Learn how to talk about animate and inanimate objects
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Brandon: Hi everyone. My name is Brandon. |
| Mohammad: Hello and “salaam”! I’m Mohammad. |
| Brandon: Welcome back to PersianPod101.com. This is Absolute Beginner, Season 1, lesson 18, “Does Your Parrot Speak Persian?” In this lesson, you’ll learn how to show the existence of objects in Persian. |
| Mohammad: We’ll listen to a conversation between Arash and Maryam, who are talking about their pets. Their conversation is in school, where they're classmates and friends. |
| Brandon: And that’s why they’re using informal language. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Brandon: What would you say is the most popular pet among Iranians? |
| Mohammad: I think birds are their first choice. |
| Brandon: What kinds of birds? |
| Mohammad: Anything, especially talking birds—those that can imitate any sounds or voices, even a human's. |
| Brandon: They're interesting animals indeed! What other animals do they keep? Aren't there any dog or cat lovers? |
| Mohammad: Of course there are. Some even keep hamsters. But turtles or fish are more likely to be seen in houses. |
| Brandon: Oh, do they have aquariums for fish? |
| Mohammad: Some people have aquariums, and some only have one fish in a little glass bowl. There are some others who keep fish in pools in their yards. |
| Brandon: Great! What about bigger domestic animals like sheep or horses for example? |
| Mohammad: You might find them in the countryside villages, where it's easier to keep them. |
| Brandon: I see. So I assume Iran is an animal friendly place. |
| Mohammad: It is! People like animals in Iran. |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Brandon: Let’s take a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. Our first phrase has to be the most repeated one, "I have a [something]." Right? |
| Mohammad: That's right. It's "man yek...daram." |
| Brandon: For example, if it's a cat, it'll be? |
| Mohammad: "man yek gorbe daaram." |
| Brandon: The difference with English is the position of "cat" or the object, I guess. |
| Mohammad: Again you're right. Unlike English, it's not at the end, but before the verb. |
| Brandon: So "daaram" at the end is the verb "I have." |
| Mohammad: Right. And "man" at the beginning is "I." That leaves "yek," which means "a" or "one." |
| Brandon: So the whole sentence again is? |
| Mohammad: "man yek gorbe daaram," (Pause) "man - yek - gorbe - daaram." |
| Brandon: The next phrase is ...? |
| Mohammad: "maahi-ye qermez." This means "goldfish." |
| Brandon: And each word is ...? |
| Mohammad: "maahi" means "fish," "e" means "of" or "that is," and "qermez" is "red." |
| Brandon: The thing that's interesting for me is the fact that they're called "red" in Persian." |
| Mohammad: Yes, they're not "gold" as in English. |
| Brandon: They're actually neither one of them. I would say they're orange. |
| Mohammad: I guess you're right. And goldfish are very important creatures in Iranian culture. |
| Brandon: Yeah. I've heard that you have to have one on the New Year's "Haft Sin" table, right? |
| Mohammad: Yes, since it symbolizes life. |
| Brandon: I see. So what was it called again? |
| Mohammad: "maahi-ye qermez," (pause) "maahi - ye - qermez." |
| Brandon: Our last phrase is? |
| Mohammad: "ma'loome." "ma - 'a - loo - me." |
| Brandon: It means "It's obvious" or "Obviously." When is it used? |
| Mohammad: You use it whenever something is so obvious, that it doesn't need to be mentioned. And you answer with "It's obvious." |
| Brandon: In Persian, you say? |
| Mohammad: "ma'loome." (pause) "ma - 'a - loo - me." |
| Brandon: Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Brandon: In this lesson, we’re going to learn about showing the existence of objects in Persian. What can you say about this subject, Mohammad? |
| Mohammad: Well, there are verbs such as "to be" and "to have" that can show existence. |
| Brandon: And how are they used in a sentence? |
| Mohammad: In Persian, the same words meaning "to be" and "to have" are used for both animate and inanimate objects. |
| Brandon: Great, that makes things easy. Okay. Let's try it with some actual examples. Can you give us some Persian examples with the verb “to be”? |
| Mohammad: OK, for example, " آنجا کسی هست " (aanjaa kasi hast) means "There is someone," and " آنجا یک صندلی هست " (aanjaa yek sandali hast) means "There is a chair." |
| Brandon: Both use the verb " هست " (hast) meaning "is." |
| Mohammad: That's right. |
| Brandon: And for the verb "to have"? |
| Mohammad: Well. ".من یک طوطی دارم" (man yek tooti daaram.) means "I have a parrot," and ".من یک کیف دارم" (man yek kif daaram.) means "I have a bag." |
| Brandon: Here we used the verb "daaram" meaning "I have" for both of them, right? |
| Mohammad: Exactly. |
| Brandon: Okay. Now, how about a little fun? Let's learn more about the names for animals that people keep as pets in Iran. |
| Mohammad: Good idea! |
| Brandon: We learned "goldfish" already, which is ...? |
| Mohammad: "maahi-ye qermez." |
| Brandon: And "parrot"? |
| Mohammad: It's "tooti," "too - ti." |
| Brandon: What is "dog"? |
| Mohammad: "sag." |
| Brandon: And "cat"? |
| Mohammad: "gorbe." |
| Brandon: "gorbe." And what about "rabbit"? |
| Mohammad: It's "khargoosh." |
| Brandon: Okay. What other pet names can you teach us? |
| Mohammad: Hmm...for example "chicken"? |
| Brandon: Yes! What's "chicken" in Persian? |
| Mohammad: It's "jooje," "joo - je." |
| Brandon: Great, that was some handy vocab! |
Outro |
| Mohammad: Listeners, what pet would you want to have in Iran? |
| Brandon: If you don't know the name, you can always ask us! |
| Mohammad: Yes. Leave us a comment, and we'll answer! |
| Brandon: Meanwhile, remember you can always check the lesson notes to reinforce what you’ve learned here. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. |
| Mohammad: See you soon. "khodaahaafez." |
| Brandon: Bye everyone! |
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