When reporting multiple actions happening at once, such as during an emergency rescue, you can use a simple shortcut to sound more natural.
| firefighter | آتشنشانâtash-neshân |
Dropping Repeated Verbs (Takhfif)
Just like in English ("I brought the water hose, and he the oxygen cylinder"), Farsi drops the second verb when two clauses are joined by و (and) and share the exact same action.
| I brought the water hose, and he the oxygen cylinder. | من شیلنگ آب را آوردم و او کپسول اکسیژن را.man shilang-e âb râ âvardam va u kapsul-e oksizhen râ. |
Notice that the object marker را remains attached to the direct object in the second clause. It signals what was acted upon, even though the verb at the very end is missing.
| The young firefighter saved a woman from under the rubble, and the old firefighter a man. | آتشنشان جوان یک زن را از زیر آوار نجات داد و آتشنشان پیر یک مرد را.âtash-neshân-e javân yek zan râ az zir-e âvâr nejât dâd va âtash-neshân-e pir yek mard râ. |
This applies across any tense, as long as the omitted verb is identical:
| The firefighter hears the siren, and the rescuer the explosion. | آتشنشان آژیر را میشنود و امدادگر انفجار را.âtash-neshân âzhir râ mishenavad va emdâdgar enfejâr râ. |
Omission of "To Be"
This structure works perfectly with "to be" verbs like است or بود. When describing or contrasting two things in the same sentence, just drop the state-of-being verb in the second half.
| I was worried about suffocation, and my colleague about burns. | من نگران خفگی بودم و همکار من نگران سوختگی.man negarân-e khafegi budam va hamkâr-e man negarân-e sukhtegi. |
| The ambulance was fast, and the fire engine slow. | آمبولانس سریع بود و ماشین آتشنشانی کند.âmbulâns sari' bud va mâshin-e âtash-neshâni kond. |
This even applies to colloquial spoken forms where the "to be" verb is attached as a short suffix. In the second clause, you just state the bare noun or adjective without any verb suffix:
| The firefighting hose is heavy, and the stretcher light. | شیلنگ آتشنشانی سنگینه و برانکارد سبک.shilang-e âtash-neshâni sangine va borânkârd sabok. |