Persian Grammar and Applied Usage
What this domain tests
This section tests direct grammar: noun and adjective use, ezafe, pronouns, prepositions, verb conjugation, sentence transformation, error correction, and fill-in-the-blank items. Accuracy matters more than long answers.
Core rules
- Persian nouns have no grammatical gender. Pluralise with ـها or ـان; adjectives normally follow nouns and do not agree: «کتابهای نو» = new books.
- Pronouns: من، تو، او، ما، شما، ایشان. Enclitic forms ـم، ـت، ـش، ـمان، ـتان، ـشان attach to nouns, prepositions, and verbs: «خانهام» = my house.
- Verbs have two stems. The past stem is the infinitive minus ـن: رفتن → رفت. The present stem is often irregular: رفتن → رو, گفتن → گو, دیدن → بین, بودن → هست/باش.
- Past simple: past stem + ـم، ـی، (no ending)، ـیم، ـید، ـند. Present indicative: می + present stem + the same endings, with no ending in the third singular.
- Future: خواه + personal ending + past stem: خواهم رفت = I shall go.
Worked example
Conjugate رفتن in the past simple: رفتم، رفتی، رفت، رفتیم، رفتید، رفتند. Reason: the past stem is رفت; the ending carries person and number; the third singular has no ending. In the present: میروم، میروی، میرود، میرویم، میروید، میروند. The present stem is رو, not رفت; using رفت with می produces a wrong form.
Traps that cost marks
- Writing «من رفت» instead of «من رفتم»; the first-person ending is obligatory.
- Using the past stem after می instead of the present stem.
- Confusing است ('is') with هست ('is, exists') in copular sentences.
- Omitting the ezafe in «کتابِ خوب» and changing the meaning.
- Forgetting that را marks a definite direct object: «نامه را نوشتم» = I wrote the letter.