Learn how to talk about actions using verbs
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Brandon: Hello again, I’m Brandon. |
| Mohammad: And “salaam.” My name is Mohammad. |
| Brandon: Welcome back to PersianPod101.com. This is Absolute Beginner, season 1, lesson 19 - “Do You Drink Iranian Tea?” In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about actions using verbs in Persian. |
| Mohammad: Yes, and that’s going to happen in a conversation that takes place in the living room of a house. It’s between Ms. Tahereh and her guest. |
| Brandon: And since these two are not close friends, they’ll be using formal Persian. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Brandon: So, what kinds of beverages do Iranians like to drink? |
| Mohammad: Alcoholic drinks are forbidden in Iran. But instead, tea is very popular as you may already know. |
| Brandon: Based on all I've heard, and from our conversation, that's true! Tell us more about the popularity of tea in Iran. Do they drink tea a lot? |
| Mohammad: Many times, every day! Even in movies or TV dramas you will see a lot of tea drinking, while you drink tea yourself! |
| Brandon: Really?! [laughs]. And I've also heard that it's a great part of Iran's cultivated crops. |
| Mohammad: That is true. |
| Brandon: What other drinks do they drink in Iran? |
| Mohammad: Non-alcoholic beer is also popular. |
| Brandon: What can you order in restaurants? |
| Mohammad: Regular juices, Coke, coffee, and tea are found everywhere, and they’re all popular. |
| Brandon: That’s a good tip for our listeners. |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Brandon: Let’s take a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. Let me guess, the first word for this lesson is "to drink"? |
| Mohammad: Actually, it's "to eat," but it's sometimes used for "to drink" as well. |
| Brandon: Oh really? Well then, our first word is "to eat"! |
| Mohammad: Which is "Khordan", "Khor-dan". |
| Brandon: So the "to drink tea" that we had in the conversation was actually "to eat tea"? |
| Mohammad: No, it really meant "to drink tea" in the conversation. But we also have another verb for "to drink." |
| Brandon: I see. And this word for “to eat” must have different tenses. Am I right? |
| Mohammad: You're right. For example "you eat" is "mikhorid," and "you drink tea" is "chaay mikhorid." |
| Brandon: We'll talk more about tenses in the grammar part. For now, let's repeat it one more time. Ready listeners? |
| Mohammad: "khordan" (pause), "mi-khorid" (pause). |
| Brandon: Alright. Our next word is...? |
| Mohammad: "yaa." It means "or." |
| Brandon: Is it used the same way as in English? |
| Mohammad: Yes. It has the same usage. It comes between two or more words to show that only one of them can be. |
| Brandon: Like for example, let's say "sweets OR sugar." |
| Mohammad: "shirini yaa ghand." |
| Brandon: And "tea or juice"? |
| Mohammad: "chaay yaa sharbat." |
| Brandon: Great! One more time please. |
| Mohammad: "yaa" (pause) "yaa." |
| Brandon: Finally, our last phrase is...? |
| Mohammad: "hichkodaam" (pause) "hich-kodaam." |
| Brandon: It means "neither" or "none." |
| Mohammad: Yes, it's used for both situations, and means "none" of the two or more objects. |
| Brandon: And if I'm not mistaken, it consists of two words itself, right? |
| Mohammad: That's true. The first one is "hich" meaning "nothing," and the second one is "kodaam" meaning "which." |
| Brandon: Together they become "none" which is...? |
| Mohammad: "hichkodaam," please repeat everyone, "hichkodaam" (pause). |
| Brandon: Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Brandon: In this lesson we’ll review verbs and extend this subject a little more. That’s because we’ve already talked about Persian verbs a little in previous lessons. |
| Mohammad: So, what's the first thing that comes to mind when I say Persian verbs? |
| Brandon: Well, the fact that they're always at the end of a sentence? |
| Mohammad: [laughs] That's right. I guess that’s the result of repeating it so many times! |
| Brandon: That's how repetition helps learning! |
| Mohammad: Definitely! Now, what's the second thing that comes to mind? |
| Brandon: I would say, their variation of tenses by persons and times. |
| Mohammad: I agree. |
| Brandon: Then let's practice a few different tenses here. |
| Mohammad: Sure. Where do we start? |
| Brandon: The last thing I remember, is that the regular present tenses always have the prefix "mi" before them. |
| Mohammad: That's true. They always start with "mi." And the next thing to know about them is their suffixes, which show their person or pronoun. |
| Brandon: If I'm not wrong, there are six of them. |
| Mohammad: Right. They are "am, i, ad, im, id, and." |
| Brandon: And they show that the verb is done by one of the pronouns "I, you, he/she/it, we, plural you, or they." |
| Mohammad: Yes, now we're ready! We have a complete present tense verb, starting with "mi," plus the verb base, and then the person or pronoun ending. |
| Brandon: Okay, for example the infinitive form of "to eat" is? |
| Mohammad: "khordan," in Persian. |
| Brandon: And how do you make the verb base out of it? |
| Mohammad: "khor" is the present base, and "khord" is the past base. |
| Brandon: And the last part, "an," is? |
| Mohammad: It's the infinitive sign. You'll hear it only in infinitive forms. |
| Brandon: So we add "mi" to the present base "khor," and a pronoun ending after it. |
| Mohammad: Yes. For example, the second person, or "you," ending is "i." If we say "mi-khor-i," we'll have "You eat"! |
| Brandon: What's the second person past tense for "khordan," meaning "You ate"? |
| Mohammad: You keep the past base "khord," drop the "mi," and add "i." It's "khordi"! |
| Brandon: There's just one last thing to remind you about. The infinitive forms always have the past base in themselves. But the present base may not be there sometimes. It has to be learned by hearing and practicing a lot. |
| Mohammad: Once the bases are learned, the rest is up to the prefix "mi" and pronoun endings. Ok, now we’ll learn the future tense and the two-word verbs later, so don’t worry. |
Outro |
| Brandon: Well, that’s all for this lesson. Remember to check the lesson notes to reinforce what you’ve learned here. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. Bye! |
| Mohammad: khodaahaafez. |
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