Dari Grammar
Welcome to the 8th lesson about Dari grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.
We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Dari and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Dari and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Dari.
| Prepositions | Dari |
|---|---|
| and | و  |
| above | بالای |
| under | زیر |
| before | قبل از |
| after | پس از |
| in front of | در مقابل |
| behind | پشت سر |
| far from | دور از |
| near | نزدیک |
| in | در، طی |
| inside | داخل |
| outside | خارج از |
| with | با |
| without | بدون |
| about | درباره |
| between | میان |
| but | اما |
| for | برای |
| from | از |
| to | به |
Preposition Grammar Rules
The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Prepositions + Rules | Dari |
|---|---|
| I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] | من بدون چاقو غذا می خورم |
| she lives near the church [verb + preposition] | او در نزدیکی کلیسا زندگی می کند |
| he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] | او بلندتر از آن خانم است |
| he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] | او با سگ کوچکش آمد |
| can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] | آیا می توانید با من بیایید؟ |
Negation in Dari
Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Negation + Rules | Dari |
|---|---|
| I understand you [affirmative form] | منظور شما را می فهمم |
| I don't understand you [negation + verb] | منظور شما را نمی فهمم |
| this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] | این کلمه صحیح نمی باشد |
| don't leave me [imperative negation] | من را تنها نگذار |
| no problem [negation + noun] | مشکلی نیست |
| Negative Sentences | Dari |
|---|---|
| I don't speak French [negation + present tense] | من فرانسوی صحبت نمی کنم |
| she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] | او به آلمان سفر نکرد |
| he cannot see us [negative modal verb] | او نمی تواند ما را ببیند |
| can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] | آیا نمی تواند شطرنج بازی کند؟ |
| we will not come late [negation + future tense] | ما دیر نخواهیم کرد |
Questions in Dari
Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:
| English | Dari |
|---|---|
| how? | چگونه؟ |
| what? | چه؟ |
| who? | که؟ چه کسی؟ |
| why? | چرا؟ |
| where? | کجا؟ |
More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:
| Questions + Rules | Dari |
|---|---|
| where do you live? [interrogative + verb] | کجا زندگی می کنید؟ |
| does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] | آیا او چینی صحبت می کند؟ |
| how much is this? [interrogative preposition] | قیمت این چقدر است؟ |
| can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] | می توانم به شما کمک کنم؟ |
| what is your name? [interrogative preposition] | نام شما چیست؟ |
Adverbs in Dari
It's time to learn the adverbs in Dari. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Adverbs | Dari |
|---|---|
| now | اکنون |
| yesterday | دیروز |
| today | امروز |
| tonight | امشب |
| tomorrow | فردا |
| soon | به زودی |
| quickly | به سرعت |
| slowly | به آهستگی |
| together | با هم |
| very | بسیار |
| almost | تقریباً |
| always | همیشه |
| usually | معمولاً |
| sometimes | گاهی |
| rarely | بندرت |
| never | هرگز |
The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.
| Adverbs + Rules | Dari |
|---|---|
| do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] | حالا منظور من را می فهمید؟ |
| I need help immediately [noun + adverb] | من نیاز به کمک فوری دارم |
| she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] | او بسیار باهوش است؟ |
| I will always love you [verb + adverb] | من همیشه شما را دوست خواهم داشت |
| can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] | آیا می توانیم با هم زبان آلمانی یاد بگیریم؟ |
Pronouns in Dari
We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Dari. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Personal Pronouns | Dari |
|---|---|
| I | من |
| you | تو / شما |
| he | او (مرد) |
| she | او (زن) |
| we | ما |
| they | آنها |
| Object Pronouns | Dari |
|---|---|
| me | من را |
| you | تو / شما را |
| him | او را (مرد) |
| her | او را (زن) |
| us | ما را |
| them | آنها را |
| Possessive Pronouns | Dari |
|---|---|
| my | ازمن (مالکیت) |
| your | از تو / شما (مالکیت) |
| his | ازاو (مالکیت) (مرد) |
| her | از او (مالکیت) (زن) |
| our | از ما (مالکیت) |
| their | از آنها (مالکیت) |
I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.
| Personal Pronouns | Dari |
|---|---|
| I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] | من دوست شما هستم |
| you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] | شما خیلی سریع صحبت می زنید |
| he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] | او سه سگ دارد |
| she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] | او می تواند آلمانی صحبت کند |
| we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] | ما دیر نخواهیم آمد |
| they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] | آنها شیر و نان خریدند |
The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:
| Object Pronouns | Dari |
|---|---|
| can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] | بفرمایید اسمتان چیست؟ |
| I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] | من به شما پول خواهم داد |
| she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] | او برایش یک نامه نوشت |
| they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] | آنها دیروز او را ملاقات کردند |
| can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] | آیا می تواند به ما کمک کند؟ |
| he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] | او به آنها غذا داد |
| Possessive Pronouns | Dari |
|---|---|
| my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] | نام من مایا است |
| your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] | برادر شما در اینجا زندگی می کند |
| her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] | مادرش برای ما آشپزی می کند |
| his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] | سرگرمی او خواندن کتاب است |
| our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] | رؤیای ما این است که از پاریس دیدن کنیم |
| their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] | خانه آنها دور نیست |
One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.
| Demonstrative Pronouns | Dari |
|---|---|
| this is my house | این خانه من است |
| that restaurant is far | آن رستوران دور است |
| these apples are delicious | این سیب ها خوشمزه هستند |
| those stars are shiny | اون ستاره ها درخشان هستند |
I hope you learned a lot about the Dari grammar in this lesson. If you have any question about this lesson please contact me here. The next lesson is below, have fun!
| Dari Vocabulary |
Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus |