Learn how to use can and could
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to PersianPod101.com. This is Beginner Season 1, Lesson 4 - Which Iranian Shoes Will You Buy? John here. |
| Mehrnaz: سلام (salaam), I'm Mehrnaz. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to express ability with “can” and “could.” The conversation takes place at a clothing store. |
| Mehrnaz: It's between Shirin Hedayat and Jamshid. |
| John: The speakers are strangers in a customer service context; therefore, they’ll speak formal Persian. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| شیرین هدایت: میشه اون کفشای (آن کفش‌های) شب آبی رنگ رو (را) امتحان کنم؟ |
| جمشید: بله، حتماً چه سایزی؟ |
| شیرین هدایت : سی و شیش (سی و شش). |
| شیرین هدایت: میشه لطفاً رنگ مشکی رو (را) هم بیارید (بیاورید)؟ |
| جمشید: جیر یا ورنی؟ |
| شیرین هدایت: جیر لطفاً! |
| جمشید: کفش راحتیه (راحتی است). |
| شیرین هدایت : یک کم تنگه (تنگ است). |
| جمشید: یکی دو بار بپوشید جا باز می‌کنه (می‌کند). |
| شیرین هدایت: اگه (اگر) فقط بخوام (بخواهم) یک بار بپوشم چی؟ |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| شیرین هدایت: میشه اون کفشای (آن کفش‌های) شب آبی رنگ رو (را) امتحان کنم؟ |
| جمشید: بله، حتماً چه سایزی؟ |
| شیرین هدایت : سی و شیش (سی و شش). |
| شیرین هدایت: میشه لطفاً رنگ مشکی رو (را) هم بیارید (بیاورید)؟ |
| جمشید: جیر یا ورنی؟ |
| شیرین هدایت: جیر لطفاً! |
| جمشید: کفش راحتیه (راحتی است). |
| شیرین هدایت : یک کم تنگه (تنگ است). |
| جمشید: یکی دو بار بپوشید جا باز می‌کنه (می‌کند). |
| شیرین هدایت: اگه (اگر) فقط بخوام (بخواهم) یک بار بپوشم چی؟ |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Shirin Hedayat: Can I try on those blue evening shoes? |
| Jamshid: Yes, sure. What size? |
| Shirin Hedayat: Thirty-six. |
| Shirin Hedayat: Could you please bring the black ones too? |
| Jamshid: Suede or varnished? |
| Shirin Hedayat: Suede please! |
| Jamshid: These shoes are very comfortable! |
| Shirin Hedayat: They're a bit tight. |
| Jamshid: If you wear them once or twice, they'll stretch out! |
| Shirin Hedayat: What if I want to wear them only once? |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Is shopping popular with Iranians? |
| Mehrnaz: The average age in Iran is about 28 years old, and young Iranians love to wear stylish clothes. |
| John: Where do people go to buy clothes? |
| Mehrnaz: In Iran, there’s a special kind of market that takes its name from the French word passage. |
| John: What does that mean? |
| Mehrnaz: It’s a mini-mall that that sells clothes and accessories. It also often has a coffee shop. |
| John: What types of brands are popular in Iran? |
| Mehrnaz: Both national brands and international brands are popular. |
| John: I guess the national brands are cheaper? |
| Mehrnaz: Yes, they are. In Tehran, Valiasr Ave, Mirdamad Ave, and the street of Bagh-e Sepah-saalaar are famous for French and Italian brands. |
| John: Where can you buy national brands? |
| Mehrnaz: Bazar-e Bozorg-e Tehran |
| John: Which is "The Great Market of Tehran." |
| Mehrnaz: Also, Chahar Rah-e Estanbol, or “Istanbul crossing,”sells national brands. |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first phrase is... |
| Mehrnaz: کفش شب [natural native speed] |
| John: evening shoes |
| Mehrnaz: کفش شب[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mehrnaz: کفش شب [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Mehrnaz: جیر [natural native speed] |
| John: suede |
| Mehrnaz: جیر[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mehrnaz: جیر [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Mehrnaz: ورنی [natural native speed] |
| John: patent leather |
| Mehrnaz: ورنی[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mehrnaz: ورنی [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Mehrnaz: ًلطفا [natural native speed] |
| John: please |
| Mehrnaz: ًلطفا [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mehrnaz: ًلطفا [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Mehrnaz: مشکی [natural native speed] |
| John: black |
| Mehrnaz: مشکی[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mehrnaz: مشکی [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Mehrnaz: تنگ [natural native speed] |
| John: tight |
| Mehrnaz: تنگ[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mehrnaz: تنگ [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Mehrnaz: پوشیدن [natural native speed] |
| John: to wear |
| Mehrnaz: پوشیدن[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mehrnaz: پوشیدن [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Mehrnaz: فقط [natural native speed] |
| John: only |
| Mehrnaz: فقط[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mehrnaz: فقط [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Mehrnaz: اگر [natural native speed] |
| John: if |
| Mehrnaz: اگر[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mehrnaz: اگر [natural native speed] |
| John: And last... |
| Mehrnaz: میشه امتحان کنم؟ [natural native speed] |
| John: Can I try? |
| Mehrnaz: میشه امتحان کنم؟ [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mehrnaz: میشه امتحان کنم؟ [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of one of the words and phrases from this lesson. The word is... |
| Mehrnaz: |
| میشه (می‌شود) |
| John: Meaning "is it possible?” or “it is possible." What can you tell us about this phrase? |
| Mehrnaz: mishe is colloquial, and mishavad is formal. |
| John: They can both be used to request permission. |
| Mehrnaz: If you use this, it’s seen as polite and respectful. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Mehrnaz: Sure. For example, you can say, میشه امروز به خانهٔ ما بیای؟ |
| John: ...which means "Can you come to our house today?” Or literally, "Is it possible to come to our house today?” |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn about expressing ability with “can” and “could.” How can we do this? |
| Mehrnaz: We can use two verbs - میشه and توانستن. |
| John: We can use the first of those, meaning “is it possible,” to make easy sentences. |
| Mehrnaz: For example, میشه (می‌شود) منم (من هم) بیام؟ |
| John: “Can I come too?” |
| Mehrnaz: میشه (می‌شود) اونم (اوهم) بیاد؟ |
| John: "Can he/she come too?” What’s the structure of these sentences? |
| Mehrnaz: mishe, or mishavad in the written form, followed by the subject, plus ham and the main verb. |
| John: Is there another way to express the concept of “to be able to” in Persian? |
| Mehrnaz: Yes, you can use the verb توانستن (tavaanestan). To use this verb توانستن (tavaanestan) you have to learn how to conjugate it. |
| John: How’s it conjugated? |
| Mehrnaz: From the infinitive verb توانستن (tavaanestan) we extract the core verb tavaan, then we add the prefix, mi. The suffix depends on whether it’s singular or plural, first person or second. |
| John: Okay. Let’s hear some examples of this in its conjugated forms. Listen out for those suffixes, listeners! |
| Mehrnaz: می‌‌توانم. |
| John: “I can.” |
| Mehrnaz: می‌‌توانی |
| John: “You can,” singular. |
| Mehrnaz: می‌‌توانید |
| John: “You can,” plural. There are more examples in the lesson notes. |
| Mehrnaz: Actually, all of those examples can be considered as complete sentences in Persian, as the subject is already included. |
| John: Really? But, if we want to make a fuller sentence and state what people can do, what’s the sentence structure? |
| Mehrnaz: It goes subject, followed by the conjugated form of توانستن, then the object, and finally the main verb. |
| John: Okay. Let’s hear some example sentences. |
| Mehrnaz: من می‌‌توانم به خانه بروم. |
| John: “I can go home.” |
| Mehrnaz: او می‌‌تواند یک ماشین بخرد. |
| John: “He (or she) can buy a car.” |
| Mehrnaz: آنها می‌‌توانند به سفر بروند. |
| John: “They can travel.” |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Mehrnaz: خداحافظ (khodaahaafez). |
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