Intermediate course · Intermediate lesson 12
In spoken Tehrani Persian, “I saw him”, “I told her” and “I love you” take just one or two words: دیدمش didamesh, بهش گفتم behesh goftam, دوستت دارم dustet dâram. This lesson teaches Persian pronoun suffixes used as objects, on verbs and after prepositions. They are the same endings you learned for possession in beginner Lesson 11 (ketâbam, my book), doing a new job.
The endings
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| ـم | -am / -m | me |
| ـت | -et / -t | you (informal) |
| ـش | -esh / -sh | him, her, it |
| ـمون | -emun / -mun | us |
| ـتون | -etun / -tun | you (polite or plural) |
| ـشون | -eshun / -shun | them |
The first form follows a consonant, the second a vowel: ketâbesh but barâsh. On a noun the ending means “my, your, his”; on a verb or preposition it is the object: “me, you, him”. So کتابش ketâbesh is “his/her book”, while خریدمش kharidamesh is “I bought it”.
On verbs: I saw him, I want it
Put the object ending after the whole verb, including its personal ending. Didam (I saw) + -esh gives didamesh; kharidim (we bought) + -esh gives kharidimesh.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| دیدمش | didamesh | I saw him/her/it |
| دیدمت | didamet | I saw you |
| ندیدمش | nadidamesh | I didn’t see him/her/it |
| فردا می‌بینمت | fardâ mibinamet | see you tomorrow (literally “tomorrow I see you”) |
| فردا می‌بینمتون | fardâ mibinametun | see you tomorrow (polite or plural) |
| می‌خوامش | mikhâmesh | I want it |
| نمی‌شناسمش | nemishenâsamesh | I don’t know him/her (in fast speech often nemishnâsamesh) |
| خریدیمش | kharidimesh | we bought it |
These endings replace a noun with ro. Instead of Ali ro didam (I saw Ali), once everyone knows who you mean you say didamesh. Formal written Persian keeps a separate pronoun with râ: او را دیدم u râ didam, I saw him/her; آن را خریدم ân râ kharidam, I bought it.
After prepositions: to me, with her, for you
The endings also join the simple prepositions. Be (to) becomes beh-, and bâ (with) becomes bâhâ- in speech.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| بهم / بهت / بهش | behem / behet / behesh | to me / to you / to him, her, it |
| بهمون / بهتون / بهشون | behemun / behetun / beheshun | to us / to you / to them |
| باهام / باهات / باهاش | bâhâm / bâhât / bâhâsh | with me / with you / with him, her, it |
| ازش | azash | from him/her/it, of it |
| براش | barâsh | for him/her/it |
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| بهش گفتم | behesh goftam | I told him/her |
| بهت زنگ می‌زنم | behet zang mizanam | I’ll call you |
| بهم بگو | behem begu | tell me |
| ازش پرسیدم | azash porsidam | I asked him/her |
| براش خریدم | barâsh kharidam | I bought it for him/her |
| باهاش حرف زدم | bâhâsh harf zadam | I talked to him/her |
Compound verbs and “I love you”
Grammar note: With compound verbs (Intermediate Lesson 8), the object ending normally goes on the first, non-verb part, not on the verb: تمومش کردم tamumesh kardam, I finished it; درستش کردم dorostesh kardam, I fixed it; پیداش کردم peydâsh kardam, I found it.
That is how dust dâshtan (to like, to love) works too: dust + -et + dâram gives دوستت دارم dustet dâram, I love you, and dustesh dâram is “I like it” or “I love him/her”.
Some everyday expressions use the endings for the person who experiences something: یادم رفت yâdam raft, I forgot (literally “it went from my memory”), and خوشم میاد khosham miyâd, I like it (literally “pleasure comes to me”). Change the ending to change the person: yâdet raft?, did you forget? khoshesh miyâd, he/she likes it.
Commands: give it to me
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| بدش به من | bedesh be man | give it to me |
| بذارش اونجا | bezâresh unjâ | put it there (written: begozâr) |
| بگیرش | begiresh | take it; catch it |
| ببرش | bebaresh | take it away |
| بخورش | bekhoresh | eat it |
Dialogue: Buying a gift in Tajrish Bazaar
Nâzanin: این شال رو دوست داری؟
In shâl ro dust dâri?
Do you like this scarf?
Kate: آره، خیلی دوستش دارم! برا مامانم می‌خوامش.
Âre, kheyli dustesh dâram! Barâ mâmânam mikhâmesh.
Yes, I really like it! I want it for my mum.
Nâzanin: پس بخریمش. آقا، قیمتش چنده؟
Pas bekharimesh. Âghâ, gheymatesh chande?
Then let’s buy it. Excuse me, how much is it?
Seller: این یکی؟ دستبافه، قیمتش رو روش نوشتم.
In yeki? Dastbâfe, gheymatesh ro rush neveshtam.
This one? It’s handwoven; I’ve written the price on it.
Kate: باشه، می‌خریمش.
Bâshe, mikharimesh.
OK, we’ll take it.
Seller: بدینش به من، کادوش می‌کنم.
Bedinesh be man, kâdosh mikonam.
Hand it to me and I’ll gift-wrap it.
Kate: مرسی! مامانم خیلی خوشش میاد.
Mersi! Mâmânam kheyli khoshesh miyâd.
Thanks! My mum will love it.
Count the endings: dustesh, mikhâmesh, bekharimesh, gheymatesh, rush (on it), bedinesh, kâdosh and khoshesh. Kâdo kardan means to gift-wrap, and dastbâf means handwoven.
Tehran tip: Texts and social media in Tehran are full of these endings written exactly as they are spoken: دیدمش didamesh, بهت می‌گم behet migam. You will rarely see them in newspapers or on official forms, which stick to u râ and be u.
Practise
- Replace the object with an ending: Ali ro didam.
- Say “I told him”.
- Say “I love you”.
- Say “I finished it” and “I fixed it”.
- Say “give it to me”.
- What does azash porsidam mean?
- Possessive or object? ketâbesh, kharidamesh.
- Say “see you tomorrow” to a friend.
Show answers
- دیدمش didamesh.
- بهش گفتم behesh goftam.
- دوستت دارم dustet dâram.
- تمومش کردم tamumesh kardam; درستش کردم dorostesh kardam.
- بدش به من bedesh be man.
- I asked him/her.
- ketâbesh is possessive (his/her book); kharidamesh is an object (I bought it).
- فردا می‌بینمت fardâ mibinamet.
Flashcards
Test yourself
Summary
- The endings -am, -et, -esh, -emun, -etun, -eshun mark the object when added to a verb: didamesh, I saw him/her.
- After prepositions they give behesh (to him), bâhât (with you), azash (from him), barâsh (for him).
- In compound verbs the ending normally goes on the first part: tamumesh kardam, dustet dâram.
- On a noun the same ending is possessive: ketâbesh, his/her book.
- Formal writing uses separate pronouns with râ instead: u râ didam.