HSC Persian Continuers flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

شنیدن دو باره

Listening texts are played twice; on the first hearing identify topic, speakers and setting, on the second confirm numbers, names and the specific detail the question asks for.

شما versus تو

شما is the polite or plural second person and takes plural verb endings; تو is informal singular. Register choice signals the relationship between speakers in a listening passage.

ساعت و نیم

Means half past the hour, as in ساعت هشت و نیم (8:30). ربع means quarter, so ساعت هشت و ربع is 8:15, and و چهل و پنج دقیقه gives 8:45.

Persian number order

Units are spoken before tens: بیست و پنج is twenty-five and سی و هفت is thirty-seven. Listen for هزار (thousand) in prices and years, as in دو هزار تومان.

Discourse markers in speech

Words such as اما (but), بنابراین (therefore), در واقع (in fact) and به نظر من (in my opinion) mark contrast, result and stance, guiding which option matches the speaker's attitude.

Hedging in dialogue

Answers like شاید (maybe), نمی‌دونم (I don't know) or a returned question express uncertainty or evasion, not agreement. Inference items test recognising this indirect meaning.

Request formulas

ممکنه...؟ (could you...?), می‌شه...؟ and خواهش می‌کنم introduce requests and polite replies. Identifying the formula tells you whether the speaker asks, offers or accepts.

Persian-only letters

پ چ ژ گ occur in Persian but not standard Arabic, so their presence marks a Persian text. They also show pronunciation: پ p, چ ch, ژ zh, گ g.

Ezafe construction

An unstressed -e links a noun to a following adjective or possessor: کتابِ نو (new book), خانهٔ من (my house). It is usually unwritten but changes meaning and must be read in.

را object marker

را follows a definite direct object: کتاب را خواندم (I read the book). Its presence shows which noun is the object, helping decode Subject–Object–Verb sentence order.

Verb tense patterns

می‌روم present habitual, رفتم simple past, خواهم رفت future, رفته‌ام present perfect, داشتم می‌رفتم past progressive. Tense choice locates events in time for comprehension questions.

Negation prefixes

نمی- negates the present (نمی‌روم, I don't go); نـ negates the past (نرفتم, I didn't go). Prohibition uses the same short prefix without می: نرو (don't go).

Plural endings

-ها marks plural for most nouns, especially inanimate ones (کتاب‌ها); -ان marks human plurals (دانشجویان). Formal texts also use Arabic broken plurals such as مطالب and اخبار.

Pronoun suffixes

Possessive and object pronouns attach to nouns, verbs and prepositions: کتابم (my book), خانه‌اش (his/her house), به‌ام (to me). They replace separate pronoun words in fluent text.

Cause and result connectors

چون and زیرا introduce a reason; بنابراین and پس introduce a result; اگر... پس frames a condition and consequence. Locating the result clause answers 'why' and 'what happens' items.

Comparatives and superlatives

از...تر means more than (بزرگ‌تر از), ترین forms the superlative (بزرگ‌ترین), and به اندازهٔ means as...as. Identify both compared items before selecting an answer.

Text type recognition

Layout signals genre: an advertisement has prices and imperatives, a personal letter opens with سلام and closes with با احترام, a notice uses short impersonal sentences, an article has a headline.

Non-connecting letters

ا د ذ ر ز ژ و never join the following letter, so words break visually after them. Recognising this helps segment continuous script into words when reading unfamiliar text.

Formal versus colloquial

Written formal Persian uses می‌خواهم, می‌روم and full endings; colloquial speech uses می‌خوام, می‌ره, رو for را. Match the register of the text to interpret meaning correctly.

Right-to-left writing

Persian runs right to left, so sentences begin at the right margin and numbers within text also read right to left in order of words. Punctuation such as ، and ؟ mirrors accordingly.

Persian punctuation marks

The comma is ، and the question mark is ؟; quotation uses «». The full stop is the same as English. Correct marks are part of the writing criteria in Persian responses.

Subject-Object-Verb order

Standard Persian places the verb last: من دیروز کتاب را خریدم (I bought the book yesterday). Time expressions usually follow the subject and precede the object.

Letter conventions

A Persian letter opens with سلام or با سلام and a greeting, develops the message in paragraphs, and closes with phrases such as با احترام or با تشکر followed by the writer's name.

Diary and journal writing

A diary entry uses first person, past tense and time expressions such as امروز and دیروز, with informal but written register and personal reactions rather than formal connectors.

Notice and announcement style

Notices use short impersonal sentences, imperative or passive verbs, and clear time and place details, for example کتابخانه فردا تعطیل است (the library is closed tomorrow).

Cohesion connectors

اول (first), سپس (then), علاوه بر این (moreover), در نتیجه (as a result), در پایان (finally) sequence ideas and raise the coherence score in extended writing tasks.

Adjective after noun

Persian adjectives follow the noun and take ezafe: مدرسهٔ بزرگ (a big school), دخترِ مهربان (a kind girl). Reversing the order is an error in written production.

Word count planning

Before writing, allocate a topic sentence, one supporting detail and a linking phrase per paragraph. This controls length and keeps every paragraph on a single idea.

Object marker in writing

Use را after a definite direct object: نامه را نوشتم (I wrote the letter). Omitting را before a specific object is a common accuracy error in written responses.

Register in writing tasks

Formal tasks such as letters to officials require literary verbs and full endings; informal letters to friends may use colloquial forms. Register must match the stated audience and purpose.

Verb endings agreement

Present endings are -م، -ی، -د، -یم، -ید، -ند; past adds the same endings to the stem (رفتیم, they went). Plural subjects such as آن‌ها require plural verb forms.

Numbers in written text

Persian may write numerals as ۱۲۳ or in words; both are acceptable. When writing amounts, join units and tens with و, as in صد و بیست (one hundred and twenty).