Breakdown of آیا او با شما است؟
او
he/she
شما
you (plural)
بودنbudan
to be
آیاâyâ
whether (question particle)
باbâ
with
Questions & Answers about آیا او با شما است؟
Does the preposition bâ (with) connect to the next word?
No, bâ is written as a completely separate word. While some Farsi prefixes and prepositions attach to the following noun, bâ shomâ (with you) is always written as two distinct words: با and شما.
How do we know او (u) means "he" here instead of "she"?
We don't! The Farsi pronoun او (u) is completely gender-neutral, meaning it can be translated as "he" or "she" depending on the context. The English translation says "he" here, but it could just as easily mean "Is she with you?".
Is the question word آیا (âyâ) required to ask this question?
No. آیا (âyâ) is used in formal or written Farsi to signal a yes/no question. In everyday spoken Farsi, people just drop it entirely. They make it a question simply by raising their tone of voice at the end of the sentence.
If شما (shomâ) is the plural "you", does this sentence mean "with you all"?
It can, but شما (shomâ) is also widely used as a polite, formal way to address a single person. If you were asking a close friend or family member if someone was with them, you would use the informal singular "you" and say با تو (bâ to) instead.
How would someone actually say "Is he with you?" in casual spoken Farsi?
In casual speech, they would drop آیا (âyâ) and attach the verb است (ast) to the previous word. It would sound like u bâ shomâst? or even un bâ shomâst? (using the colloquial un instead of u).
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