c/, which spirantizes before the occlusive /k/.

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(136) /hicki/ [hiški]
no one
(137) /hickodum/ [hiškodum]
‘none of’
3.4.1.3 Other alternations between segments
Three other alternations between segments which are common in Persian are the a/u alternation, -ra/-ro alternation
and ye/yek alternation.
a) a/u-alternation
In colloquial speech, /a/ usually becomes [u] before an /n/ or /m/ within a word. This alternation affects words from
various categories: nouns, verbs, adjective and adverbs. This is a very productive rule used by all speakers of the
Tehran dialect except in formal contexts.
(138) /an/ [un]
‘that’
/mandæn/ [mundæn]
‘to remain’
/tehran/ [tehrun]
‘Tehran’
/eyvan/ [eyvun]
‘veranda’
/negæran/ [negærun]
‘worried’
/xændan/ [xændun]
‘laughingly’
/badam/ [badum]
‘almond’
/aram/ [arum]
‘calm’

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However, it should be noted that there are some exceptions to this rule. (In the following examples the barred arrow
indicates the sound rule or alternation does not apply.)
(140) /van/ *[vun]
‘bathtub’
(141) /dam/ *[dum]
‘trap’
b) -ra/-ro alternation
There is also a frequent alternation between the -ra and -ro forms of the definite object marker, -ra is used in formal
contexts while -ro ( -o following words ending in consonants) is used in informal and colloquial interactions.
c) yek/ye-alternation
In colloquial style yek is used almost exclusively for the cardinal number ‘one’ and ye is used for the indefinite
article. In formal contexts yek is used for both functions.
3.4.2 Metathesis
Metathesis is not a productive process in modern Persian.
3.4.3 Coalescense and split
There are no examples of coalescence or split in Persian.
3.4.4 Deletion and insertion
3.4.4.1 Deletion processes
A number of deletion processes are productive in Persian, many of which are related to simplification of consonant
clusters. The back consonants /h/ and /’/ are particularly susceptible to deletion, but other sounds can be dropped
as well.
Deletion is on the whole a variable rule. In formal contexts speakers are generally careful to pronounce all the
sounds of words as they are spelled. Also, speakers will enunciate when asked for a

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lexical item, such as when asking what the Persian word is for suchand-such. But in informal conversational Persian,
deletion is not only quite common but is probably the rule.
3.4.4.1.1 h-deletion
The glottal /h/ is optionally deleted in conversational Persian in any position within the syllable other than syllable-
initially. (There is one case where h-deletion occurs syllable-initially, when the connective clitic -hæm ‘also’ is added
to a stem. See 3.4.4.2.2.2 below.) /h/ is most often deleted in clusters, word-finally and intervocalically.
h-deletion in consonant clusters
/h/ is often deleted in both medial and final consonant clusters. While a more general strategy of consonant
simplification plays a role, it is the /h/ rather than the other sound in a cluster which is deleted. That is, /h/ is
deleted whether it is the first or second consonant of a cluster. Consider the following words in which /h/ is deleted
as the first element in a word-final cluster.
(142) /šæhr/ [šær]
‘city’
(143) /æhl/ [æl]
‘inhabitant’
(144) /mæhv/ [mæv]
‘invisible’
/h/ is also deleted when it is the second element in a wordfinal consonant cluster.
(145) /sæth/ [sæt]
‘surface’
(146) /sobh/ [sob]
‘morning’
In word-medial clusters, /h/ is also dropped as both the first and second element of the consonant cluster.

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(147) /tehran/ [teran]
‘Tehran’
(148) /æhvaz/ [ævaz]
Avaz (name of a city)
(149) /ehteram/ [eteram]
‘respect’
(150) /šahpur/ [šapur]
Shapur (a man’s name)
(151) /fæhmidæn/ [fæmidæn]
‘to understand’
(152) /sæfhe/ [sæfe]
‘page’
It should be noted that when the /h/ is deleted between a vowel and a consonant, the vowel undergoes
compensatory lengthening. Thus, here we transcribe several of the examples immediately above more narrowly to
indicate the lengthened vowel.
(153) /æhl/ [æ:l]
‘inhabitant’
(154) /ehteram/ [e:teram]
‘respect’
The variation between the -a and -ha forms of the plural are probably an instance of the more general rule of h-
deletion in a consonant cluster. If /ha/ is considered as the underlying form of the Persian plural, then the variant -a
can be thought of as resulting from deletion of the /h/ in a resultant word-medial consonant cluster. When the stem
ends in a consonant, the -a variant of the plural is used.
(155) /durbin-ha/ [durbin-a]
camera-PL
‘cameras’
(156) /mahi-ha/
fish-PL
‘fishes’

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Exceptions to h-deletion in consonant clusters
There are some cases where h-deletion cannot take place, although it is difficult to say whether these nondeletions
stem from restrictions on h-deletion rules or from other, morphological or lexical, considerations. (In the following
examples the barred arrow indicates the sound rule or alternation does not apply.)
(157) /æhrom/ *[ærom]
‘lever’
(158) /æhd/ *[æd]
‘treaty, covenant’
(159) /ohde/ *[ode]
‘responsibility’
(160) /mehd/ *[med]
‘disappearance’
Word-final noncluster h-deletion
When not part of a cluster, /h/ is typically deleted at the end of a word in conversational Persian.
(161) /dæh/ [dæ]
‘ten’
(162) /deh/ [de]
‘village’
(163) /šah/ [ša]
‘king’
(164) /sæhih/ [sæhi]
‘correct’
While the final /h/ is nearly always deleted in conversational Persian, we can be reasonably certain that the /h/ does
exist at a more abstract level of representation. The /h/ appears in derived and inflected forms when the derivational
or inflectional morpheme begins with a vowel. In the derivational and inflectional forms the /h/ is pronounced.

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(165) /dæh-omin/ [dæhomin]
ten-ordinal suffix
‘tenth’
(166) /šah-an/ [šahan]
king-PL
‘kings’
Intervocalic h-deletion
Less productive is deletion of /h/ between vowels. There are a few words in which /h/ can be deleted:
(167) /xaheš/ [xaeš]
‘request’
(168) /xahær/ [xaær]
‘sister’
Also, in a few words where /h/ is preceded and followed by the same vowel, both /h/ and the following vowel are
deleted.
(169) /cahar/ [car]
‘four’
(170) /cehel/ [cel]
‘forty’
Further, there are many more words where the /h/ cannot be dropped intervocalically. (In the following examples
the barred arrow indicates the sound rule or alternation doesn’t apply.)
(171) /bahar/ *[bar]
‘spring’
(172) /behest/ *[bešt]
‘heaven’
(173) /ahæn/ *[aæn]
‘iron’
(174) /sahel/ *[sael]
‘coast’

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Syllable-initial h-deletion
/h/ is generally not deleted syllable-initially. However, as mentioned above, there is one case where h-deletion
occurs at the start of a syllable. When the unstressed clitic -hæm ‘also’ is added to a stem ending in a consonant,
the /h/ is typically deleted.
(175) /mæn-hæm/ [mænæm]
I-also
‘I also’
(176) /færhad-hæm/ [færhadæm]
Fahrhad-also
‘Fahrhad also’
(177) /ceraq-hæm/ [ceraqæm]
lamp-also
‘lamp also’
3.4.4.1.2 Glottal-stop deletion
In conversational speech, the glottal stop can be deleted in many of the same environments where h-deletion also
takes place.
Glottal-stop deletion in consonant clusters
The glottal stop is often deleted in consonant clusters, whether word-finally or word-medially. Like /h/, /’/ is the
deleted element whether it is the first or second element in the cluster. As in h-deletion, when /’/ is deleted as the
first element of a cluster after a vowel, that vowel undergoes compensatory lengthening. Example (178) shows
deletion word-finally, while (179)-(181) show medial glottal deletion and compensatory vowel lengthening.
(178) /jæm’/ [jæm]
‘crowd’
(179) /bæ’d/ [bæ:d]
‘after’
(180) /mæ’muli/ [mæ:muli]
‘ordinary’

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(181) /te’dad/ [te:dad]
‘a number of’
Deletion of noncluster glottal word-finally
When /’/ is deleted after a vowel word-finally, the preceding vowel is slightly lengthened.
(182) /no’/ [no:]
‘kind, sort’
(183) /æšya’/ [æšya:]
‘items’
(184) /tulu’/ [tulu:]
‘rising’
Intervocalic glottal-stop deletion
Intervocalic deletion of /’/ is quite productive and seems generally unconstrained. Compensatory lengthening does
not seem to occur since there already is a resulting VV sequence after the /’/ is deleted.
(185) /sa’æt/ [saæt]
‘hour’
(186) /te’edad/ [teedad]
‘a number’
(187) /tæbi’i/ [tæbii]
3.4.4.1.3 r-deletion
In a limited number of words, /r/ is optionally deleted as the second element of a word-final consonant cluster.
(188) /fekr/ [fek]
‘thought’
(189) /estæxr/ [estæx]
‘pool’

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(190) /sæbr/ [sæb]
‘patience’
There are many words where the /r/ in the cluster cannot be deleted. On purely phonological grounds, it is difficult
to predict which words allow r-deletion and which do not. (The barred arrow indicates that the sound rule does
not apply.)
(191) /æbr/ *[æb]
‘could’
(192) /ætr/ *[æt]
‘perfume’
(193) /æmr/ *[æm]
‘command’
(194) /fæxr/ *[fæx]
‘honor’
(195) /qæbr/ *[qæb]
‘grave’
(196) /bæbr/ *[bæb]
‘panther’
In word-final /hr/ clusters, it is always the /h/ that is deleted.
(197) /šæhr/ [šær], but not *[šæh]
‘city
3.4.4.1.4 Other consonant cluster reductions
Two other consonant-cluster reductions involve alveolar stops. As the second element of an /st/ or /št/ cluster, the
/t/ can be deleted when it is not followed by a vowel.
(198) /dæst/ [dæs]
‘hand’
(199) /dæstgah/ [dæsgah]
‘equipment’

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(200) /ængoštnema/ [ængošnema]
‘notorious’
(201) /rastgu/ [rasgu]
‘truthful’
When a vowel follows an /st/ cluster, either /t/ is retained or gemination occurs. See Sections 3.3.1.4–7 and 3.4.1.1
on gemination.
The voiced apico-alveolar stop /d/ can be deleted word-finally when it follows /n/. The most common occurrence of
this deletion is in the third-person plural agreement verbal suffix /-ænd/. This suffix is nearly always simplified to [-
æn] in conversational speech, even when the subsequent word begins with a vowel.
(202) /mund-ænd/ [mundæn]
stay-3P
‘They stayed.’
(203) /mi-nevešt-ænd/ [mineveštæn]
DUR-wrote-3P
‘They were writing.’
Other instances of post-/n/ apico-alveolar deletion occur only across morpheme boundaries when the morpheme
following the cluster begins with a consonant.
(204) /cænd-ta/ [cænta]
how many-CL
‘how many’
(205) /bolænd-qæd/ [bolænqæd]
tall-height
‘tall’
Deletion of /m/ as the second element in a consonant cluster seems extremely restricted, occurring only in the word
cešm ‘eye’, /m/ is not deleted after other consonants such as /s/ ( esm ‘name’), /l/ ( elm ‘science’), /k/ ( hokm ‘order’)
or even after /š/ in other words such as pæšm ‘wool’.
(206) /cešm/ [ceš]
‘eye’

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3.4.4.1.5 Vowel deletion
Vowel deletion occurs in a restricted set of circumstances when a pronominal clitic beginning with a vowel is added
to either a nominal stem or preposition or when a person/number agreement marker is suffixed to a verbal root. In
all these cases the initial vowel of the suffixed clitic or agreement marker is deleted. In examples (207) through
(210), note that the clitic vowel is dropped when it is added to a nominal stem:
(207) /širini-et/ [širinit]
cookie-2S.PC
‘your cookie’
(208) /sændæli-æm/ [sændælim]
‘my chair’
(209) /zanu-eš/ [zanuš]
knee-3S.PC
‘her knee’
(210) /baba-æm/ [babam]
dad-1S.PC
‘my dad’
The clitic vowel also drops when added to the prepositions ba ‘with’ and be ‘to’.
(211) /be-et/ [bet]
to-2S.PC
‘to you’
(212) /ba-eš/ [baš]
with-3S.PC
‘with him’
In example (213) the initial vowel of the person/number agreement suffix is deleted when attached to a verbal root:
(213) /mi-xa-æm/ [mixam]
DUR-want-1S
‘I want’

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3.4.4.2 Insertion processes
3.4.4.2.1 e-insertion
The most common e-insertion is across morpheme boundaries when the plural pronominal clitics are added to stems
which end in a consonant. The forms -mun, -tun and -šun become -emun, -etun and ešun.
(214) /mænzel-mun/ [mænzelemun]
house-1P.PC
‘our house’
Consonant clusters preceded by one of the long vowels, /a, i, u/ or a diphthong, may be broken up with an
epenthetic /e/. Also see Section 3.2.2.1.1 on permissible consonant clusters.
(215) aftab afetab
‘sun’
(216) /ruzgar/ [ruzegar]
‘era’
(217) /pasban/ [paseban]
‘police officer’
3.4.4.2.2 Glide insertion
3.4.4.2.2.1 y-insertion
The glide /y/ is obligatorily inserted between the long vowels, /a/, /i/ or /u/, and a following vowel. This process
occurs across morpheme boundaries.
(218) /ketab-ha-æm/ [ketabhayæm]
book-PL-1S.PC
‘my books’
(219) /zendegi-æm/ [zendegiyæm]
life-1S.PC
‘my life’

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(220) /mu-æm/ [muyæm]
hair-1S.PC
‘my hair’
The phonetic forms in examples (218)-(220) are used in more formal speech (and in some dialects of Persian). In a
more colloquial style deletion rules would apply to the vowel of the clitic and, therefore, y-insertion would not take
place. See Section 3.4.4.1.5 on vowel deletion.
3.4.4.2.2.2 h-insertion
In an obligatory but nonproductive rule involving only the prepositional-clitic forms, the glottal glide [h] is inserted
between the vowel of the prepositional stem and the vowel of the clitic. (Or, as discussed in Section 3.4.4.1, the
vowel of the clitic may be deleted, rendering h-insertion unnecessary.)
(221) /ba-æm/ [baham]
‘with me’
(222) /be-et/ [behet]
‘with you’
For a discussion on the vowel harmony taking place in (221) and (222) see Section 3.2.6.4.1. For discussion of the
prepositionalclitic forms see Section 3.2.6.4.1 and 2.1.5.3.
Also, there are alternative forms to those presented in (221) and (222) wherein one vowel is deleted and no h-
insertion occurs. See Section 3.4.4.1.5.
3.4.4.2.2.3 Cases where no glide is inserted intervocalically
It is important to mention that there are cases where a glide cannot be inserted between vowels. For example, when
a mid vowel is followed by any other vowel nothing is inserted.
(223) /to-i/ [toi]
‘it is you’
/zende-æm/ [zendeæm]
‘I’m alive’

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3.4.4.2.3 Glottal insertion
The glottal stop in inserted at the beginning of a breath group. See Section 3.1.2.1.1.
3.4.5 Reduplication
There are two types of reduplication processes. One is a partial reduplication which affects nouns. It is a very
productive process in colloquial speech, producing words which usually indicate some kind of plurality and/or
intensification. In this process a noun is reduplicated to result in a rhyming compound. The second part of the
compound is a nonsense word formed by replacing the initial consonant of the first word with either an /m/ or /p/.
(224) ciz cizmiz
‘thing’ ‘things’
(225) bæcce bæccemæce
‘child’ children
(226) qati qatipati
‘mix’ ‘mishmash’
(227) pul pulmul
‘money’ ‘some money’
A process of total reduplication is typically used to make adverbs. An adverb is reduplicated and used as an
intensified adverb as in tond tond ‘fast fast’. A present participle can also be reduplicated to produce an intensified
adverb, as in dævan dævan ‘running running’.
3.4.6 Other processes
3.4.6.1 Geminate simplification
Geminates are reduced when not followed by a vowel. See examples (10) and (11) in Section 3.1.2.1.6.

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3.4.6.2 Deaspiration
The voiceless stops /p/, /t/ and /k/, which are aspirated wordinitially, usually receive less aspiration word-finally and
before other consonants, as in
(228) xæt
‘line’
(229) lop
‘cheek’
(230) pak
‘clean’
(231) qætl
‘murder’
(232) hokm
‘order’
3.5 SUPRASEGMENTAL MORPHOPHONOLOGY
3.5.1–2 Stress and morphological processes and compounding
Generally, assignment of stress is constant under morphological processes although the rules of stress assignment
may result in a particular syllable being stressed or not, depending on the stress that other syllables are assigned.
For example, the stem xub has an inherent stress. Clitics, on the other hand, do not receive strong stress. When a
word is formed by adding the second person copular clitic -i, the stem xub keeps the strong stress. (In examples
(233) and (234) syllable boundaries do not correspond to morpheme boundaries. See Section 3.2.4 for a discussion
on syllable boundaries.)
(233) xub-i
‘You are good.’
But when the nominalizer -i is added to make a noun, since this suffix receives a strong stress, the stress on the
syllable xub is correspondingly weakened.

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(234) xub-i
‘goodness’
Strong stress is regularly assigned to the last non-enclitic/ non-inflectional syllable of the word, except in the case of
a few prefixes which take strong stress. In cases of compounding, the resulting compound is considered the word
and therefore the last nonenclitic syllable of the compound receives strong stress. For a discussion of stress
assignment see Section 3.3.2.4.
3.5.3–4 Stress and phonological structure
Stress is not predictable in terms of phonological structure of the stem. Stress is, however, predictable from word-
level morphological and compounding processes. See Section 3.3.2.4.1–2.
3.5.2 Tonal structure and changes
Persian is not a tone language.

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IDEOPHONES AND INTERJECTIONS
4.1 IDEOPHONES
Most ideophones in Persian are reduplicated monosyllabic, onomatopoeic words. They can be used as nouns,
adjectives or verbs. Verbs are formed by adding some tensed version of kærdæn ‘to do’ or zædæn ‘to strike’.
qar-qar crow’s call
vaq-vaq dog’s bark
miyu cat’s meow
xor-xor snoring sound
vez-vez buzzing sound associated with a fly/insect
qor-qor sound of grumbling
taeq-o-tuq noise associated with loudly shutting doors, drawers, moving small objects around
qaeh-qaeh sound of loud laughter
qol-qol sound associated with boiling
xeš-xeš scraping, rough sound
ær-ær donkey’s bray
qod-qod chicken’s clucking

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4.2 INTERJECTIONS
Interjections are often single words which conform to the regular principles regarding the phonological structure of
words in Persian. Foroughy (1944:138–139) identifies seven functionally distinct types. Of these, five are relevant to
spoken Persian. We have altered Foroughy’s original entries in each category to reflect interjections commonly used
in Modern Persian today.
1) Exclamation
These interjections express surprise, both negative and positive.
æjæb Strange!
ce æjæb What a surprise!
e’ What the…!
va Unbelievable!
2) Admiration
afærin Excellent! Good for you!
æhsænt (æhsænt) Bravo!
baeh(baeh) Good!
barikaella Good for you!
mashalla Well done! May God preserve you, him, etc
3) Regret
heyf Pity! Too bad!
vay (vay), ey-vay That’s terrible!
axes Too bad! Poor thing!
4) Disparagement
æh Awful!
5) Wish
(ey)-kaš, kaški If only…; I wish…
elahi I hope to God…
inš a l la God willing! May God will it!

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Finally, the interjections ax and ux, used reduplicatively, indicate physical pain. Used singularly, ax indicates regret,
as in ‘alas’. This is a more literary usage and not commonly used in spoken Persian.

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LEXICON
5.1 STRUCTURAL SEMANTIC FIELD
5.1.1 Kinship Terms
Beyond words for the immediate family (parents, siblings and grandparents), kinship terms in Persian can be broadly
classified into two categories: mother’s family and father’s family. Within these two categories, kinship is further
specified according to blood relations and relation through marriage.
5.1.1.1 The immediate family
Terms for wife, husband, parents, children, siblings grandparents and grandchildren are given below. Formal and
informal terms are given where applicable.
ENGLISH PERSIAN
FORMAL INFORMAL
spouse hæmsær hæmsær
wife zæn; xanum zæn (woman)
xanum (lady)
husband šohær šohær
parents valedin pedær-madær
(father-mother)
mother madær maman

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father pedær baba
child færzænd (s), bæcce
færzændan (pl)
offspring olad (pl) bæcce
son pesær pesær (boy)
daughter doxtær doxtær (girl)
sister xahær xahær, hæmšire
brother bæradær xahær, dadaš
grandmother madærbozorg mamanbozorg
(mother grand) (mom grand)
grandfather pedærbozorg bababozorg
(father grand) (dad grand)
grandchild næve næve
5.1.1.2 The extended family
Aunts and uncles, their spouses and their children (ego’s cousins) are referred to by different titles depending on
whether they belong to the mother’s side or the father’s side of the family. Where relevant literal glosses are given in
parentheses.
RELATIONSHIP PERSIAN ENGLISH
mother’s sister xale aunt
mother’s sister’s husband šohær-xale uncle
(aunt’s husband)
mother’s sister’s daughter doxtær-xale cousin (aunt’s daughter)
mother’s sister’s son pesær-xale cousin (aunt’s son)
mother’s brother dayi uncle
mother’s brother’s wife zæn-dayi aunt (uncle’s wife)
mother’s brother’s daughter doxtær-dayi cousin (uncle’s daughter)
mother’s brother’s son pesær-dayi cousin (uncle’s son)

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father’s sister æmme aunt
father’s sister’s husband šohær-æmme uncle (aunt’s husband)
father’s sister’s daughter doxtær-æmme cousin (aunt’s daughter)
father’s sister’s son pe sær-æmme cousin (aunt’s son)
father’s brother æmu uncle
father’s brother’s wife zæn-æmu aunt (uncle’s wife)
father’s brother’s daughter doxtær-æmu cousin (uncle’s daughter)
father’s brother’s son pesær-æmu cousin (uncle’s son)
sister’s son pesær-xahær nephew (sister’s son)
sister’s daughter doxtær-xahær niece (sister’s daughter)
brother’s son pesær-bæradær nephew (brother’s son)
brother’s daughter doxtær-bæradær niece (brother’s daughter)
It should be noted that the compound relationship terms are all derived from genitive ezafe constructions. In some
cases, the ezafe construction form is used along side the reduced form. For example, doxtær-xahær (sister’s
daughter) is also commonly you will hear doxtær-e xahær. (See Section 1.2.5.2.10 for a discussion of the ezafe
construction.)
(1) doxtær-e xahær
girl-EZ sister
‘sister’s daughter.’
5.1.1.3 In-laws
In-law relationship terminology consist of transparent compounds, reduced from genitive ezafe constructions. In
each compound, the first word is the in-law and the second refers to who they are related to. For example madær-
šohær literally means

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‘mother-husband’ (in other words ‘husband’s mother’).
RELATIONSHIP PERSIAN ENGLISH
husband’s mother madær-šohær mother-in-law
husband’s father pedær-šohær father-in-law
wife’s mother madær-zæn mother-in-law
wife’s father pedær-zæn father-in-law
sister’s husband šohær-xahær brother-in-law
brother’s wife zæn-bæradær sister-in-law
Cumbersome as these terms may seem, there are clear advantages to having such descriptive labels. For example,
the term ‘brother-in-law’ in English can mean one’s spouse’s brother or a sister’s husband. In Persian, there can be
no such confusion. The same holds true for terms for ‘aunt’, ‘uncle’, and ‘cousin’, where each label can refer to four
sets of relations. ‘Aunt’, for instance, can mean one’s mother’s or father’s sister or the wife of an uncle on either the
father’s or mother’s side of the family.
5.1.1.4 Kinship by adoption/affiliation
The prefix na- (meaning ‘without’) is used to refer to a ‘step’ relationship and the suffix -xande (meaning ‘called’ or
‘so-called’) is used to show kinship by adoption. When na- is used, the adjectival suffix -/ is also added to the end of
the title. In the case of stepparents, additional terms are also available. Where relevant, literal translations are
provided in parentheses.
PERSIAN ENGLISH
zæn-pedær (wife-father); stepmother
na-madær-i
šohær-madær (husband-mother); stepfather
na-pedær-i
na-doxtær-i stepdaughter
na-pesær-i stepson
færzænd-xande (so-called child) adopted child

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doxtær-xande (so-called daughter) adopted daughter
pesær-xande (so-called son) adopted son
5.1.2 Color terminology
The word ræng means ‘color’ or ‘paint’. To ask about the color of something, as in, ‘What color is this?’, the
attributive suffix -i is added to ræng:
(2) in ce ræng-i-e
this what color-ATTR- is
‘What color is this?’
Color terms in Persian are of two types: basic terms and terms derived from objects. Following is a list of commonly
used terms. Notice that all the derived color terms end with the attributive suffix— i at the end of each word (see
Section 2.2.3.1 for discussion of derivational suffixes).
BASIC DERIVED
Persian English Persian English
sefid white qæhve-i brown (coffee-like)
siah black narenj-i orange (orange-like)
qermez; sorx red ab-i blue (water-like)
zærd yellow dud-i gray (smoke-like)
sæbz green xakestær-i gray (ash-like)
bænæfš purple suræt-i pink (face-like)
In addition to these terms there are also two color-related words which are often used to modify a color: por-ræng,
which

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means ‘dark’- or ‘deep’-colored (literally ‘full-color’), and kæm-ræng, which means ‘light’-colored (literally ‘little-
color’):
(3) zærd-e kæm-ræng
yellow-EZ little-color
‘light yellow’
(4) ab-i-ye por-ræng
blue-EZ full-color
‘dark blue’
5.1.3 Body parts
External body parts are native Persian with some Arabicorigin alternatives. Internal organs have taken their names
mostly from Arabic.
a) External body parts
PERSIAN ENGLISH
bædæn; tæn body
pust skin
bala-tæne torso (upper body)
pain-tæne lower body (below waist)
pošt back (from the waist up)
kæmær waist
sær; kælleh (Ar) head
mu hair
gis hair (usually woman’s hair)
ru; suræt (Ar) face
pišani forehead
gune cheekbone
lop cheek
cane chin
arvare; fæk (Ar) jaw

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æbru eyebrow
cešm eye
pelk eyelid
moze eyelash
bini; dæmaq (Ar) nose
surax-e bini; mænxær (Ar) nostril
dæhæn mouth
læb lip
dændan tooth
zæban tongue
gærdæn neck
šane shoulder
zir-e bæqæl armpit
dæst arm, hand
bazu upper arm
arenj elbow
moc wrist
dæst hand
kæf-e dæst palm
ængošt finger
šæst thumb
naxun finger/toenail
sine chest; breast
pestan breast
nok-e pestan nipple (end of the breast)
delp; šekæm stomach
naf belly-button
kæfæl buttocks
niam; qælaf(Ar) vagina

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kir; zækær (Ar) penis
toxm; beyze (Ar) testicles
pa leg; foot
ran thigh
zanu knee
saq-e pa shin
mahice-e saq-e pa calf (muscle of shin)
quzæk-e pa ankle
pa foot
angošt-e pa (finger of foot) toe
kæf-e pa sole
pašne heel
b) Internal organs and body parts
PERSIAN ENGLISH
ostexan bone
mahice muscle
ræg vein
xun blood
mox; mæqz brain
gælu throat
del, qælb (Ar) heart
šoš; riye (Ar) lung
dænde rib
me ‘de (Ar) stomach
rude intestine
jegær liver
koliye kidney
mæsane (Ar) bladder

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ræhem uterus, womb
toxmdan ovaries
5.1.4 Cooking terminology
There are two verbs ‘to cook’ in Persian: the verb poxtæn ‘to cook’, which can be used either transitively or
intransitively, means ‘to cook’ (see examples (5) and (6)), and the compound transitive verb ašpæzi kærdæn ‘to
cook’ which literally means ‘to do the act of cooking soup’.
(5) dišæb mahi poxt-æm.
last night fish cooked-1S
‘Last night I cooked fish.’
(6) mahi zud poxt.
fish fast cooked
‘The fish cooked fast’.
(7) dišæb ašpæzi--næ-kærd-æm.
last night cooking--NEG-did-1S
‘Last night I didn’t cook.’
A third verb, dorost kærdæn, literally means ‘to make’ but is frequently used instead of poxtæn. It can only be used
transitively.
(8) dišæb mahi dorost--kærd-æm
last night fish make did-1S
‘Last night I made (cooked) fish.’
The word as which refers to any one of a variety of hearty, thick soups, appears in a number of general cooking-
related terms:
ašpæzi cooking (gerund)
ašpæzxune kitchen
ašpæz chef/cook
5.1.4.1 Ingredients and utensils
Common raw ingredients and utensils are listed below. Where relevant, literal translations are provided in
parentheses.

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a) Raw ingredients
PERSIAN ENGLISH
berenj uncooked rice
næmæk salt
felfel pepper
adviye special mix of sweet spices
darcin cinnamon
zærdcube turmeric
roqæn oil
serke vinegar
hel cardamom
golab rosewater
šikær sugar
ard flour
šir milk
toxmemorq egg
pænir cheese
kære butter
sæbzijat vegetables
limu lime/lemon
gojefærængi tomato (foreign plum)
piyaz onion
sir garlic
sibzæmini potato (apple of the ground)
næna mint
šivid dill
esfenaj spinach
xiar cucumber

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bademjun eggplant
ædæs lentils
lubia beans
noxod peas
gušt meat
juje chicken
bærre mutton
mahi fish
cai tea
qæhve coffee
qænd sugar cube
b) Utensils and dishes
PERSIAN ENGLISH
kase bowl
qasoq spoon
cængal fork
caqu knife
bošqab plate
livan glass
estekan tea glass
nælbeki saucer
kæfgir spatula
maytabe frying pan
dig pot
5.1.4.2 Methods of cooking
Some basic cooking methods and activities related to cooking include:

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PERSIAN ENGLISH
sorx kærdæn to fry
jušundæn to boil
kæbab kærdæn to grill
xurd kærdæn to chop, to grind
boridæn to cut, to slice
hæm zædæn to stir
dæm kærdæn to steep, to steam
pust kændæn to peel
5.1.4.3 Typical foods
The stews listed below are just a few of the many varieties that are prepared and consumed regularly in a typical
household. These dishes are always served over white rice, with a salad or plate of fresh herbs and greens such as
mint, basil, radishes and green onions. Most meals are accompanied by a bowl of yogurt, either plain or as mast-o-
xiar (yogurt, cucumbers and mint).
PERSIAN ENGLISH
nan bread
mast yogurt
polo/celo cooked white rice
sæbzi polo green vegetable rice
baqali polo lima bean and dill rice
kæbab grilled meat (usually lamb)
juje kæbab grilled chicken
pænir cheese
xorešt-e qeyme yellow split-pea stew
xorešt-e sæbzi minced vegetable and lamb stew
xorešt-e bademjun eggplant stew
aš-e rešte thick noodle and vegetable soup

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duq yogurt drink
mive fruit
sib apple
moz banana
ænar pomegranate
hulu peach
ængur grapes
porteqal orange
hendune watermelon
5.1.5 Agriculture
5.1.5.1 Crops grown in the area
Nearly 12% of the area of Iran is farm land. The main foodproducing areas are in the Caspian littoral and in the
valleys of the northwest. The most important crop, wheat, is grown mainly in the west and northwest. Rice is the
major crop in the Caspian littoral. Other important crops include barley, corn, cotton, tea, hemp, tobacco, sugar
beets, fruits (including citrus), nuts and dates.
PERSIAN ENGLISH
berenj rice
gændom wheat
jo barley
cai tea
peste pistachio
pæmbe cotton
tutun tobacco
kænæf hemp
læbu sugar beet
xorma date
zorræt corn

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5.1.5.2 Agricultural implements
PERSIAN ENGLISH
šoxm plow
yoq yoke
cærx wheel
bil shovel
cæng harrow
kæjbil hoe (crooked shovel)
tæbær axe
zin saddle
gari wagon
5.1.5.3 Agricultural activities
PERSIAN ENGLISH
kændæn to dig
kaštæn to plant, to sow
dero kærdæn to harvest
šoxm zædæn to plow
5.1.5.4 Animals
Below is a list of common farm animals and pets.
PERSIAN ENGLISH
gav-e nær bull (cow of male)
gorbe cat
morq chicken, hen
xorus cock
gav cow
sæg dog

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miš; gusfænd-e made ewe (sheep of female)
boz goat
æsb horse
bozqale kid
bære lamb
madiyan mare
gav-e nær ox (cow of male)
xuk pig
gusfænd-e nær ram (sheep of male)
xærguš rabbit
gusfænd sheep
maddexuk sow
5.1.5.5 Time
Following are general terms used to refer to time. See Section 2.1.1.6 for a detailed discussion and examples.
PERSIAN ENGLISH
ruz day
šæb night
sobh morning
qurub evening
bæd-æz-zohr afternoon (after from noon)
sæhær dawn
qurub dusk
fæsl season
zemestan winter
bahar spring
tabestan summer
paiz autumn

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sal year
mah month
hæfte week
sa’æt hour
dæqiqe minute
emruz today
færda tomorrow
diruz yesterday
pæriruz day before yesterday
pæsfærda day after tomorrow
5.2 BASIC VOCABULARY
The following is a list of basic vocabulary. Parenthetical information includes literal translations for items with internal
structures and, where relevant, cross-references of other places in the grammar where items are discussed more
fully.
ENGLISH PERSIAN
1. all hæme
2. and væ
3. animal he van
4. ashes xakestær
5. at (locative) dær
6. back pošt (body part, preposition)
7. bad bæd
8. bark (tree) pust-e deræxt (skin of tree)
9. because bæra-ye inke (for this that)
10. belly šekæm
11. big bozorg, gonde
12. bird pærænde
13. (to) bite gaz gereftæn (bite to take)
14. black siah
15. blood xun
16. (to) blow fut kærdæn (blow to do)
17. bone ostexan
18. breast sine

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19. (to) breathe næfæs kešidæn (breath to do)
20. (to) burn (intrans) suxtæn
(to) burn (trans) suzundæn
21. child bæcce
22. claw cæng
23. cloud æbr
24. cold særd (ADJ); særma (N)
25. (to) come amadæn
26. (to) count šemordæn
27. (to) cut boridæn
28. day ruz
29. (to) die mordæn
30. (to) dig kændæn
31. dirty kæsif
32. dog sæg
33. (to) drink nušidæn; xordæn
34. dry (ADJ) xošk
(to) dry (trans) xošk kærden (dry to do)
(to) dry (intrans) xošk šodæn (dry to become)
35. dull kond
36. dust gærd
37. ear guš
38. earth zæmin
39. (to) eat xordæn
40. egg toxm-e morq (seed of a chicken)
41. eye cešm
42. (to) fall oftadæn
43. far dur
44. fat caq
45. father pedær
46. fear tærs
47. feather pær
48. few ændæk, kæm
49. (to) fight dæ:va kærdæn (argument to do);
jængidæn
50. fire ateš
51. fish mahi
52. five pænj
53. (to) float šenavær šodæn (swimming to
become)
54. (to) flow rævan šodæn (flowing to become)
55. flower gol
56. (to) fly pærvaz kærdæn (to flight do)

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57. fog meh
58. foot pa
59. four cahar (Section 2.1.6)
60. (to) freeze yæx zædæn (ice to strike);
yæx bæstæn (ice to close)
61. fruit mive
62. full por
63. (to) give dadæn
64. good xub
65. grass ælæf
66. green sæbz
67. guts rude
68. hair mu
69. hand dæst
70. he u (he/she) (Section 2.1.2)
71. head sær
72. (to) hear šenidæn
73. heart qælb; del
74. heavy sængin
75. here inja
76. (to) hit zædæn
77. (to) hold negæh daštæn (hold to hav
gereftæn
78. horn (animal’s) šax,
horn (instrument) buq/šepur
79. how cetor
80. (to) hunt šikar kærdæn (to hunt do)
81. husband šohær
82. I mæn
83. ice yæx
84. if ægær
85. in dær; tu (Sections 2.1.1.4 and 2.1.5)
86. (to) kill koštæn
87. knee zanu
88. (to) know danestæn
89. lake dæryace
90. (to) laugh xændidæn
91. leaf bærg
92. leftside dæst-e cæp (hand of left);
sæmt-e cæp (direction of left)
93. leg pa
94. (to) lie deraz kešidæn (length to draw)
95. (to) live zendigi kærdæn (life to do)

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96. liver jegær
97. long deraz
98. louse sepes
99. man/male mærd
100. many xeyli
101. meat/flesh gušt
102. moon mah
103. mother madær
104. mountain kuh
105. mouth dæhæn
106. name esm
107. narrow barik
108. near næzdik
109. neck gærdæn
110. new no; taze
111. night šæb
112. nose bini; dæmaq
113. not næ
114. old pir (person); kohne (inanimate item)
115. one yek (-i) (Section 1.2.5.2.4–6 and 2.1.1.11)
116. other digær
117. person adæm; ensan; šæxs; færd
118. (to) play bazi kærdæn (to play do)
119. (to) pull kešidæn
120. (to) push fešar dadæn (to pressure do)
121. rain baran
122. red qermez; sorx
123. right dorost (correct); rast (vs. left)
124. rightside dæst-e rast (hand of right);
sæmt-e rast (side of right)
125. river rud; rudxane
126. road jadde;
127. root riše
128. rope tænab
129. rotten gændide
130. round gerd
131. (to) rub malidæn; maleš dadæn
132. salt næmæk
133. sand sen
134. (to) say goftæn
135. (to) scratch (an itch) xarandæn
136. sea dærya

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137. (to) see didæn
138. seed hæste
139. (to) sew duxtæn
140. sharp tiz
141. short kuta
142. (to) sing avaz xandæn (song to read)
143. (to) sit nešestæn
144. skin pust
145. sky aseman
146. (to) sleep xabidæn
147. small kuček
148. (to) smell bu kærdæn
(odor to do=to perceive an odor)
(to) smell bu dadæn
(odor to have=to have an odor)
smell (N) bu
149. smoke (N) dud
(to) smoke sigar kešidæn (cigarette to draw/pull)
150. smooth saf
151. snake mar
152. snow bærf
153. some bæzi, meqdari
154. (to) spit tof kærdæn (spit to do)
155. (to) split šekaftæn
156. (to) squeeze fešordæn
157. (to) stab, pierce surax kærdæn (hole to make)
158. (to) stand istadæn
159. star setare
160. stick six
161. stone sæng
162. straight mostæqim (direction); saf (not crooked)
163. (to) suck mikidæn, mik zædæn
164. sun aftab, xoršid
165. (to) swell bad kærdæn
166. (to) swim šena kærdæn (swim to do)
167. tail dom
168. that an
169. there anja
170. they anha
171. thick koloft or zæxim (dimension); qæliz (viscosity)

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172. thin barik or nazok (dimension); ræqiq (viscosity)
173. (to) think fekr kærdæn (thought to do)
174 this in
175. thou to
176. three se
177. (to) throw endaxtæn
178. (to) tie bæstæn;
gere zædæn (knot to strike)
179. tongue zæban
180. tooth dændan
181. tree deræxt
182. (to) turn cærxidæn;
cærx zædæn (wheel to strike)
183. two do
184. (to) vomit oq zædæn (vomit to strike);
estefraq kærdæn (vomit to do)
185. walk rah
(to) walk rah ræftæn (walk to do)
186. warm gærm
187. (to) wash šostæn
188. water ab
189. we ma
190. wet tær
191. what ci
192. when ke
193. where koja
194. white sefid
195. who ki
196. wide pæhn; æriz; væsi’
197. wife zæn; hæmsær; xanum
198. wind bad
199. wing bal
200. (to) wipe pak kærdæn (clean to do)
201. with ba
202. woman zæn
203. woods jængæl
204. worm kerm
205. yes bæle
206. year sal
207. yellow zærd

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Page 373
INDEX
accompaniment 81, 263

active 82, 143, 223, 244
addition 7, 29, 34, 59, 119, 122, 129, 139, 148, 163, 171, 183, 191, 212, 235, 271, 296, 314, 350
adjectival complement 46
adjective 6, 15, 29, 32, 46, 51, 53–58, 63, 64, 66–72, 86, 87, 93, 98, 100, 105, 108, 115, 119, 125, 128, 131, 132,
142, 146, 151, 153, 154, 161, 220, 229, 259–262, 273, 276, 277, 282–284, 327
adjective phrase 53, 69, 128
adverb 23, 37, 38, 42, 51, 58, 66, 82, 84, 85, 87, 114, 121, 122, 125, 128, 146, 154, 168, 261, 269–271, 274, 278,
283, 340
adverb phrase 85, 87
adverbial clause 38, 39, 42, 44
agent 98, 101, 105, 143, 222, 225, 226
agent in passive construction 105, 143
agreement 42, 48, 91, 125, 136, 138, 223, 227, 228, 248, 252–254, 256, 259, 264, 336–338
allative 60, 74, 142, 166
alphabet 4
anaphora 9), 93–95
answer 9, 10, 17, 24, 26, 322
antecedent 32–34, 37, 92–94, 96–104, 106, 107
article 65, 72, 328
aspect 5, 38, 42, 114, 132–134, 144, 226, 227, 239–244, 258
assimilation 293, 309, 323, 326
attributive adjective 86
benefactive 50, 51, 61, 102, 147, 264
cardinal numbers 266–268

Page 374
case 11, 16, 18, 23, 30, 44, 52, 56–59, 62, 63, 92, 97, 100, 101, 103, 104, 107, 112, 122, 127, 135, 137, 138, 140,
143, 190, 200, 202, 213–216, 219, 226, 243, 245, 246, 253, 254, 263, 264, 288, 307, 326, 329, 333, 342, 349
causatives 225, 226, 275
cause 38, 39, 73, 133, 134, 155, 225, 226
circumstance 149
citation 165, 236, 305
classifiers 134, 195
cleft 118, 207
clefting 7, 51, 118, 121, 144
collective nouns 194
color terms 350
comitative 148, 263
command 27, 32, 273
comparative 41, 66, 75, 108–110, 133, 206, 260–263, 269, 270, 278, 280, 312
complement 8, 30, 45–47, 67, 70, 90, 97–100, 105, 114, 131, 132, 141, 142, 146, 162, 295
complement of copular construction 141
concessive 162
condition 40, 73, 238, 244–246
conditional clause 244, 245
consonant clusters 297–300, 304–306, 308, 328, 329, 331, 333, 338
consonant length 293
consonants 190, 191, 235, 293, 296–299, 304–306, 309, 323, 328, 336, 341
contingent mood 251
coordinate structure 120, 127
coordination 17, 72, 73, 75–78, 81, 83, 90, 256
copula 45–47, 118, 141, 229
dative 11, 49, 50, 60, 84, 263

day 146, 181, 183, 184, 241–243, 249, 279, 281, 360–362
deaspiration 341
debitive 247, 249
declarative 7–10, 22, 24, 28, 44–47, 52, 316, 318, 320
definite direct object 6, 33, 62, 67, 91, 121, 123, 124, 138, 144, 145, 197, 199–202, 214, 216, 257, 314
definiteness 33, 135, 196–198, 201, 202, 254
degree 13, 27, 29, 41, 56–58, 82, 205, 210, 237, 244, 250
deletion 83, 84, 91, 109, 111, 131, 138, 165, 255, 266, 288, 292, 328–337, 339

Page 375
demonstrative 6, 14, 29, 32–34, 65, 71, 72, 93, 115, 196, 201, 210, 217–219, 221
demonstrative adjective 93
derivational morphology 271
devoicing 324, 325
diphthongs 287, 295, 296
direct object 6, 12, 19, 20, 33–37, 39, 45–47, 49, 50, 56, 60, 62, 67, 77, 84, 91, 97, 99–104, 106, 107, 111, 121–
124, 128, 129, 136–140, 144, 145, 197, 199–202, 214, 216, 224, 253, 254, 257, 314
direct speech 8, 24
dislocation 7, 119, 122, 124–128
dissimilation 326
distance 161, 218
distinctive segments 286
distributive nouns 194
ditransitive 49, 225
durative 28, 227, 228, 240, 241, 243, 244, 252, 298, 307, 311, 315, 320
durative aspect 243
echo question 19–23

emphasis 7, 27, 51, 52, 92, 113–117, 119, 120, 124, 139, 163, 187, 189, 206, 209, 212, 215, 261, 270, 310, 311
essive 157
extent 81, 162, 193
ezafe construction 11, 14, 42, 54, 63, 64, 66, 71, 86, 112, 113, 144, 145, 149, 150, 153, 157, 161, 215, 216, 348
finite clause 56
future 38, 43, 88, 187–190, 218, 238, 244, 245
gapping 74, 76, 84

geminate simplification 340
geminates 293, 309, 341
gender 195, 210, 214, 215, 219
genitive 5, 11,67, 68, 144, 157, 281, 348
goal 51
habitual aspect 241

heavy shift 7, 51, 127
hortatory 251
imperative 8, 27, 28, 32, 87, 206, 231, 244, 247, 250, 251, 298, 300, 307, 308, 315, 318, 321
imperfective aspect 240, 242
inanimate subject 136, 256
inclusion 163, 208, 214, 215

Page 376
indefinite direct object 123
indefiniteness 203–205
Index 367
indicative 13, 227, 236, 238, 244–246, 250
indirect speech 8, 28
inflection 133, 135, 138, 158, 186, 196, 197, 205, 219, 223, 228, 229, 238, 256–258
ingressive aspect 144, 241, 258
insertion 138, 297, 302, 307, 328, 338–340
instrumental 50, 51, 263
instrumentality 147, 148
intentionality 248
interjections 130, 343–345
interrogative 8, 9, 11, 18, 19, 28, 30–32, 183, 219, 220
interrogative pronouns 11, 18, 219
intonation 8–11, 20–22, 27, 28, 114, 310, 311, 316–323
intransitive 48, 135, 136, 199, 223–226, 275
iterative aspect 242
kinship terms 346
labialization 324
lexical morphemes 303
location 26, 165, 167–179, 181, 187, 188, 218, 262, 263
locative 16, 49, 50, 59, 61, 84, 263, 264, 361
main clause 8, 12, 29–33, 36, 38–44, 90, 103, 109, 126, 127, 248–250
modifier 66–68, 70, 86, 97–102, 104–107, 151, 261
month 184, 185, 361
mood 29, 32, 38, 42, 132–134, 244, 247, 251
movement 7, 29, 37, 51, 116, 117, 119–122, 124–127, 129, 144, 206
negation 87–90
negative 9, 10, 25–27, 29, 40, 87–90, 130, 148, 151, 154, 155, 160, 231, 252, 258, 263, 277, 307, 315, 320, 321,
344
nominalized clause 93, 102
noncount nouns 152
nonreferential 199, 200, 205
nonspecific 63, 152, 160, 193, 199–201, 211
noun classes 195, 196
noun phrase 14, 48, 59, 61–68, 81, 85, 86, 91, 93, 108, 115, 119, 120, 122, 125, 127, 135, 162, 196, 199, 214, 221,
254, 255
numeral 15, 72, 152, 158, 181, 267
object complement 98, 100, 105, 142

Page 377
object of comparison 140
object of equation 140
oblique object 34, 35, 57, 106, 123
optative 247, 248
ordinal numbers 267
partitive 158–160
partitive quantifier 159
passive 82, 87, 88, 98, 101, 105, 143, 222, 223, 244, 275
past 38, 43–45, 87, 88, 113, 143, 149, 166, 167, 169–178, 180–182, 187–189, 216, 218, 222, 223, 227, 228, 232,
236–249, 252, 273, 275, 282, 300
past stem 227, 232, 236–238, 240, 241, 243, 273, 282
perfect 87, 88, 188, 237, 239, 240, 242–245
perfective aspect 240
personal forms 265
personal pronouns 91, 149, 150, 196, 205, 208, 217
possession 111–113, 139, 149, 151, 216
possessive 11, 14, 16, 64, 68, 71, 72, 149, 200, 202, 216, 217
possessive pronouns 216, 217
postposing 7, 129, 201
predicate adjective 46, 54
preposing 7, 29, 116, 130, 201
preposition 6, 11, 16, 17, 49, 50, 59, 60, 74, 81, 84, 100, 103, 108, 110, 133, 139–141, 147–149, 151, 154–156,
160–162, 165–179, 181–184, 186–190, 199, 209, 252, 262–265, 269, 277, 279, 280, 282, 283, 285, 307, 337, 361
prepositional phrase 6, 12, 16, 26, 55, 60, 66–68, 70, 99, 101, 106, 117, 122, 128, 130, 142, 155, 160, 162, 284
present 6, 27, 38, 43, 44, 74, 87, 111, 113, 149, 155, 187, 188,216, 218, 223, 225, 227–236, 238–249, 252, 255,
272, 273, 275, 277, 279, 282, 298, 322, 340
present stem 27, 225, 227, 228, 231–236, 238, 241, 243, 244, 247, 248, 272, 275, 277, 279, 282, 298
price 11,18,160,161,220
progressive aspect 114, 241, 244
pronominal clitic 35, 48, 49, 67, 91, 96, 112, 124, 134, 138–140, 144, 145, 149, 213, 214, 253, 258, 337
pronoun 11, 13, 14, 27, 32, 33, 35, 36, 48, 49, 62, 64, 71, 78, 91, 92, 94, 95, 103, 112, 115, 118, 132, 139, 144,
145, 150, 163, 183, 195, 200, 206–212, 214–216, 218, 220, 221, 255, 257, 265
pro-drop 5, 18, 48, 206
pseudocleft 207

Page 378
pseudoclefting 7, 51, 118, 121
purpose 10, 18, 39, 43, 120, 156, 157, 160, 173, 264
quality 54, 89, 110, 151, 261, 270, 276, 278

quantification 152, 153, 269
quantifier 14, 15, 51, 66, 69, 70, 133, 153, 159, 160, 193, 268
question 9–12, 18–26, 31, 121, 181, 206, 219, 220, 288, 317, 319, 320, 322
reciprocal pronouns 103, 215, 217

reciprocity 103, 257
reduplication 340
reference 91–93, 95, 103, 156, 183, 185, 186, 193, 196, 212, 213, 215, 218, 227, 245
referential 199, 200, 205
reflexive 64, 92–94, 96–103, 112, 145, 150, 213–216, 226, 257
reflexive pronouns 92, 93, 96, 213, 214
reflexivity 96, 215, 257
relative clause 6, 32–35, 64, 70, 71, 221
result 41–44, 121, 131, 154, 234, 238, 240, 244–246, 284, 299, 301, 304, 309, 340, 341
scrambling 7, 129, 130

seasons 184, 186
sequence of tenses 43
source 50, 147, 251, 262, 274, 281, 297, 305
spiraritization 325, 326
subject 5–7, 12, 18, 19, 27, 30, 33–37, 42, 44–46, 48, 50, 52–54, 62, 78, 79, 83, 91, 92, 96–106, 115, 117, 129–
132, 135–137, 142, 144–146, 196, 197, 201–203, 206, 213–215, 219, 223–230, 238, 252–257
subject complement 98, 100, 105, 142
subject of copular construction 136
subjunctive 13, 28, 29, 32, 39, 43, 44, 87, 90, 225, 226, 231, 239, 241, 242, 244–250, 252, 275, 298, 307, 308, 315
subordinate clause 8, 13, 29, 30, 36, 43, 44, 90, 94, 95, 103, 126, 127, 225, 247–250, 252, 257, 275
subordination 9, 29, 90
superlative 53, 63, 66, 132–134, 259–261, 270, 278, 280, 312
syllable 20–22, 287–292, 296, 298, 303–306, 308, 310, 311, 313–315, 320–322, 329, 333, 341, 342
tense 5, 38, 42, 43, 88, 113, 132–134, 187, 188, 211, 223, 225–231, 236–240, 242–246, 252, 292, 294, 295
terminative aspect 242
time expressions 181, 183, 278
topic 116, 121, 125, 143, 200, 201, 254

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Page 379
topicalization 7, 51, 122, 124–127, 144, 198, 201
transitive 48, 135, 136, 223–226, 275, 354
translative 157
valency of verb 223, 225

value 129, 161
verb morphology 222
verb phrase 12, 13, 27, 84, 109
vocative 130, 163, 164
vowel harmony 247, 265, 306, 307, 339
vowel length 308, 309
vowels 190, 191, 235, 265, 267, 286, 294–298, 300–302, 304–307, 309, 332, 338, 339
week 183, 187, 276, 279, 316, 361

wh-question 20–22
word classes 81, 131, 297, 308
word order 5, 6, 9, 24, 29–31, 45, 46, 51, 53, 63, 92, 135, 136, 166, 254
yes-no question 9, 22, 23, 121
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