LESSON

11
P ar l i a m e n t ar y E l e c t i o n s

This lesson covers the basic vocabulary about computers, mass media,
and elections. The grammatical structures that we discuss in this les-
son are conditional sentences,the past progressive tense, and embedded
clausesin reporting constructions using the subordinating coniunction
eS(/k"4.

I I A . U O C A B U T A RWYA R M - U P
parliamentary /entexabat-e ,J4+{ t:rl+lA}!
elections mejles/

economic plans /bername-ha-ye 6lt -,SJ .6te +.Li_,p

eqtesad-i/
because ltonl u-F
last night /di-5ab/ ';'-$UJ
to vote lre'y dad-en/ 6ib 6l_,1
that (subordinating k"l 4s
conjunctionl
It's obvious. /me'lum-e./ .'" Jl;
I don't know. fma-n xeber .lJ[i -;rr iF
ne-dar-em./

result lnetiiel 4i+\31

to enter /vared 5od-en/ g.r-i r_;lj

IIB. DIATOGUE

Shabnamand Farhadare discussingthe latestparliamentaryelections.

f,gr_F .t5; JJ Jt5I ,..-.!J e.rby :i$

ffarhad, diSab exbar ro negahkardif :/Sabnam/

 -!

!
Farhad: I don't know, lrrrt it will be really good if Hosseini
9-2-:t+ s+r :JLaj =
gets into the parrliarrtt'rtt.
3
fna,,te-tor?f :lfa.:rhadl Shabnam: whv? rD

.1. a+

+L!.iil .5 4+",3i45 (ihr) -if e-,le. ut' :d+"' o,

Farhad: Because I was reading on the internet yesterday that

.J-$ ij+ g,*!+- rTl
he had very good economic plans. @
n
d.
ke netii :lEa-bna,ml o
/mi-xast-em be-dun-em (be-dan-em) Shabnam: Did you vote for him? J

e-ye entexabat-e meiles di Sod'/

Farhad: It's obvious.
;-,l3.irA
" -."^l,J^(jl) {t J:,t?ls. ji;.ir :JLt-,1s
.i;'.J*r ;(.4) 4.r'+ui,]+- Shabnam: Then you'll be happy if I tell you that I voted for
him, too.
/men xebar ne-dar-em, veli ege (eger) :lferhadl
Farhad: Are vou serious?! How nice!
hoseyni vared-e meiles be-Se(be-5ev-ed)
xeyli xub mi-5e./ UsageNote r: The word J-:ltr+i (/te-tort) literallymeanshow, but in this
.& i
f lJ+ :e+- context it means Why do you osk?A similar expressionis $:,^ J-.t+
(/ee-tormegar/),or,initsspokenform,45_oJ4(/te-tormege/).
Itera?l :/Sebnem/
UsageNote2.TheexpressionrJlf.#c,(/manxebar
fSF c/ e.rjrAl cs1ji3..il. JrJir tJ3; :rb-}9
na-dar-em/) literallymeansI hoveno news(-)+ is the singularform of
qgLl e-U; .,+',,s. 45 (e$lJir5-)
_,fAl, meaning news\,and it can be usedjust like t hove no ideo or t hove
.o-;l.l,r.r3'..-Lrrl*.ojlJ no clue.
/don diruz da5t-emtu-ye internet mi-xund-em :lferhadl
UsageNote3: Thestemsof the verbsg-ii(/iod-an/, to become)and,j.ii3
(mi-xand-em)ke hoseynibername-ha-ye (/goft-an/, to say,to tell) get reducedto-cF(il anO3 (/g/)in spokenl2ng-uage.
eqtesad-i-yexub-i dar-e.f That'swhy, insteadof 6-#*zc (/mi-iav-i/, you become)anOp-tJ5# (/Ue-
.&
tqerl.: 61-s t;:'x+ ; :t'+- gu-yem/, I shouldtell), Shabnamsays,e .r- (/mi-5-i/) anOj(+ (/be-g-
em/).
/to be-hebre'y dad-if :/Sabnem/

.a-:lt- :JLA-,1e
Comprehension Practice
/me'lum-e./ :lferhadl
Now answer these questions based on the dialogue you just practiced.
I .r**- +(l (r-e-r ./) i c+ cJt-,s:=c,l*+
& :i$
..it.t.9i-,1,i;'"*fa ir^ oS(e&) A.Why does Shabnam ask Farhad if he watched the news?
.*_,r1+r.lfJi i-i; l-r;+ !i eS .r-il+ .ile csic U3; .\
be- :/Sebnem/
/pes xo5-hal mi-5i (mi-5ev-i) ege be-het
grem (be-gu-yem) ke men hem be-heb re'y .{-r! ral3i Ol-,r\l.:-;'s$ aS.ul+ .lal3i c/ uJi .Y
dad-em./ .l*., q ,J"J+- +Ltiiil g; 4+i3iaS .ljl,,i ul1li c/ c.l-:p.l
!-.-ri € !f(*+f ./) ,F d cri+ :lLa;s B. What does Farhad think about the election results?

/jeddi mi-gi (mi-guY-i)?! de xub!/ :lferhadl

.r3-,Sc/ c;F AA. cr-i.fu ,J"J+- ;-,113 .jrt.,,- -Ft . t
..:3-i .,- r;.J,l.i ,r-i,,i'+ ,J..J+.-;-,1l-9
.crt"L -,,3t .V
..:j.,,i ,r+ cJul* .r..rL c.l'*.&+ ,J"J+- ;-;13.jrr'',-= -,3t .f
Shabnam: Farhad, did you watch the news last night?
C.What type of plans does Hosseinihave?
Farhad: No, whY?
ei3s. ,6 -;f\ sgLl a-lj.,p . \
Shabnam: I wanted to know what the parliamentary election qgLl a-ol-r_.p. Y
9F -6.:1,'-,:!!
sults were.
tiF -6$-,--i!l J (-, iiA crLA a-UJ+ .Y

""t---
1b4i Farsi i

i
D. How does Farhad know about Hosseini's good plans? to look /negah krcrd-an/ O.Js't(j E
a,
=
drlAI .'"''"1 s-93 Jlrrl JJ .Y a-cL_.p_1-.1J OJ
Jl .f 3
.,.,."1oJ.rlJA . , " , . " 1o s l l i I I D. KEY PHRASES .D

-
E. How does Farhad ask Shabnam if she is serious? to get elected, to /entexab Sod-en/ Ol'.$ +tilj rTl

!+e€.r fJ.r c;"r+.Y 9a--9Ju . \ get selected

fD
n
ar.
o
to elect, to select /entexab kard-en/ OiJs.iijj!
IIC. VOCABULARY presidential elections
t r I I r *rl
ttl
/entexab-at-e riyaset- !J..rHJ 9JlJrr

,",riJj+l e jomhuri/ CgJJ&J+

internet /internet/
4-U-.14 to e-mail limeyl za"d-renf Oi-t cj++l
program, plan fbernarr.ef
e-mail limeyll,/post-e 46di*,.J1
to ask /pors-id-en/ O'l+-.}i
elekteronik/ 6+-r-r5)!
*r.-t
post, mail /post/ to open fbazka-rd-a-nf iriJs jl+
message lpalyalr'l C# percent t''
lder sedl JJ
to watch /temaSakerd-en/ oiJs Lelj
president (of a country) fra-.'is'ejomhur/ J . ; .c#--s
republic /iomhur-i/ (.9J.(A
vote, ballot lre'yl csl't
to speak lherf za..d-a.-nf Oij.i-; medium (media) (ta 4jl*"J) 4jl*',J
fresan-ef(/resan-
,"ilJ.t e-ha/)
government ldolatl
head, boss, chief frer-'Lsf cl+-l to take part, to participate /Serket kerd-ren/ OijS dlS_Jrl,
radio lradiyol :+:l-,t city liehrl -l4-i
j+-t mayor
leader lre,h-berl /Sehr-dar/ -,;l:_X-.i
to count /Semord-en/ ui-;j ballot box /sanduq-ern'yl cSl'l -Gst-.
to hear /5en-id-an/ o-++l computer /kampiyuter/, dU-l ei3g#ls

to talk /sohbet kerd-en/ OiJS '''-J-'' frayanef

government official /meqam-e doleti/, .+j3.:.et-i.
box, chest /sendud 6JJl-4
(officials) (/mreqam-at-e .;13.1t!l-U.)
to send /ferest-ad-en/ OiE--1; doleti/)

fax lfeksl, fnema-brerf -,11t^l ,U.'(i official (n.), (officials) fmeqamf , (sltL) rtL
rj^U ctq.rr\S (/meqam-at/)
candidate /kandida/, fnamzedf
os website lvebsaytl d.,l*.,, -. .l
who k"l (kill,lr.ekesil ,rJ€.(;)

to listen /gubdad-enl,lgui oiJS/uih d-6 IIE. C U T T U RTEO P I CI

kerd-en/
4J-1-
magazine (magazines) /meielle/ (/maialle- 6ta4l-.-) The lranian Gouernment
ha, meiallat/) ($[+.^ , Iran has had an Islamic theocraticgovernment sincethe country's rg79
to review /morur kerd-en/ O1JS )J-t^ revolution. The head of state is 4-tis ;J flvaliyye faqihl, Supreme
Leader),who is appointed by rJt<ji ;h i flrnailes-exebre-gan/,As-
article, essay lmaqalel 4lli;

Lesson
tt
 sembly of Experts).The members of O\<J+i. ,J+^ are electedthrough .E
OJ
public ballot. The job of a;ii iJ: ir to coordinate the three main branch- =
he/shewas reading /dadt mi-xand/ $lJi .,,c ,''..l'lJ OJ
es of the state-the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The f
president, J-.(A Ly$j (/re'is-e jomhur/), is the head of the executive
we were reading /daSt-im mi-xand- irt;J6:;r. .D

-
f

iml OJ
branch of the government and !s elected by public vote. The legislative
rTl
branch is the parliament 1rJ*Tmajles/), whose members are elected you (pl. or sg.fml.l /da5t-id mi-xand-id/ +$lJi cs- 'Ji'$|.) (D

by public vote. The head of the judiciary, however, is appointed by the were reading I
o
Supreme Leader,who also appoints six members of another assembly, J

they (pI.or sg.frnl.l /da5t-end mi- sii3o *-.,fj..if.

called O!#S OIS-fi flSura-yenegeh-ban/, the Guardian Council). The
job of the Guardian Council is to approve all of the bills passedby the
were reading xand-and/
parliament, as well as all of the candidatesfor public elections.
Note: As with the presentprogressive, the past progressive is most com-
1IF. GRAMMAR m o n l yu s e di n s p o k e nl a n g u a g e
a n d n o t i n w r i t t e nl a n g u a g e .
Here are some more examples:
Past Progressiue
.J_JIS,r.c,'i.,-1 e.ir,3'
! ,",.?,f3iAj
In lesson4, we talked about the present progressivetense.We learned that
/ferhad dabt ba Sebnem sohbet mi-kerd./
the present progressiveis typically used to refer to an action that is in prog- Farhad was talking with Shabnam.
ressat the presenttime, e.g.,I am reading this book now.The past progres-
sivetenseis similar to the presentprogressivein the sensethat it refersto an ..i.j,rr r-i_.;l-r ri-1.113j.l1-i J iAJ-i
action in progress.The only difference is that the action was in progressat /ferhad o Sabnem dabt-end herf mi-zed-end./
some point in the past,e.g.,I was reading a magazine yesterdayafiernoon. Farhad and Shabnam were speaking.

In Farsi,we learnedthat the pres,entprogressiveis made with the pres- .#; .r^ 4ltii.5g di.&tl U
ent tense of the auxiliary verb i-ifilJ fldabt-en/) plus the present form /ma dabt-im yek meqale mi-nevebt-im./
of the main verb, as in the following example. We were writing an article.

.ilF ,r. aJ-. p;l.r ..rril.r .f OIS ri-i.xl3 l4ii

/dar-em mejalle mi-xan-em./ lanha dabt-end re'y mi-dad-end./
I'm reading a magazine. They were voting (casting their votes).

With this knowledgein mind, forming the past progressiveis very easy. .'- LJ'"f-i dL" 4+ f^ill
.fiti--,;s
Instead of the present form of the verb 0i'Slr and the main verb, we use /da5t-em be mani feks mi-ferest-ad-em./
the past form, as in the example below. I was sending a fax to Mani.

.eJ,lJ- .'- 4l+^ i:,,3,1.: Conditional Sentences

/da5t-em majalle mi-xand-em./ Conditional sentences are those sentences that contain a clause that
I was reading a magazine.
starts with f or unless.we call this clausethe fclause. conditional sen-
The following is the verb J$lJi (/xan-d-en/) conjugated for past pro- tences come in a variety of types depending on their meaning and the
gressive. tensesof their clauses.The most basic type of conditional sentenceis
the kind that talks about a possible situation in the present or at a future
T H EV E R B
o$lji ( / x a n - d - a n / ,t o r e a d )t N T H EP A S P
T R 0 6 R E S ST| V
EENSE time, as in, It'll be very good if he gets into the parliament.

In Farsi, conditional sentencesof this type have their fclauses in the

I was reading /da5t-am mi f$lJi,". i:,,i,lr subjunctive mood and their main clausesin the simple present tense.
xand-rem/ Look at this example:
y;; i;;.i;;,; la"li-i*i-*u"J-i/ Jstr-J.,:;'j .JF .,rc Li.F.J$ ,.:-r-,!;,j,1+.." ;:ls -#l
reading f a;ga;rvared-emajels be-bev-ed, xeyli xub mi-5ev-ed./
If he gets into the parliament,it'll be very good.
----i-
148i Farsi Lesson
rr t-*-^-
1r49
 '0
The following is another example,conjugatedfor all persons. .ii a-=L-J+a +Lliiil q9\g: d a.rt+ p-.r^,13s
,r- a
.l-+ c/ l1 jl e 7s'-,+ a. Jro 4+ -Sl /mi-xast-em be-dan-am ke natiic yt,r'rrlcxabat-emejles de 5od./ OJ

I wanted to know what the resultso1'theparliamentaryelectionswere. 3

legrer be medrese be-rev-em, u ra mi-bin-em./ o
+
If I go to school,I'll seehim/her. In Farsi when we need to place a clause inside a larger clause as we -
o,

.G,J# c/ l-1 jl sag_11'_Sr4

4*,lJJ.4+ Jl report someone'sspeech,we can use the subordinating conjunction aS rTl
.D
(/ke/) to connect the subordinated clause to the main clause. Here are n
f acgerbe medrese be-rev-i, u ra mi-bin-i./ al.
o
If you (sg.)go to school,you'll seehim/her. some examples:
6

..r++ cf l_2jl cl3.p 4*rJJ. ! -Sl .rii i),]j d; 4s-&;u q

laugal be medrese be-rev-ed, u ra mi-bin-ed./ /be mani be-gu ke men telefon zrcd-a-m.f
If he/she goesto school,he/she will seehim/her. Tell Mani that I phoned.

.#ll+ c/ l1 3l c6S-84*,,JJo 4+ -Sl .o:l.r .9i_.1,j+-,s 4+ i$ 45

i6 d -6j
f augr',rbe mredresebe-rev-im, u ra mi-bin-im./ /fekr mi-kon-em ke Sebnem be hoseyni re'y dad-e./
If we go to school,we'll seehim/her. I think that Shabnamhas voted for Hosseini.

.+1.l1;cf l-2 3f c.rr;-.;,;4*,,J1^ 4+ -Sl h_f eScK ,ts.t

.+l .f .-tl_.rl+
legr'r be medrese be-rev-id, u ra mi-bin-id./ f exbar goft ke ferda baran mi-a-yred./
If you (pl. or sg.fmll go to school,you'll seehim/her. The news said that it is raining tomorrow.

."Lt# c* l:jl r.uj-; a-ur-;J.oq -Sl . rii..,d li ijl ,.,.?,r grc,l*,,aS l.ejl
f a.gr.'rbe medrese be-rev-end, u ra mi-bin-end./ /anha goft-end ke sa'ret-ehabt"$K inja hest-and./
If they go to school,they'll seehim/her. They said that they'd be here at 8:oo. (lit.,They said that they are here
at 8:oo.)
usagel{ote:lt is commonfor the if clauseto appearfirst in Farsi.ln a more
formalstyle,the r/-clausecan alsocomelast. Example: As in English, using the subordinating conjunction in the above context
4*,,JJo 4+ -61 is optional.
.lJj er* .+ l-,r :l
/u ra mi-bin-em agrer be medrese be-rev-em./
I'll seehim/her if I go to school. TIG. READIlIG
Here are some more examples of conditional sentences. Read the following newspaper report about parliamentary elections.

.*r cr- :l ! l_,rl*-l fh ,r.,j# CfJ3;U -St

le.gr-r mani telefon be-zen-ed, payam-e Somara be u mi-dah-em./ ..jils dr.SJri rrJ+- !iL!.iil Ji cgru -dy ,ai.&.r3 q9+iii
If Mani calls,I will give him your message. jf r'; .$rJS jtr a.u.,.ijr)J) )rll ,Sllc;la g1r,'i.
C:r +l-tl
.JF,r- cJ-,i_;S e.:-iii+ l-,1_,ps ggl # jl orl:..gi_,;rj.;. ;.oJr rEil 45 r-j e9t-,Ll cgjJ -.JiJl^_i
la;gr-r Sabnam in xebar ra be-5enev-ad, xo5-hal mi-5ev-ed./ U$l+.i )_,tt_1.:*lij J-,;h cgJl;..,; cSLl cSlJ ,,+J..,s45 +-F .r+ drLG.o
If Shabnam hears this (news),she'll get happy. a-lr: .,4$r -.98i aS G^ 4-J ta +rL_2 J e3-;-o..r-..,i;
"I+_6
.r-d cf ,-iJFt j C,l 4."to 619J + l_Set &l -Sl
..tr-.;ftcCF -igrL-iil qgla
f a,gar in qors ra be-xor-i,etse-et ber taref mi-5av-ed./
If you take this pill, your sneezewill go away. Last week many people participated in the parliamentary elec-
6eJJ;,r gJil,.,,,- 4+ -Sl
tions. Governmentofficials opened the ballot boxes on Monday.
.J-q-^i d +-F
After counting the votes,it was clear that seventypercentof the
lacga-rbe mosaferat be-rev-im, xub mi-5ev-ed./
peoplehad voted.officials saythat Hosseinihas a lot of votesand
If we take a trip, it will be good.
that he may enter the parliament. Peopleand the media all say
that Mr. Hosseinihas very good economicplans.
Embedded Clauses with +S (tket, thatl
In the opening dialogue of this lesson,shabnam tells Farhad that she
wanted to know what the election results were. She says,
---*--l
1 5 oi Farsi Lesson
tt 1*- -
I t st
I
 IIH. C U T T U R ET O P I C 2 qfpJ} oJJ^'^+b+l jl J:ti>> :tJ-j uit^ .\ !
q,
=
OJ
(.eJJ,r. Llki.-l q l.r-;iipv "''i( &J#i .Y 3
rD
Uoting in lran
(f . d # u"3all) :+-+ U^ OI .f a+
OJ

Any Iranian citizen, male or female, over the age of fifteen can vote in
Iran. In order to vote, voters need to take their birth certificate to a ballot (f.\g*y U jl rtAJi . t
.,^ b3 ! l; e-eU+l> :.r+--,1g E
rD
at
station near their residenceand cast their vote in a ballot box. Iranian (.Jj l.ly; ',",i( d.
Pl:- p.r.sJr$^a .o )
birth certificatesare little booklets with multiple pages,a couple of pages "ps
of which are reserved for election stamps. When people vote, they get
a stamp in their birth certificate to record that they have voted. The D. Match the sentencesin the first column with those in the second col-
Iranian parliament and the president are elected every four years. The umn to form a dialogue. You will need to rearrange the lines in both
president can hold office for up to two terms. Elections at the municipal columns.
level are also held in Iran.
l
^rlz

j,
.p.:l.rLrlJ el_lia; & .-ill f6.rl.: 6lJ .,S a4 -f .'\
Exercises 4-i.5- rJ-- laj-i .q,
:
i JJ JirU !+.ii.l 3ri c.jL .Y
A. Complete the sentencesbelow using the past progressive form of the fLerJS
verb in parentheses. -- "F-6
.J$K: j$it*.t+. .L.t i{i;.-,l;-;.r-l
(O1J5 '',-.,-i ; OJiJJJ. -;.:,r+lgr
4
.\
(Oi-t' O+r) oki^-l jl Jrre++r)+J . Y
fJA,o-,;i.c! . .9 +;;ii d ,'l.r+ p.r"t:= G^ .t
r:s G+ ceJ.c++g;!-; +LiAiil
(d)-^,9)oltL'l; ir .r
(ustF) c!.rl + uil- t
(O.t-l:-) -1taEL .o A ] I S W E RK E Y
ComprehensionPractice
B. Complete the following sentencesusing the correct forms of the verbs in A.3 B .r C.z D.3 E.z
parentheses.Remember that in conditional sentencesreferring to pos-
sible situations in the present or at a future time, the verb in the fclause
is in the subiunctive mood, and the verb in the then-clauseis in the pres- Exerclses
ent tense.
A.
(dIK) ;l r , (..,+t;l-2aLU st .\
l_lS cf g.r;.r Cr,il.t .Y .r-F af ,','J-'' ,",,Ll.1
.\
(Os) cJt.',$ri.+L , 1cr-l) ,J+^ 4+-rl-61 -r
l-,l-,r!al; -St .r $lJi .',c ,",'il.t . { #;,"- ii,$l.r.Y
(o+S; l-1+gii e (or$
"i-6) d3"il'l .
o
(og) u,:+-r 6-(Osu; Ol-j+-Jrj td -St .t eiJ-,1-lt,r.'

\-:-$.r.c .. . .t-l; .Y

+-# d... $,Lor.t 6*i'.icr'... r

Turn these sentencesinto reported speechconstructions with aS (/t
"/), s-l5.r o
as in the example.
(.*+ *i-S:l'rl-l a+*l-P si u'> :cK #
C.
.ra+ d-6 :+rl_,1a; $l3i .,- 45cri< p;^t .r:j oj_r ! \'+l jl J-lLi 45 r+-Ji uil- .\
--___f.__-- --+
15zl Fa Lesson
tt
i lrsr
 -l
.J, d Uki^al e+l.ly 4! ,',i( &J#i .Y LESSON
.rrj .r cr-*-fl 45 ti*-,11r-JFe Oi .f

12
"5
.firr^.,.F.,. t+S ! l-,lerE OJI45 f;-Ji U jl rtaJi . {
4! ,',i( p;; .l*.{.a .o
.r-.f .ul-5i ,jll l.l-,1o

Mailing a Package
fJJtn .o-;-i..:.,
;
i - --
*-::*-^----
.nKi Jl5I .;',r?!J.i-r In this lesson,you will learn some common terms used at post offices
and banks. You will also learn to use the polite past construction, as
'.
't;;rL-r$-i:; - well as the passive and middle voices. But first, let's practice a few new
words.
i"- --*:;
i-.fitJJr etJi,q6,*..iti
I 2 A . U O C A B U T A RWYA R M . U P

to let, to allow leiazedad-an/ 6ih o'f;l

extra,addition lezafel 4d-.:!
express , t l4'1.4"<l
/eksperes/ v

In your language journal, write about the last time you or somgone package lbest-el 4L*+
you know voted. Try to use as many of the words you learned in this
insurance lbimel 4..#
lesson as possible l
local,domestic /daxeli/ .Jil'r
to last,to take (time) /tul keS-id-en/ cl-l'?''<d:t
employee,clerk /kar-mand/ .LJS
z 4 l

gram (o.o353 lgereml e>

ounces)
weight lvaznf ,li:

I2B. DIATOGUE
.ij.tl-!^J9+.r-+ Jrt :'"''"!+^-lts
fna;f.a:-ebe d. be-ferma-yin./ :ft.ar-mande post/
a+#--ti* JJ li-i OJI#-lJ..t" .EI ,pL :i$
.jlJ$

/selam, aqa.mi-xast-Emin beste ro be-ferest- :/Sabnam/

r(+usc*i-r)or.,s
*;t::fl :,'''"i+.-lK
 !

/besiyarxob.vezn-e5kard-in (vezn-ei :/kar-mend-e post/ 3

krerd-id)f .ljL-lii :,3",i li.-,K g.

.n lxoda-hafez.f :/kar-mande post/ gq

.or'.?.-i O)J ({ :e.t+- Ot

!
OJ
11
fna-,vezn na-5od-e./ :l(a-.bna,mf OJ
Postal employee:The next person.How can I help you? gq
fD
erl-H",SJ3il5 '''"'.Ur J iS.5.;
:'''"'i li"-lK Hello, sir. I d like to send this package to Shiraz.
9d.f Shabnam:
o.tE-;i
Sr

/yek kilu o devist gerem-e. eksperes ferest-ad-e :/kar-mend-e post/ Postal employee: Very well. Have you weighed it?
mi-5-e/ Shabnam: No, it hasn't been weighed.
fo_l$ tJ" '#"Sl (, 4+JA .49-"i" +(t ,+! :'+'i Postal employee: It's a kilo and two hundred grams. Is it to be sent
express?
fbr-.le,rege momken-e. hezine-ye eksperes :/Sebnem/
de-qedr-eI Shabnam: Yes,if possible.What's the costof express(post)?
O+AIA fn 4^# +Kt .OU; oJ 3 ,",...*UJ4rLu :,.,."'i li"_lK Postal employee: It's two hundred and ten tumans. If you want
.4..i (s- l-iL:l Ot^j ,$q .(+el_n+) insurancetoo, it'll be fifty tumans extra.
/mi-5-e devist o deh tuman. ege bime hem :/kar-mend-e post/ Shabnam: No, insurance isn't necessary.How long will it take
be-xah-in (be-xah-id),penjah tuman ezafe for the package to get to Shiraz?
mi-5-e./
Postal employee: Local express takes two to three days.
d3t) 4,i'5 .r" jA *
Jq ., r,,.JipjY e.g ,+: :is Shabnam: Good. I'll send it express.
f(-y.) ar; jlJ$ 4++i; d (S .r^
Postal employee: Very well. It'll be two hundred and ten tumans.
/ne, bime lazem nist. de-qedr tul mi-ke5-e :lia-.bnr-mf
(mike5-ed) ke breste be biraz be-res-e Shabnam: There you go. Here's three hundred tumans.
(be-res-ed)/
Postal employee: Ninety tumans is your change.
d d3t j_l_f a* E 3.r .Jil.l _,_l*_l+."Sl :,.,,"'o.t
li._lK Shabnam: Thank you very much. Good-bye.
.4.is
Postal employee: Good-bye. I

/eksperes-edaxel-i do ta se ruz tul mi-ke5-e./ :/kar-mand-e post/

.ciri-JA c/ g,"J*."S| .q.i :fl$ ComprehensionPractice
/xub-e. eksperes mi-ferest-em-eb./ :/Sebnem/ Now answer these questions based on the dialogue you just practiced.
.4.i .,- Ot-jl lJ 3.',.,rr_rJ .,r,.i._,;tu4r :t-tr''oJ l-.-,rK A. How does the postal employee call on the next person in line?

/besiyar xob. devist o deh tuman mi-be./ :/kar-mend-e post/ p;.r .,i jij.Y 9Ft!.+.\
.Ot--i \-, .r.,,eA i.,1,,lf
.irrl""t-,+ :fl$ B. What is Shabnam sending to Shiraz?

/be-ferma-yin. in hem si-sad tuman./ :/Sebnem/

4!,+.f+ .f r.J*.Y +1+5rfu .\
C. How much does the packageweigh?
.Oyl* seqti Ot--f r-lj :'''"'i$-,,ts
eJs'1+i .r rJS 'i 3 '''"'UJ.Y r JS.!
/neved tuman beqiye-ye pul-etun./ :/kar-mend-e post/
p,# c43.
.Ji!_L*lii,
.OJj4. .,l+t :i$ D. How much does insurance on the packagecost?

I xeyli mamnun . xo da-hafez. I :l(a'.bnalml J..,.,,.,JJ.Y cJ!-,;dr-';3r. Y Ol--f ol++

,'tLo oLtr-r
V J
"i
---*-1-- I

ts6i Farsi Lesson

tz
i
 E.How longdoesit takefor a package
to getto Shirazby express
mail? =
I2D. KEYPHRASES
dreL^,.,3t E .S-r.Y j:-,r +- E :J. Y 4j{A JJ U ,-5.J . \ qq

banknote /eskenas/ q'1*15*,! CU

E
o,
I2C. UOCABUTARY international /beyn-ol-melrel-i/ gs; ,'l
o,
"ll+Jl qq

water ,-rl post office /post-xane/ dLi, ,',.,.1 rD

l"bl
address ,lnelan-il
fadresf cg*;.li surface mail /post-e za'rnin-if ,+j fr.-i
./tij
airmail r ' r . . . tr
province
. . | t,' I /post-e ha;va-yil , -ll J a
lostanl LJ' "l
Uta

bank 6jl+
to open an account /hesab baz kerd-an/ OrJS jt+ +t"+
lbankl
to open a savings account /hesab-e pes endaz il$l ,v t*r. r ,-.rtl=
2'
electricity herql c3r J

baz kard-en/ oiJs j!

envelope /paket-e name/ a,oLl,'i(Lr
to open a checking L,;
/hesab-e iaribaz 19Jb e-r.
stamp Itembrl -)+4J account kerd-en/ oiJs j!
check lrekl d-: to stand in line /der saf istad-en/ OIU*JI
' i'
-,1J
account lhesabl 9L"r- coin /sekke/ 45*^
savings account pes-endaz/
/h.esab-e ilsl , r-,J-*=
J V e - .
water bill lqebz-e abl .Jj -,Ji+l-E

checking account /hesab-ejari/ cgJb Ft"> electricity bill lqebz-eberql $i -,Jb;3

t.
foreign, international lxarej-il c'+J'.r telephone bill lqebz-etelefon/ OjF -Oz$
checkbook /deste dek/ e5-i 4i*i gas bill lqebz-egazl jK .olo,G
village lrustal E-:-,r bill lqabzl,/suret g.1-l-,o,:.rG
hesab/ i-r.L,';
ground, earth,land lzeminl rtlA!
v 6 J

.-Sjt{ lL-,rK
bank teller /kar-mend-e bank/
surface (adj., as in f zemin-il cs+i^J . t. I
surface mail) coins or small bills Jls' -U-l,l
/pul-e xord/
(/1r.,small money)
line, queue lsafl r i-. * btl i
'.J$JJ
large bills (/ir., /pul-e doroSt/ -tJ}
mailbox /senduq-e post/ ,',,'1 ,io\i-.-
l ' v J large money)
r t I - . '
P. O. box /senduq-e post-i/ ,-lrir-l
\ t 1 ' v J
rQoJl-r.a
price ,tr- ,i
lqeymetl
sender /ferest-ende/ 5 ri'i. u;1 fo ,r-t - ,'gl.',-^, i
What's the price of this? /qeymret-e in J -l V0 ' .2

postal code /kod-epost-i/ , 1,,: r5

\t deqedr-e/
'ba
country lkelva,rl JJ.Jl:>

receiver
a/ I 2 E . C U T T U RTEO P I CI
lgir-endel oItJ*S

letter lnarrrel 4-oU lranian Coins and Banknotes

air (adj., as in airmail) lhreva-yil rsJlJ-{ Currently, the smallest Iranian coin is the five-rial coin. Coins with
larger denominations are lo, 50, roo, and z5o rials. Banknotes start
at 1oo rials (ro tumans) and go up in these denominations: 2oo, 5oo,
r,ooo, 2,ooo,5,ooo, 1o,ooo,and zo,ooo rials. You can seethese coins and

158j Farsi tz
Lesson
t banknotes at http ://www.iranchamber.com/geography/iranian_currency
/iranian_currency.php.You can also see some Iranian stamps on the Ira-
nian Post Company website at http://wwwpost.ir/.
I 2 F . G R A MM A R
Polite Past
In English, speakerssometimes use the past tense as a form of social
distancing or politeness,as in Did you have a question?as opposed to
Do you have a question?or I wanted to ask you somethingas opposed to
I want to askyou something.The past tense in these examples does not
refer to past events; rather, it has an extralinguistic function. It helps the
speakerto not sound too forward or blunt.
The same thing happens in Farsi as well. Speakersoften use the past
tense for politeness or social distancing. For example, Shabnam in the
opening dialogue of this lesson tells the postal employee,
.jlJ$ 4+C--,;q JJ 45"ar-l*li-l_n.r
/mi-xast-em in beste ro be-ferest-em be 6iraz.f
I d like (Lit.,I wanted) to send this packageto Shiraz.
This sentenceis in the past tense,but it refers to the present time. She
wants to send the package now not yesterday. We call this use of the past
tense the polite past.
Here are some more examples of using the polite past.
.fis _ll+csJl+ej*,e.! #-lr=.r
/mi-xast-em yek hesab-ejaribaz kon-en./
I d like (Lit.,I wanted) to open a checking account.
UsageNote: With some commonverbs like gi-.,$ (/kard-en/), we can
makea subjunctive form without addingthe prefixi (/be-/).Thisis espe-
ciallytrue in spokenlanguage.Forexample,herewe have-iS (lkon-em/)
insteadot6,Jfu (/be-kon-am/).0f coursersayingifu is not wrong.
.ilib dlj'.,'.!
/yek so'al daSt-em./
I had a question.
SpellingNote:TheletterJ is usedfor the /'/ soundafteran /o/ vowel,as in
,Jl3L (/so'al/,question)in the aboveexample.
ji-,lF
.#-J+ Oki.al a+l-,1a-ol-icJ",rl .,-
/mi-xast-remin name ra be esfahan be-ferest-em./
I d like (Lit.,l wanted) to send this letter to Esfahan.
UsageNote:Recallthat orderof phrasesis fairlyfree in Farsi,so
+-,1q Uki^-l a+l-,1+-"UrJ,'ilf-,,t+ cy' and
Uki"-l 4+e.t--)+l-,1a-EOil C-lJi ,=-careidentical.
Justremember
----l-
160 Farsi
Lesson
|
3
e i t h a v e r b( a si n t h e s e c o n de x a m p l ei)s f o r m a l
t h a t e n d i n g t h es e n t e n c w g.
a n d m o r ec o m m o ni n w r i t t e nl a n g u a g e . =
oe
The use of the polite past isn't limited to first person singular.You can tu
E'
o,
use it with all persons and numbers. n
OJ
.#,,,ilrcjl_l-+ U
gq
rD
/ma dend so'al dadt-im./
We had a few questions.
f !l;it l: Cy +$-l3i .'^ t^3
/5oma mi-xast-id m€n ra be-bin-id?i
Did you want to see me?
..rt'S,:r'iC c!,,,lJ5 .,- 4i."+ tl J+ fJ+
/peder-em dend ta brestemi-xast post kon-ed./
My father wanted to mail a few packages.
r a t w e c a n m a k en e wv e r b sf r o m m a n yn o u n sb y a d d i n g
N o r e :R e m e m b et h
light verbs like g'i-i ec.ti-l-l= ,Oij ,OJj to the nouns (lessonr). The
verb gi-,;S a..-i (tpostkard-an/) then means to mail.
Passive Uoice (Present Tense)
Voice is a grammatical term that refers to the relationship between the
action or the state expressedby the verb and its arguments (subject,ob-
iect, etc.).All of the sentencesthat we have used in this book up to this
point have been in the active voice, which means the syntactic subiects
of these sentences(the noun phrasesbeginning the sentences)have also
been the logical subjects of those sentences(the person or thing that
performed or caused the action) and that the syntactic obiects of the
sentenceshave also been the logical objects (the person or thing upon
which the action took place).For example,[ohn saw Mary is in the active
voice becauselohn (the syntactic subject of the sentence)is also the logi-
cal subiect (it is the person that does the seeing) and Mary (the syntactic
object of the sentence)is also the logical object (the person being seen).
There are, however, sentencesin most languages,including English and
Farsi,in which the syntactic subject of the sentenceis the logical object,
as in Mary was seen by lohn.In such sentencesthe logical subject is
either missing or mentioned in a prepositional phrase with by, as in our
example (".g., by lohn). Such sentencesare in the passive voice. If you
look at English passive sentencesa little more carefully, you will notice
that in all of them there is a form of the auxiliary verb fo be followed
by the past participle of a transitive verb, as in was seen,is written, will
be eaten,etc. A transitive verb is a verb that requires the presenceof an
object.
The passivevoice in Farsi is similar. We make passivesentencesin Farsi
by using the past participial form of a transitive verb followed by the
verb gili inflected for tense,person, and number.
12
 T

The past participial form of verbs is made with the past stem of the verb Mi ddl e U oi ce =
OJ

followed by the suffix L Vnh.For example, the past participle of the Middle voice is form between a('tivt'ancl passivevoice in function. In
='
J

0q
verb g{J (/did-en/, to see) is o{J (ldid-el, seen). We talked about the active voice, the syntacticsubjet:tis the logical subjectas well, and the OJ

past participial form of verbs in lesson ro. Here is the verb gJJJ conju- verb is in its active form. In passivevoice,the syntactic subject is the OJ
-r
gated in the present tense passivevoice for all persons. logical object, and the verb is in the passiveform (i.e.,past participle OJ
gq
o
plus g.t$). In middle voice, the verb looks like an active verb (no past
T H EV E R B O + l ( / d i d - e n / , t o s e e )l N T H EP R E S E N
HTA B I T U A
TEL NSE, participle), but the syntactic subject of the sentenceis the logical object.
P A S S I VVEO I C E Here are some sentencesin the active voice together with their middle
voice versions.

I am seen /did e mi 5ev-em/ lF rs'o+r i M I D D LVEO I C E ACTIVE

VOICE
you (sg.) are seen /did-e mi-5av-i/ c9-d cr' o+r . t
.t- O_lj 4l^-+ ..1_f c,p:l_t4L*+ #
he/she/it is seen /did-e mi-5av-ad/ td./ -o-{r, /beste vmzn 5od./ /5rebnam breste ra vazrr krerd./
The package got weighed. Sha-bnam werghed the package.
we are seen /did-e mi5av-im/ f.-J*i cs4:)"-
yi" 1pi. is.fuii.1 /did-emi-#v-id/ Jtti D+J : .$'r*i jq b c3:,i-. l-; I't .3r ''t-' di-ti.q
are seen"i
d
..i1JS jl{
/senduq-h a baz 5od-end./ /maqam-at sanduq-
they (pl. or sg.fml.) /did-e miSev-end/ $F.",.c oJ,rJ The boxes got open. ha ra baz kard-a;nd.l
Officials opened the boxes,
)
.t- &-,, *" , .rJSS-t l-.,i.Jl
Passivevoice is used for a variety of reasons, the most important of
/miz reng 5od./ /manl mrz ra rang Kard./
which are (i) that the logical subject of the sentence is unknown (e.9., Thetablegot plinted: Mani painted the table.
The bag was stolen, when we don't know who stole the bag) or (ii)
that the logical subject of the sentence is not relevant to the message .$JArr cs^ dJ-,^t 1.0a-t: .afs .+ C.r.'r lJ Ll q-U L
or is obvious (e.g.,The bookwill be published in April, when what we /name-ha post mi-Srev-and./ l^u name-ha ra post
care about most is the book itself and not the publisher). There are The letters get mailed. mi-kon-im./
times that we do mention the logical subject but only in a by-phrase We mail the letters.
(e.g., The roads are taken care of by the city\. The preposition that
is used in Farsi in the place of by in passive sentences ir J^'."F .r-d if a:.y,3Ll.s,ijl -
l-) drti-iiil di-tL

(/tavessot-e/). Here are some examples of passive sentences with

.$6 u^ arfi
/entexab-at Soru' miSev-red./ /maqam-at entexab-at
by-phrases. The elections begin. ra Soru'mi-kon-and./
.$Jpi ,r-oorli--,yi p"l.r,&
tr-3j b a-t-r
/name-ha t€vessot-e Sebnem ferest-ad-emi-5ev-end.r """ffJ?J"'.*Tr
The letters are sent by Shabnam.

.rJ-i .4 ciill-.;1 .sjt+ l.-lK J^'."F cJ* Notice that in all of the above examples,the verb is a phrasal one. A
/pul tevessot-e kar-mend-e bank perdaxt mi-5ev-ed./ phrasal verb is a multi-word verb. For example, in English verbs like
Money is paid by the bank teller. look out, call up, go on, and lock up are consideredphrasal verbs because
they are made up of a verbal element, namely, Iook,call, go, andlock, and
.$-1,i.r-" o.:-/aj crl-LL Y-^";3ta .gl-) another word. Farsi phrasal verbs are typically made with an adjective
f r e.'y-ha teves sot-e maqam-at Semord-e mi-5ev-and./ or noun and the verb 6i,5 in the active voice or the verb gi'.l in the
The votes are counted by the officials. middle voice. But, as mentioned before, there is no past participle as
there is in the caseof the passivevoice.Middle voice is very common in
/qanun tevessot-e mejles neveSt-emi-5av-ed./ Farsi,even more common than the passive.
Law is written by the parliament.

**^*t-
'rtzi Farsi Lesson
rz i163

ti
i
I
j Iran's secondlargest city is ri ,j,- o (/rrrir'5heed/,Mashad).Mashad is the =
!

N I2G. READING
most religiously significant city ol I ran, as it is where the Shiites'eighth
cu
='
i The following is a simplified excerpt from a bank brochure about open-
ing an account.
imam is buried. It is estimated th:rt twelve million pilgrims visit Ma-
shad wery year. g\-.1^ol flesfehan/, Esfahan,also spelled Isfahan) and
OJ

l
t-}

-..--."-.-j
JU.J!t (l\irazl, Shiraz) are arguably the cultural capitals of Iran. Esfahan
gcl
has been designateda World Heritagecity by UNESCO.The city is even rD

gt-,.r.q.iJs jt+ i older than Persia itself, and today a great many historical sites are still
"JJl+ standing for visitors to enjoy. Shiraz is also older than the Persian Em-

1rl
.S+45cs,l .-,1Y,J]l ,,Ft, e.rl-^"= .S+ .Oi-lS -2l;.csU
.r--,rlSjl+l:, .r l-.1 1.ll .+$Si cu,ljA_,;i-p;*
ey
.Sjt++l.f1^,,lji+_1K.fu ! l-,1a-,;s.+-1;(4Jiit-r cet^
.sjl+ .Lp13j!.'-f t-.,j,(!,lF_,rJ a_,ri.Sjl+ -t.1.rr#
pire. Both cities have been capitals of the country at some point during
)
their history and they house the tombs of many prominent literary, sci-
l entific, philosophical, and religious figures.
:

liir _jS .! L-i +.,_lrF g+ cL:"oJla +t+ -d .j*,'-ot+

1Sll Cr-,rlS
.+t'S
..Ul_ll+lJ, .,- L3.13-,,,i,rr orlr Ji! +
orl,ii-l -,-u"r'!csl.r-,;;
jK U Olij .,c3; .,..-rj
.:
:
:
Exercises
A. Rewrite these sentencesin the polite past tense,as in the example.
.d-llr r.Jl-l-'$.. L

ii i

i
.#^:,bdl3- + l-
i Opening a Bank Account
.elJ#lJ W eol_n .r- . \
To open a bank account, you first need to fill out an application

rii
i f_ *f q_;l.rJtS dr t+ f
form. You can get this form from bank tellers. Take the form and i
.
an identification card to the bank. At the bank, your application .
i Oi.&l.l JIS .,.."5 L is an idiom for fo want to seesomeoneor to want
form is signed by the head of the bank or the accounts officer, and l to talk to someone.
a bank card is given to you. You can use this card to pay water, l

rllL r.r-ri
electricity, telephone, or gas bills. '
..s,,,r r-, .l
form
"i,,}j.HiiT
f+1lr _jS.r-h crEI! l-o.,i
.o
lforml r-tl
application /der-xast/ Cr^r,l_rS-,;r
B. Turn these active sentencesinto passiveconstructions.
full lporl A
-r.:- cf lJ OC.'iL dl- .\
to fill /por kerd-en/ oi-rs-r+
SL.r JE t" .+l;l jl cs!^+ .Y
to get lgereft-enl (l1oh (J$ cfi-S
.r1l.r di lJ lA +3.,*rUJI ..j-^"S.f
signature f emza'f eL^:."]
card lkartl d.l-,rlS - cJl*l^'-\b _ll. f
.J-,,_J+
cf lS la o_9,-gl ,r.J
.UF .o
C.Turn theseactivesentences
into middlevoiceconstructions.
I2H. C U T T U R ET O P I C 2
ri-i'( ,r- er.LiXl lJ .'\
ij+A aiy
Major lranian Cities
rJS jt+ lt cD[S Jr .,."S .Y
Iran has severallarge cities, each of which has a certain historical and
cultural significance.Tehran, the capital and by far the largest city, is .r15 ul3i,"ri-f3; l_,,+l -cJa.jU .f
the busiest one of all. It is the second most populous city in the Middle ..jiJS \.il^i l-,1e-ct-r; JI aiJ^ . t
East,after Cairo. In addition to being the seatof the government, Tehran
is also the center of most of the socioeconomicactivitv in the countrv. . ri-i'( ./ +l,,l lJ lA iJ,Alll gil l.eJI.o
-_-_''''''''''''''.',.'.'.........................'''.''.'''''
,
1 6 h' l i Farsi Lesson
tz
l
i
D. Fill in the blanks using the words given.
CSlt_.4 p.l-lr=.f 4i!i. ,',. ,.', (tr.,.!t =
ctj: 3 !a I . NDE P E lD{ E N TC H A t t E1 G
{E ru
='
4-cLi J+-J .' ii. gq

tet s go.'online and learn a Iittle bit more about OJ

_(Y )_ .s+ _( I )_ ir^ ,rii. jrJ r+ shiraz. visit

under the languageswitlu o,*
!
OJ

i::l^/.wierlfoo.:t8..u1d, artictes, n

:.f,-[]r* :
-(,)-illd:;-
nnd s*UU and click. on it. Then, under OJ

..*-L 3 .,.,,..al-r_-,;
oEl
a3lc,
(i'H.illiffiJl?Tf
.D

#l$:t1.:'":o'"frl"iqE*."'1,'f,,d
j:'ffil:rr,:1rr"h#;::T-
lt e-tY,de Ci"r .'-'<
.fijs _(V)_ l"-y."*Fr..*/relatedsearches),r"
(/osta1he/,p-rovrnces),
119,1 OlJ*.rl you shouldbe'ableto find grr_;1i
Fars]-Ut th: w;i this is *i,"r" Farsiactually.";;;;.
A ] I S W E RK E Y lfar,sl,
vouwilr'"" " ii'io'r;;i;;j''
practice
Comprehenslon
tii|;:;'ff[i1:1ntffiprovince'
are lookilg the article ,borrt shiraz,let,sseeif you
A,Z 8.3 C.r D.r E,Z I"Y^.h::you
'can fi1d thl answerb the":fbllowing questions:
1o
'
Exercises What is the population,ofShiraz?

A.
.pqg l-; t-l p.r-t-+ g.o .l
among lra-
f !..i1. JL( (j'o l+ . y
.pi,,il.r_jScrh 6tii t; .f l'l uio., r""i fo, th" words,i*Jk+ ru#$., e,'H.JJs.ILl
.i6 cAl.rJB lt d.$ Orl#*lri s^ .t ;, . eujro&i scpcrir
'
f !r.r13jS .rh .9Uil+l^^i . o ,''.i' f{ow ftir is shiraz from Tehian?
B. , llintl Look for the word-;r.c_gJ$
ffkilu_metr/,kilometer).
..re.i s- 4i-,1i (;U I*3j) i,St- .l .
,Recordthesefacts'aboutsriiryi-d royl ranguageiournar.you might
..rj-e cr' dil-, (t^ sjlJdl jl cs_j+.+t .-i) Jti .y ip"iolto*the'linktJ 'x1{,1{*iI
,,,wa1t 16iilil5jr, persepoiis)
' -Y-svrv{ry/
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