The Ambiguous Price Tag
You read a short Persian advertisement: «فروش ویژه پوشاک - تا ۵۰٪ تخفیف. فقط تا جمعه. خرید بالای دویست هزار تومان ارسال رایگان.» A friend reads it and says: 'Everything is half price and delivery is always free.' You notice three details: «تا ۵۰٪» means 'up to 50%', not a flat 50%; «فقط تا جمعه» sets a deadline; and «ارسال رایگان» is conditioned on «خرید بالای دویست هزار تومان» (purchases above 200,000 toman). You are asked to advise a shopper who wants a specific jacket priced at 180,000 toman and expects free delivery.
1. Is the jacket necessarily half price? Explain the effect of «تا».
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No. «تا ۵۰٪ تخفیف» means 'up to 50% off', so 50% is a ceiling, not a guarantee. Some items may be discounted less, or not at all. The friend's reading ('everything is half price') overgeneralises a maximum into a uniform rate. A precise answer notes that the actual discount on the jacket must be confirmed in store or on the item's own tag.
2. Will the shopper get free delivery on the 180,000-toman jacket?
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No, not on that purchase alone. Free delivery requires «خرید بالای دویست هزار تومان» - a total above 200,000 toman. At 180,000 the shopper is 20,000 toman short. Options include adding another item to exceed the threshold or paying delivery. The friend's claim that delivery is 'always free' ignores the conditional phrase entirely.
3. What does «فقط تا جمعه» contribute, and how would you phrase the full conditions in one Persian sentence?
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«فقط تا جمعه» sets a time limit: the offer ends Friday, so the discount and free-delivery rule are not permanent. A compact summary: «تخفیف تا پنجاه درصد است، نه برای همه کالاها، و ارسال فقط برای خرید بالای دویست هزار تومان و تا روز جمعه رایگان است.» This captures the ceiling, the condition, and the deadline in one sentence - the kind of precise restatement the reading task rewards.