Questions & Answers about او فرانسوی است.
The translation says "He is French," but could this also mean "She is French"?
Yes! In Farsi, the pronoun او (u) is gender-neutral, meaning it can translate to "he" or "she" depending on the context. You would use the exact same sentence to say a woman is French.
Since this lesson is about plural pronouns, how would I change this sentence to say "They are French"?
You would change the subject pronoun to آنها (ânhâ) or ایشان (ishân) for "they", and change the verb است (ast) to the plural ending اند (-and) or the full word هستند (hastand). So it would become آنها فرانسوی هستند (ânhâ farânsavi hastand).
How does the word for "France" become "French" in Farsi?
The word for the country of France is فرانسه (farânseh). To talk about a person's nationality or language, Farsi adds the suffix ی (-i). Because فرانسه ends in a vowel sound, an extra consonant is added to make it easier to say, resulting in فرانسوی (farânsavi).
I often hear native speakers drop the word است (ast). Can I do that here?
Yes! In everyday spoken Farsi, the verb است (ast) is usually shortened to a short "e" sound attached to the previous word. Because فرانسوی (farânsavi) ends in an "i" vowel, adding the spoken "e" creates a "ye" sound. In conversation, you will usually hear: او فرانسویه (u farânsavi-ye).
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