37 Focus on the Form: Prepositions, Comparatives, Expressing Desires

Prepositions (حروف اِضافه)

Prepositions in Persian (حروف اضافه) are essential for connecting words and phrases. They indicate relationships such as place, time, cause, and direction. Below is a breakdown of different types of prepositions with examples and explanations for intermediate learners.

Prepositions of Place (مکان)

These prepositions indicate location or position.

English فارسی Examples
in, at در کتاب در کیف است (The book is in the bag.)
on روی لیوان روی میز است (The glass is on the table.)
under زیر گربه زیر تخت است (The cat is under the bed.)

Prepositions of Direction (جهت)

These indicate movement or direction.

English فارسی Examples
to, towards به او به مدرسه رفت
from از او از خانه آمد

Prepositions of Time (زمان)

These indicate time relationships.

English فارسی Examples
in, at در در زمستان هوا سرد است.
until, by تا صبر کن تا من بیایم.
before قبل از قبل از خواب مسواک بزن

Prepositions of Cause (علت)

These indicate reasons or causes.

English فارسی Examples
because of به خاطر به خاطر باران نیامد.
for برای این کتاب برای تو است

Compound Prepositions (حروف اضافه مرکب)

These consist of multiple words used together as a single preposition.

English فارسی Examples
beside, next to در کنار او در کنار دریا نشسته است
about, regarding در مورد در مورد موضوع صحبت کنید.

Idiomatic Prepositions

These are prepositions that form idiomatic expressions.

English فارسی Examples
because of, due to (negative implication) از دست از دست او خسته شده‌ام
despite, although با وجود با وجود باران بیرون رفتم

Prepositions of Place (Indicating Location)

Prepositions are used to describe where something is. Common ones include در (in), روی (on), کنار (next to), and پایین (down).

English فارسی Examples
in در من در هتل هستم
on روی کتاب روی میز است
next to کنار ماشین کنار خیابان است
between, among, in the middle of در بین  کتاب بین میز و پنجره است
behind, beyond, on the back of در پُشت ماشین من پشت پنجره است

Source: Prepositional Phrases from UofT Austin Persian Online (https://sites.la.utexas.edu/persian_online_resources/prepositions/prepositional-phrases/)

Exercise 1: Prepositions of Place

Practice using prepositions to indicate locations.

Fill in the Blanks:

Complete the sentences using the correct preposition: در (in), روی (on), کنار (next to), پایین (down).

  1. کتاب‌ها میز هستند. (The books are on the table.)
  2. من رستوران هستم. (I am in the restaurant.)
  3. هتل پارک است. (The hotel is next to the park.)
  4. آنها طبقه دوم هستند. (They are on the second floor.)

Answer Key:

  1. روی
  2. در
  3. کنار
  4. در

Question Words

Learn how to ask چی ,کجا ,چطور for specific inquiries.

Question Formation

Question words help you ask specific questions, like where, how, or what.

Examples:

  • کجا (where)
    • ایستگاه مترو کجاست؟ (Where is the metro station?)
    • کجا می‌توانم بلیط بخرم؟ (Where can I buy a ticket?)
  • چه/چی (what)
    • نام شما چیست؟ (What is your name?)
    • ساعت چنده؟ (What time is it?)
  • چگونه (how)
    • این چقدر قیمت دارد؟ (How much is this?)
    • چگونه می‌توانم به موزه بروم؟ (How do I get to the museum?)

Expressing Time (Saying “When”)

Use the word کی (when) to ask about time, and در (at) for specific times.

Examples:

  • کی (when)
    • اتوبوس کی حرکت می‌کند؟ (When does the bus leave?)
    • پرواز کی است؟ (When is the flight?)
  • در (at)
    • قطار در ساعت ده حرکت می‌کند (The train leaves at 10 o’clock.)
    • من در ساعت ۳ بعد از ظهر می‌رسم (I will arrive at 3 pm.)

Polite Forms

Use polite forms like لطفاً (please), خواهش می‌کنم (you’re welcome), ببخشید (excuse me).

Examples:

  • لطفاً می‌توانید به من کمک کنید؟ (Could you please help me?)
  • ببخشید، اینجا کجاست؟ (Excuse me, where is this place?)

Using Time Expressions

Use the correct time-related word like کی (when), در (at).

  • کی پرواز می‌کنید؟ (When do you fly?)
  • من ساعت ۵ می‌رسم. (I will arrive at 5 o’clock.)
  • قطار حرکت می‌کند؟ (When does the train depart?)

Comparatives and Superlatives

  • In Farsi, comparatives often end with “تر” (e.g., خوشمزه‌تر (tastier)).
  • In English, comparatives use “-er” (e.g., tastier).

Using Comparatives (Comparing Things)

Adjectives can be used in comparative form to compare things (e.g., better, worse).

Examples:

  • بهتر (better)
    • این رستوران بهتر از آن یکی است (This restaurant is better than that one.)
    • امروز بهتر احساس می‌کنم (I feel better today.)
  • بدتر (worse)
    • امروز هوا بدتر است (The weather is worse today.)
    • این هتل بدتر از هتلی است که در آن ماندیم (This hotel is worse than the one we stayed in.)

Exercise 2: Comparatives Practice

Objective: Practice using بهتر (better) and بدتر (worse) for comparisons.

Complete the Sentences

  1. این رستوران از آن یکی است. (This restaurant is better than the other one.)
  2. هوا امروز از دیروز است. (The weather today is worse than yesterday.)
  3. این هتل از هتل قبلی است. (This hotel is better than the previous hotel.)

Answer Key:

  1. بهتر
  2. بدتر
  3. بهتر

Exercise 3: Comparatives and Superlatives Practice

Objective: To practice comparative and superlative forms of adjectives.

Instructions:

  • Preparation: Provide a list of adjectives (e.g., زیبا (beautiful), گرم (hot), عالی (excellent)).
  • Task: Ask students to compare different cities in Iran or aspects of a trip (e.g., Tehran vs. Shiraz) using comparatives (بهتر – better, بدتر – worse).
  • Example:
    • تهران از شیراز گرم‌تر است (Tehran is hotter than Shiraz.)
    • شیراز از تهران زیباتر است (Shiraz is more beautiful than Tehran.)

Extension: Have students ask each other to compare places or activities using the adjectives.

Expressing Desires and Preferences

Exercise 4: Expressing Desires

Objective: Use می‌خواهم (I want) to express desires.

Complete the Dialogue

Use می‌خواهم (I want) in the correct places.

Tourist:

  • I want to visit the museum.
  • I want to buy some souvenirs.

Local:

  • I want to recommend a good restaurant.
  • I want to show you the best places.

Answer Key

Tourist:

  • من می‌خواهم به موزه بروم.
  • من می‌خواهم سوغاتی بخرم.

Local:

  • من می‌خواهم یک رستوران خوب معرفی کنم.
  • من می‌خواهم بهترین جاها را به شما نشان دهم.

Exercise 5: Expressing Preferences

Objective: Practice expressing likes and preferences using دوست داشتن (to like).

Complete the Dialogue

Tourist:

  • I like the food here.
  • I like this city.

Local:

  • I like Tehran, it’s very beautiful.
  • I like the parks in this area.

Answer Key

Tourist:

  • من غذای اینجا را دوست دارم.
  • من این شهر را دوست دارم.

Local:

  • من تهران را دوست دارم، خیلی زیباست.
  • من پارک‌های این منطقه را دوست دارم.

Exercise 6: Expressing Desires with “I Want”

Objective: To practice using می‌خواهم (I want) in different contexts.

Instructions:

  • Preparation: Write out a variety of items or activities (e.g., خریدن (to buy), سفر کردن (to travel), دیدن فیلم (to watch a movie), استراحت کردن (to rest)).
  • Task: Have students create sentences using می‌خواهم (I want). They should form different sentences based on different needs (e.g., expressing what they want to do or buy).
  • Example:
    • من می‌خواهم به شیراز سفر کنم. (I want to travel to Shiraz.)
    • من می‌خواهم یک سوغاتی بخرم. (I want to buy a souvenir.)
  • Extension: Have students interview each other using the I want structure to ask questions about travel desires.

Example:

  • آیا تو می‌خواهی موزه را ببینی؟ (Do you want to see the museum?)

زَمان گُذَشته Past Tense

Simple Past

Simple past tense describes a simple action completed in the past (e.g., خورد (he ate)).

This is the most common past tense. It’s used to talk about actions that were completed in the past. It can be used for things that happened once or multiple times in the past.

To form the simple past, you usually add personal endings to the verb stem (the base form of the verb). For regular verbs, you change the verb slightly, and then add the appropriate endings.

Formula

Verb Ending + past stem of the verb

Simple Past Conjugations of خوردن (to eat)
Plural Singular
First Person خوردیم (We ate.) خوردم (I ate.)
Second Person خوردید (You ate.) خوردی (You ate.)
Third Person خورند (They ate.) خورد (He/she ate.)

Past Continuous

Past continuous tense describes an action that was ongoing in the past (e.g., داشتم می‌خوردم (I was reading)). This tense is used to talk about actions that were ongoing or happening at a specific moment in the past. It’s formed by combining the past tense of the verb داشتن (to have) with the infinitive form of the main verb.

Formula

Verb Ending + past stem + می

Past Continuous Conjugations of خوردن (to eat)
Plural Singular
First Person داشتیم می‌خوردیم (We were eating.) داشتم می‌خوردم (I was eating.)
Second Person  داشتید می‌خوردید (You were eating.)  داشتی می‌خوردی (You were eating.)
Third Person داشتند می‌خوردند (They were eating.) داشت می‌خورد (He/she was eating.)

Past Perfect

Past perfect tense describes an action that happened before another past action (e.g., خوانده بودم (I had read)). This tense is used to talk about actions that were completed before another action in the past.

Formula

Verb ending + verb “to be” in past tense + ه + past stem of the verb (خورده بودم) خوردن = to eat

Past Perfect Conjugations of خوردن (to eat)
Plural Singular
First Person خورده بودیم (We had eaten.) خورده بودم (I had eaten.)
Second Person خورده بودید (You had eaten.) خورده بودی (You had eaten.)
Third Person خورده بودند (They had eaten.) خورده بود (He/she had eaten.)

Exercise 7: Identify the Tense

Please decide what tense is each sentence (simple past, past continuous or past perfect):

  •  .من داشتم به موسیقی گوش می‌دادم وقتی که تلفن زنگ زد
  • وقتی وارد اتاق شدم، او داشت کتاب می‌خواند
  • من دیروز فیلم دیدم
  • دیروز ساعت ۷ عصر چه کار می‌کردی؟
  • .وقتی رسیدم، همه رفته بودند
  • .من دیروز خرید کردم

Exercise 8: Writing

Use the past continuous tense to create a short story (about 10 sentences)

Example:

دیروز وقتی باران می بارید من کنار پنجره نشسته بودم

Exercise 9: Fill in the Blanks

!سپاس

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