Personal endings of the verb “to be”—also called present copulas—which are affixed to the end of nouns or adjectives, with the exception of the third singular, are as follows:
I am | am | من ا [tag resources verbtobe_01]ــَم [/tag] |
you are (singular) | i | توﺍﻴ [tag resources verbtobe_02]ــی[/tag] |
he, she, it is | ast | او [tag resources verbtobe_03]است[/tag] |
we are | im | ما ا [tag resources verbtobe_04]ــیم[/tag] |
you are (plural) | id | شما ا [tag resources verbtobe_05]ــید[/tag] |
they are | and | ﺁﻧها ﻴ[tag resources verbtobe_06]ــَند[/tag] |
Each of these copulas has all the information about the person, the number, and the tense. That is to say, for instance, خوبم (without the pronoun من) already means “I am fine.”
Orthographically after a long [ā] and [ū], normally an euphonic یـ or alef (and in certain cases, either of the two) intervene between the noun/ adjective and these copulas. The exceptions are in the case of the second singular, which invariably takes only the یـ, and the third singular, which either stays as است, or is contracted (that is, it drops the initial alef).
Since the segment یی is pronounced as ’i and not yi, from early times within the Arabicized era some writers/copyists started writing the segment phonetically a ئی, which historically and etymologically is incorrect. That is, writing تو دانشجویی as تو دانشجوئی and چه موی زیبایی as چه موی زیبائی is entirely incorrect. It must be understood that hamze is not a feature that belongs to Persian grammar; it belongs to Arabic and cannot replace a Persian feature, or be used with Persian words. In the following examples, the یی (ییم, یید) segment is transcribed as –yi, but it should be pronounced as –’i:
I am here. | man injāyam/injā am | [tag resources verbtobe_07]من اینجایَم / من اینجا ام[/tag] |
You are here. | to injāyi | [tag resources verbtobe_08]تو اینجایی[/tag] |
He, she is here. | u injā ast/injāst | [tag resources verbtobe_09]او اینجا است / او اینجاست[/tag] |
We are here. | mā injāyim | [tag resources verbtobe_10]ما اینجاییم / ما اینجا ایم[/tag] |
You are here. | šomā injāyid | [tag resources verbtobe_11]شما اینجایید / شما اینجا اید[/tag] |
They are here. | ān hā injāyand/injā and | [tag resources verbtobe_12]آنها اینجایند / آنها اینجا اند[/tag] |
I am [a] student. | man dānešjū(y)am | [tag resources verbtobe_13]من دانشجویَم/ من دانشجوام[/tag] |
You are [a] student. | to dānešjūyi | [tag resources verbtobe_14]تو دانشجویی[/tag] |
He, she is [a] student. | u dānešjū ast/dānešjūst | [tag resources verbtobe_15]او دانشجو است/ او دانشجوست[/tag] |
We are students. | mā dānešjūyim | [tag resources verbtobe_16]ما دانشجوییم / ما دانشجوایم[/tag] |
You are students. | šomā danešjūyid | [tag resources verbtobe_17]شما دانشجویید/ شما دانشجواید[/tag] |
They are here. | ān hā danešjū(y)and | [tag resources verbtobe_18]آنها دانشجویند/ آنها دانشجواند[/tag] |
After the silent /h/ (and variably after /i/) an euphonic alef (never the یـ, with the exception of the second singular) is used:
I am at home. | man dar xāne am | [tag resources verbtobe_19]من در خانه ام[/tag] |
You are at home. | to dar xāneyi | [tag resources verbtobe_20]تو در خانه یی/ای[/tag] |
He, she is at home. | u dar xāne ast | [tag resources verbtobe_21]او در خانه است[/tag] |
We are at home. | mā dar xāneyim | [tag resources verbtobe_22]ما در خانه ایم[/tag] |
You are at home. | šomā dar xāney id | [tag resources verbtobe_23]شما در خانه اید[/tag] |
They are at home. | ān hā dar xāne and | [tag resources verbtobe_24]آنها در خانه اند[/tag] |
Words ending in ی are inconsistence, as follows:
I am (an) Iranian. | man irāniyam /irani am | [tag resources verbtobe_25]من ایرانیم/ایرانیام[/tag] |
You are (an) Iranian. (singular) | to irāniyi |
[tag resources verbtobe_26]تو ایرانیی/ایرانییی/ایرانیای[/tag] |
He, she is (an) Iranian. | u irāni ast/irānist | [tag resources verbtobe_27]او ایرانی است / او ایرانیست[/tag] |
We are Iranian. | mā irāniyim | [tag resources verbtobe_28]ما ایرانیایم[/tag] |
You are Iranian. (plural) | šomā irāniyid |
[tag resources verbtobe_29]شما ایرانیاید[/tag] |
They are Iranian. | ān hā irāni and | [tag resources verbtobe_30]آنها ایرانیَند/ایرانیاند[/tag] |
As Ferdowsi says:
من ایرانیَم ٬ این شعار من اسـت وطن دوســتی افتخـار من اسـت
چـو ایران نباشــد٬ تن مـن مبـاد بدین بوم و بر زنده یک تن مباد
man irāniyam, in šo’ār-e man ast vatan dusti eftexār-e man ast
co irān nabāšad, tan-e man mabād bedin bum-o bar zende yek tan mabād
‘“I am (an) Iranian,” this is my motto; patriotism (literally, loving the homeland) is my honor
Without Iran, may I cease to exist (literally, may my body cease to be);
May not even one soul (literally, body) exist in this land’
In this case Persian speakers are usually more comfortable using the long copulas (with the exception of the 3rd singular, in which case the long copula means a different verb, namely, ‘to exist’):
I am (an) Iranian. | man irāni hastam | [tag resources verbtobe_32]من ایرانی هستم[/tag] |
You are (an) Iranian. | to iāni hasti singular | [tag resources verbtobe_33]تو ایرانی هستی[/tag] |
He, she is (an) Iranian. | u irāni ast/irānist | [tag resources verbtobe_34]او ایرانی است/ او ایرانیست[/tag] |
We are Iranian. | mā irāni hastim | [tag resources verbtobe_35]ما ایرانی هستیم[/tag] |
You are Iranian. | šomā irāni hastid plural | [tag resources verbtobe_36]شما ایرانی هستید[/tag] |
They are Iranian. | ān hā irāni hastand | [tag resources verbtobe_37]آنها ایرانی هستند[/tag] |
Note that the third singular است is a full grade verb, and not an ending.
Examples:
Nouns: Adjectives:
I am happy. | man xošhālam | [tag resources verbtobe_38]من خوشحالم[/tag] | I am a physician. | man pezeškam | [tag resources verbtobe_39]من پزشکم[/tag] |
You are happy. | to xošhāli | [tag resources verbtobe_40]تو خوشحالی[/tag] | You are a physician. | to pezeški | [tag resources verbtobe_41]تو پزشکی[/tag] |
He/she is happy. | u xošhāl ast | [tag resources verbtobe_42]او خوشحال است[/tag] | He/she is a physician. | u pezešk ast | [tag resources verbtobe_43]او پزشک است[/tag] |
We are happy. | ma xošhālim | [tag resources verbtobe_44]ما خوشحالیم[/tag] | We are physicians. | ma pezeškim | [tag resources verbtobe_45]ما پزشکیم[/tag] |
You are happy. | šoma xošhālid | [tag resources verbtobe_46]شما خوشحالید[/tag] | You are physicians. | šoma pezeškid | [tag resources verbtobe_47]شما پزشکید[/tag] |
They are happy. | ānha xošhāland | [tag resources verbtobe_48]آنها خوشحالند[/tag] | They are physicians. | ānha pezeškand | [tag resources verbtobe_49]آنها پزشکند[/tag] |