Stanmore Farsi Class -

Lesson 1
1.1

The Farsi Alphabet -

He

Che

Jm

Se

Te

Pe

Be

Alef

Shn

Sn

Zhe

Ze

Re

Zl

Dl

Khe

Ghf

Fe Ghain

Ain

Za

Ye

He

Vav

Nn

Mm

Ta

Zd

Sd

Lm

Gf

Kf

Note:

Compared to the familiar Arabic alphabet, there are four extra letters in Farsi - and
The pronunciation of and - both have t sound, no makhraj needed or expected.
The pronunciation of and - all have s sound, no makhraj needed or expected.
The pronunciation of and - all have the z sound, no makhraj needed or expected.
The pronunciation of has a gh sound, not q".

1.2 Pronunciation of Vowels -

Short vowels are not pronounced as in Arabic:
The fatha is pronounced as in fan, and not as in fun. For example, man, not mun.
The kasra is pronounced as in set, and not as in sit. For example, ketb, not kitb.
The dhamma is pronounced as in pot, not as in put. For example, shom, not shum.
1.3 Personal Pronouns -
/
They

You

We

He/She

You

They

It

:Note

has two meanings, it and that. Its conjugation is exactly the same as
is almost always used as a polite and formal form of address for second person singular. It
can be conjugated in either singular or plural form.
is used as a polite and formal form for third person singular. It can be conjugated in either
singular or plural form.

1.4 The Infinitive -

The infinitive is the form of a verb that gives no indication of time, or doer. The infinitive form of
all Farsi verbs ends in either or . For example:
To go - , to see -
1.5 The Simple Past Tense - ( (
This is a tense that describes an action that occurred in the past, happened once, and was completed.
We will use the verb as an example. See Appendix 1.
1.6 Possessive Pronouns -
Attached -
By adding one of the following six suffixes to a noun, we can indicate possession.
My (), Your (s)(), His/Her(), Our(), Your (p) ()and Their ()
For example:

Their book

Your book

Our book

His/her book

Your book

My book

Detached -
By using another noun or personal pronoun after a noun, one can also indicate possession. This
form is used to emphasise the possession or define it.
For example:

Hasans book

Their book

Your (p) book

Our book

1.7 Conversation -
Greetings -
!
Salamun Alaykum! How are you? (lit. how is your health?)
.
Alaykum Salaam! Its fine.
!
Hi! How are you? Are you well?

!
Hi! Thanks, Im fine, you?
!
Hello! (lit. dont be fed up) - Are you well?
! .
Hello! (lit. be safe), thanks very much - its not bad.

His/her book

Your book

My book

1.8 Vocabulary List -

Verbs -
To go -
To see -
To write -
To consume (eat/drink) -
To read -
Nouns -
Book -
Mosque -
School -
Bird -
Coffee -
Teacher -
Letter -
Dinner -
Work -
Friend -
Prepositions -
To -
From -
And -
With -
So -
Time -
Yesterday -
Last year -
Last night -
Adverbs -
Fast -
Slow -
1.9 Homework -
1. Conjugate all the verbs in the vocabulary list in the simple past tense.
2. Attempt to translate the following five sentences into Farsi:
She read the book.
I saw a bird yesterday.
You wrote a letter to my friend.
He went to Haj last year
They quickly drank their coffee last night.

Stanmore Farsi Class: Appendix 1

Conjugation of Verbs -
Past Tenses - :
1. Simple Past Tense - ( (
Conjugation Formula:
Drop the from the infinitive to give the past stem, and add the personal pronoun suffix.
Therefore;
Simple Past Tense = Infinitive - ( Past Stem) + Pronoun Suffix
+ ( ) - =
3rd P P

2nd P P

1st P P

3rd P S

2nd P S

1st P S

Infinitive