The Golden Rule of Counting
When counting objects or people in English, we add an "-s" to make the noun plural (one book, two books). In Farsi, counting is much easier!
The golden rule is: cardinal numbers always take a singular noun. No matter how many items you are counting, the noun stays exactly in its dictionary form.
| One map is on the wall. | یک نقشه روی دیوار است.yak naqshe ruye divâr ast. |
| Two erasers are on the desk. | دو پاککن روی میز است.do pâk-kon ruye miz ast. |
| Five students are in the class. | پنج دانشآموز در کلاس هستند.panj dânesh-âmuz dar kelâs hastand. |
Listing Multiple Items
This rule stays perfectly consistent even when you are listing out several different items and quantities in the same sentence. Notice how vocabulary words like ماشینحساب (calculator) and خطکش (ruler) remain completely singular.
| Two calculators and one dictionary are in the bag. | دو ماشینحساب و یک واژهنامه در کیف هست.do mâshin-hesâb o yek vâzhe-nâme dar kif hast. |
| Eight rulers and three pencil sharpeners are in the classroom. | هشت خطکش و سه مدادتراش در کلاس هست.hasht khat-kesh o se medâd-tarâsh dar kelâs hast. |
Counting Items with Adjectives
When you want to describe the items you are counting, the number still comes first, followed by the singular noun, and then the adjective.
| Six new folders are on the desk. | شش پوشهی جدید روی میز است.shesh pushe-ye jadid ruye miz ast. |
| Three large dictionaries and two calculators are on the bed. | سه واژهنامهی بزرگ و دو ماشینحساب روی تخت هست.se vâže-nâme-ye bozorg o do mâshin-hesâb ruye takht hast |
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