Questions & Answers about معلم ما پیر است.
Why does this sentence use mâ (we) for "our"?
In Farsi, possession is shown by connecting a noun to a normal pronoun using the invisible ezafe sound. So mo'allem-e mâ literally means teacher of us, which translates to our teacher.
Why isn't the ezafe (the "e" sound connecting the words) written out?
The ezafe is almost always invisible in standard Farsi writing. You simply have to remember to pronounce it when connecting a noun to its owner or adjective, like between mo'allem and mâ.
Can I use pir to say that my car or house is old?
No, pir is only used for living things, like people and animals, who are advanced in age. To say an object is old, you would use a different word like ghadimi.
How would I change this sentence to say "These people are old" using our current lesson's words?
You would replace mo'allem-e mâ with a plural demonstrative like inhâ (these). Because the subject is now plural, you also must change the verb ast (is) to its plural form hastand (are), making the new sentence inhâ pir hastand.