Question 1

How do we pronounce the word درباره‌اش and why does it have an extra sound in pronunciation?

Accepted Answer

The preposition درباره (dar bâre - about) ends in a spoken vowel sound /e/ which is written with a silent 'heh'. To attach the pronoun enclitic اش (-ash, meaning him/her), we need a bridge between the two vowels. Farsi inserts a 'y' sound here, so it is pronounced 'darbâre-y-ash'. In writing, we simply add an Alef after the silent 'heh'.

Question 2

Why is the present tense verb می‌گویم translated as the future tense 'I will tell'?

Accepted Answer

In Farsi, the simple present/present continuous tense (using the می prefix) is frequently used to express actions in the near future or a firm intention, much like saying 'I am going to tell you' in English. Farsi speakers rarely use the formal future tense with خواستن for everyday conversation.

Question 3

Why is there a به before تو when the English translation just says 'tell you'?

Accepted Answer

The verb گفتن (goftan - to say/tell) always requires the preposition به (be - to) for the person receiving the information. In Farsi, you cannot just 'tell someone'; you literally say 'I tell to you' (به تو می‌گویم).

Question 4

What is the difference between the letter 'heh' (ه) in مهربان and the one in درباره?

Accepted Answer

In مهربان (mehrabân), the letter 'heh' is in the middle of the word and is pronounced as a consonant 'h'. However, at the end of درباره (dar bâre), the 'heh' is a 'silent heh' that acts as a vowel letter, representing the short /e/ sound.

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