The Enclitic Present Copula | Farsi Grammar

Persian present-tense “be” often appears as a short copula attached to the end of a noun or adjective predicate: خسته‌ام khaste-am “I am tired,” آماده‌ای âmâde-i “you are ready,” راضی‌اند râzi-and “they are satisfied.” Its six values are -am, -i, ast, -im, -id, and -and. After consonant-final خوب, their written shapes appear in خوبم، خوبی، خوب است، خوبیم، خوبید، خوب‌اند; vowel-final hosts require the spelling adjustments shown below.

English writes am, is, and are as separate words. Persian usually makes the non-third-person copula phonologically dependent on the predicate. That attachment explains both the written forms and why the subject can be omitted: خسته‌ام already identifies a first-person singular subject.

The six forms after a vowel-final predicate

The adjective آماده “ready” displays the spelling clearly:

Person	Form	Reading	Meaning
first singular	آماده‌ام	âmâde-am	I am ready
second singular	آماده‌ای	âmâde-i	you are ready
third singular	آماده است	âmâde ast	he/she/it is ready
first plural	آماده‌ایم	âmâde-im	we are ready
second plural/polite	آماده‌اید	âmâde-id	you are ready
third plural	آماده‌اند	âmâde-and	they are ready

Standard است is normally written as its own word. The other forms attach orthographically. After silent ه, first singular and third plural require a ZWNJ before initial ا: آماده‌ام، آماده‌اند. Forms beginning in ی are written آماده‌ای، آماده‌ایم، آماده‌اید.

برای مصاحبه آماده‌ام، ولی کمی اضطراب دارم.

barâ-ye mosâhebe âmâde-am, vali kami ezterâb dâram.

I'm ready for the interview, but I'm a little nervous. (neutral standard; first singular)

برای حرکت آماده‌اید یا چند دقیقه وقت می‌خواهید؟

barâ-ye harekat âmâde-id yâ chand daqiqe vaqt mi-khâhid?

Are you ready to leave, or do you need a few minutes? (polite standard; second plural/polite)

همه از نتیجه راضی‌اند.

hame az natije râzi-and.

Everyone is satisfied with the result. (neutral standard; plural agreement follows the human reference of همه)

💡

The predicate is the host and the copula is the ending. Preserve the host's ordinary spelling, then apply the written boundary required by the ending; after silent ه, ـ‌ام and ـ‌اند visibly need the ZWNJ.

Noun predicates: saying what someone or something is

A noun can be the predicate: معلمم “I am a teacher,” دانشجو است “he/she is a student,” همکاریم “we are colleagues.” Persian has no indefinite article corresponding to English a, so the noun appears directly before the copula.

من مترجمم و خواهرم ویراستار است.

man motarjem-am va khâhar-am virâstâr ast.

I'm a translator, and my sister is an editor. (neutral standard; noun predicates)

این ساختمان کتابخانه‌ی محله است.

in sâkhtemân ketâbkhâne-ye mahalle ast.

This building is the neighborhood library. (neutral standard; third-singular است is separate)

With a consonant-final predicate, most endings attach directly: مترجمم، مترجمی، مترجمیم، مترجمید. Third plural with initial ا is normally مترجم‌اند. A learner does not need to insert an English-style pronoun between predicate and copula.

Adjective predicates and no agreement on the adjective

In من خسته‌ام and آن‌ها خسته‌اند, the adjective خسته never changes. Person and number are expressed only by the copula. Persian has no grammatical gender, so the same adjective and third-singular است apply to women, men, and inanimate referents.

اتاق کوچک است، اما پنجره‌های بزرگی دارد.

otâq kuchek ast, ammâ panjare-hâ-ye bozorgi dârad.

The room is small, but it has large windows. (neutral standard)

امروز خسته‌ایم، چون دیشب دیر رسیدیم.

emruz khaste-im, chun dishab dir residim.

We're tired today because we arrived late last night. (careful spoken standard)

The detailed contrast between attributive اتاق کوچک “a small room” and predicative اتاق کوچک است “the room is small” appears on Predicative Adjectives and the Copula.

Copular endings versus ordinary verb endings

The person values resemble the verbal endings, but the hosts differ. In می‌روم, ـم attaches to a verbal stem inside a finite verb. In خسته‌ام, the copula attaches to a nonverbal predicate and supplies the entire present-tense “be” relation.

هر روز تا دفتر می‌دوم، پس صبح‌ها پرانرژی‌ام.

har ruz tâ daftar mi-davam, pas sobh-hâ por-enerzhi-am.

I run to the office every day, so I'm energetic in the mornings. (neutral standard; verbal ending then copula)

The two ـم forms both identify first singular, but their internal jobs are not identical. This distinction becomes essential in perfect constructions, where a participle hosts the copula.

💡

Ask whether the host is a verb stem or a noun/adjective predicate. The sound -am can be verbal agreement in می‌روم or the present copula in خسته‌ام; its grammatical role follows from the host.

When هست forms appear

Persian also has independent present forms هستم، هستی، هست، هستیم، هستید، هستند. They are useful when existence or presence is asserted, when the copula bears contrastive emphasis, and as a less compact alternative in careful or formal speech. With ordinary classification and description, the enclitic is compact and natural: معلمم، خسته‌ایم. The two series overlap, but they are not mechanically interchangeable in every discourse context.

مسئول امروز منم؛ اگر پرسشی هست، بپرسید.

mas'ul-e emruz man-am; agar porseshi hast, beporsid.

I'm the person in charge today; if there is a question, ask. (careful spoken standard; enclitic identity versus existential هست)

This page focuses on the enclitic series. The following pages treat the negative نیست series and the broader contrast with هستن.

Colloquial Tehran forms

Everyday Tehran speech preserves person but reduces several copulas (informal, regional: Tehran). After a consonant, a practical pattern is خوبم، خوبی، خوبه، خوبیم، خوبین، خوبن. Second plural/polite ends in ـین, third plural in ـن, and third singular often surfaces as ـه. These are natural colloquial forms, not standard formal spellings.

اینجا ظهرها خیلی گرمه.

injâ zohr-hâ kheyli garme.

It's very warm here at midday. (informal, regional: Tehran; third-singular ـه)

شما هنوز توی راهین؟

shomâ hanuz tu-ye râhin?

Are you still on the way? (informal, regional: Tehran; polite/plural ـین)

بچه‌ها خسته‌ان؛ بهتره برگردیم.

bachche-hâ khaste-an; behtare bargardim.

The kids are tired; we'd better go back. (informal, regional: Tehran; third-plural ـن after a vowel-final host)

Do not insert these reductions into a formal report. Conversely, do not label خوبه ungrammatical when it occurs inside coherent informal dialogue.

A short contrast

اتاق جلسه روشن است و برای مهمانان آماده است.

otâq-e jalase rowshan ast va barâ-ye mehmânân âmâde ast.

The meeting room is bright and ready for the guests. (formal-neutral standard)

اتاق جلسه روشنه و برای مهمونا آماده‌ست.

otâq-e jalase rowshane va barâ-ye mehmunâ âmâde-st.

The meeting room's bright and ready for the guests. (informal, regional: Tehran)

The informational content is similar, but every reduction in the second sentence supports the same conversational register.

Common Mistakes

1. Omitting the copula from a complete assertion

❌ این قهوه سرد.

as a neutral complete assertion rather than an elliptical label or noun phrase

Incorrect as a neutral complete sentence — an adjective predicate needs a copula.

✅ این قهوه هنوز داغ است.

in qahve hanuz dâgh ast.

This coffee is still hot.

2. Separating ـام after silent ه

❌ امروز خیلی خسته ام.

Incorrect standard spelling — خسته‌ام uses a ZWNJ, not an ordinary space.

✅ امروز کمی خسته‌ام.

emruz kami khaste-am.

I'm a little tired today.

3. Placing the copula before its predicate

❌ من ام دانشجوی سال اول.

Incorrect — the enclitic copula follows and attaches to its predicate host.

✅ من دانشجوی سال اولم.

man dâneshju-ye sâl-e avval-am.

I'm a first-year student.

4. Adding plural marking to an adjective predicate

❌ مسافران خسته‌هایم.

as an adjective predicate meaning ‘the passengers are tired’

Incorrect for the intended adjective predication — the adjective does not copy plural number, and the copula ending also mismatches the subject.

✅ مسافران از سفر خسته‌اند.

mosâferân az safar khaste-and.

The passengers are tired from the trip.

Key Takeaways

The present copula identifies six persons and attaches to a noun or adjective predicate.
Standard third-singular است is normally separate; other forms attach with predictable spelling adjustments.
After silent ه, write خسته‌ام and خسته‌اند with a ZWNJ.
The predicate adjective never agrees for gender or number; the copula carries person and number.
Tehran ـه، ـین، ـن are coherent informal reductions, not forms for standard formal prose.

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