Breakdown of شما چای میخواین یا قهوه؟
شما
you (plural)
چایchâi
tea
قهوهghahve
coffee
خواستنkhâstan
to want / to ask (request from someone)
یاyâ
or
Questions & Answers about شما چای میخواین یا قهوه؟
Why is the verb میخواین instead of میخواهید?
میخواین is the conversational, spoken form of میخواهید. In everyday spoken Farsi, the formal -ید ending for شما usually softens to -ین. Also, the letter ه in the present stem of this verb is dropped in speech to make it flow better.
Shouldn't the verb go at the very end? Why is قهوه placed after میخواین?
In strict written Farsi, the verb goes at the very end, so you would see شما چای یا قهوه میخواهید؟. However, in spoken Farsi, it is very common to place the second option of an "or" question after the verb. It breaks up the sentence naturally, much like saying "Do you want tea... or coffee?"
The translation says "you all", but couldn't شما just mean one person here?
Yes, absolutely! شما is grammatically plural, so it can mean "you all" when talking to a group, but it is also used as the polite, formal "you" for a single person. Without more context, this question could just as easily be addressed to a single guest to show respect.
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