Simple Sentences (Subject–Object–Verb)

Word order in simple Persian sentences

In this chapter you learn how to build very simple Persian sentences. We focus on one very important rule: the usual Persian word order is Subject, Object, Verb. In short, SOV. You will see how this works with the verb “to be” that you already know and with normal action verbs, and how it compares to English.

Remember that the goal here is not to learn many new verbs, but to understand how to place the words you already know in the correct order.

SOV vs English SVO

English usually follows the pattern Subject, Verb, Object, often called SVO.

“I eat rice.”
Subject: “I”
Verb: “eat”
Object: “rice”

Persian usually follows the pattern Subject, Object, Verb, or SOV.

“من برنج می‌خورم.”
man berenj mi‑khoram.
Subject: من (man, “I”)
Object: برنج (berenj, “rice”)
Verb: می‌خورم (mi‑khoram, “I eat”)

You can think: “who,” “what,” “do.”
First say who does the action, then what receives the action, then the action itself.

Using “to be” in simple SOV sentences

In the previous chapter you met the Persian verb “to be” in its short present forms like هستم (hastam), هستی (hasti), هست (hast), and in very common short forms like “من مریم‌ام” (man Maryam‑am, “I am Maryam”). Both follow the same word order: the verb is at the end.

Here the “object” is often a noun or an adjective that describes the subject. In English we say “I am a teacher.” In Persian we say literally “I teacher am.”

“من معلم هستم.”
man mo’allem hastam.
“I am a teacher.”

Subject: من (man, “I”)
“Object” or complement: معلم (mo’allem, “teacher”)
Verb: هستم (hastam, “am”)

The same idea with other persons:

“او ایرانی است.”
u Irâni ast.
“He / She is Iranian.”

Subject: او (u, “he / she”)
Complement: ایرانی (Irâni, “Iranian”)
Verb: است (ast, “is”)

“ما دانشجو هستیم.”
mâ dâneshju hastim.
“We are students.”

Subject: ما (mâ, “we”)
Complement: دانشجو (dâneshju, “student”)
Verb: هستیم (hastim, “are”)

Even when you use the very common short forms where the verb attaches to the noun or pronoun, the verb part still comes at the end.

“من مریم‌ام.”
man Maryam‑am.
“I am Maryam.”
Here, “ام” (‑am, “am”) is attached to “Maryam,” and is still at the end.

Simple SOV with action verbs

Now look at normal action verbs. You do not need to learn many new verbs here. Focus on where the verb goes.

Compare English and Persian:

“I drink tea.”
English: Subject + Verb + Object
Persian: “من چای می‌خورم.”
man chây mi‑khoram.
Literally: “I tea drink.”
Subject: من (man, “I”)
Object: چای (chây, “tea”)
Verb: می‌خورم (mi‑khoram, “drink / eat”)

“You read a book.”
Persian: “تو کتاب می‌خوانی.”
to ketâb mi‑khâni.
Literally: “You book read.”
Subject: تو (to, “you” singular, informal)
Object: کتاب (ketâb, “book”)
Verb: می‌خوانی (mi‑khâni, “read”)

“He sees the city.”
Persian: “او شهر را می‌بیند.”
u shahr râ mi‑binad.
Literally: “He city (object marker) sees.”
Subject: او (u, “he / she”)
Object: شهر … (shahr, “city”)
Verb: می‌بیند (mi‑binad, “sees”)

You will learn more about the object marker را (râ) later, in a separate chapter. For now, focus on the position of the object and the verb in the sentence.

Leaving out the subject pronoun

In Persian the verb ending already shows who the subject is. That means you can often omit the subject pronoun, especially when context is clear. The word order rule for the rest of the sentence is still the same: put the verb at the end.

With subject:

“من چای می‌خورم.”
man chây mi‑khoram.
“I drink tea.”

Without subject:

“چای می‌خورم.”
chây mi‑khoram.
“(I) drink tea.”

The object, چای (chây), still comes before the verb, می‌خورم (mi‑khoram). This is still an SOV structure, but the subject is only inside the verb ending.

Compare:

“ما در تهران هستیم.”
mâ dar Tehrân hastim.
“We are in Tehran.”

You can also say:

“در تهران هستیم.”
dar Tehrân hastim.
“(We) are in Tehran.”

The prepositional phrase “در تهران” (dar Tehrân, “in Tehran”) comes before the verb, and the verb هستیم (hastim, “are”) is still at the end.

More examples of simple SOV sentences

Here are more simple sentences so that your eyes and ears get used to this word order. Do not worry if you do not remember every word yet. Focus on seeing the pattern: the verb is at the end.

“من فارسی می‌خوانم.”
man Fârsi mi‑khânam.
“I study Persian.”

“تو آب می‌نوشی.”
to âb mi‑nushi.
“You drink water.”

“او فوتبال بازی می‌کند.”
u futbâl bâzi mi‑konad.
“He / She plays football (soccer).”
Literally: “He / She football play does.”
Subject: او (u)
Object: فوتبال (futbâl)
Verb: می‌کند (mi‑konad, “does”)

“ما فیلم می‌بینیم.”
mâ film mi‑binim.
“We watch a movie.”

“آنها نان می‌خورند.”
ânhâ nân mi‑khorand.
“They eat bread.”

You can also use adjectives with “to be” in the same SOV pattern:

“من خسته هستم.”
man khaste hastam.
“I am tired.”
Subject: من (man)
Complement: خسته (khaste, “tired”)
Verb: هستم (hastam, “am”)

“او خوشحال است.”
u khoshhâl ast.
“He / She is happy.”
Subject: او (u)
Complement: خوشحال (khoshhâl, “happy”)
Verb: است (ast, “is”)

Again, verb at the end.

Short answers and very short sentences

Sometimes in conversation you answer with very short sentences. Even then, the “verb at the end” feeling remains.

Question: “دانشجو هستی؟”
dâneshju hasti?
“Are you a student?”

Short answer:
“بله، دانشجو هستم.”
bale, dâneshju hastam.
“Yes, (I) am a student.”
The verb هستم (hastam) is still at the end.

Question: “چای می‌خوری؟”
chây mi‑khori?
“Do you drink tea? / Will you have tea?”

Short answer:
“بله، چای می‌خورم.”
bale, chây mi‑khoram.
“Yes, I drink tea / I will have tea.”
Object چای (chây) before the verb می‌خورم (mi‑khoram).

Even very minimal answers can keep this pattern:

“چای می‌خورم.”
chây mi‑khoram.
“I drink tea / I will have tea.”

Practicing SOV mentally

To make SOV natural for you, it helps to “translate” from English in your head in a special way. When you think of an English sentence, rearrange it before you say it in Persian.

1. Start with the subject.
2. Then say the object or complement (person, thing, place, or adjective).
3. Finally, say the verb at the end.

For example, if you want to say “We are students”:

Step 1, subject: “ما” (mâ, “we”)
Step 2, complement: “دانشجو” (dâneshju, “student”)
Step 3, verb: “هستیم” (hastim, “are”)

Result: “ما دانشجو هستیم.”
mâ dâneshju hastim.

Or, “They eat bread”:

Step 1, subject: “آنها” (ânhâ, “they”)
Step 2, object: “نان” (nân, “bread”)
Step 3, verb: “می‌خورند” (mi‑khorand, “eat”)

Result: “آنها نان می‌خورند.”
ânhâ nân mi‑khorand.

If you practice this slowly, the SOV order will become automatic.

Vocabulary list for this section

Below is a list of the important Persian words and expressions used in this chapter.