Question 1

Why is the order pesar shoma instead of shoma pesar for 'your son'?

Accepted Answer

In Farsi, the thing being owned comes before the owner. To say 'your son', you say 'son (of) you'. These words are linked by an invisible 'e' sound called the ezāfe, making the pronunciation pesar-e shoma.

Question 2

I don't see a letter for the 'e' sound linking pesar and shoma. How do I know to pronounce it?

Accepted Answer

The ezāfe (the connecting 'e' sound) is almost never written in the Farsi alphabet. You learn to add it automatically when you see a noun followed by its possessor or an adjective. Since shoma (you) is the possessor of pesar (son), that invisible link is required to connect them.

Question 3

The dictionary says 'year' is sal. Why does this sentence use saleh (ساله)?

Accepted Answer

While sal means 'year', adding the -eh sound (written with the letter ه at the end) turns it into an adjective meaning '-year-old'. So, panzdah saleh translates directly to 'fifteen-year-old'.

Question 4

Why is the verb ast ('is') at the very end?

Accepted Answer

Farsi typically follows a Subject-Object-Verb word order, meaning verbs almost always go at the very end of a sentence. Here, the sentence starts with the subject pesar-e shoma (your son) and finishes with the verb ast (is).

پسر شما پانزده ساله است.

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