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این مدرسه بزرگ است.

این مدرسه بزرگ است.
This school is big.

Breakdown of این مدرسه بزرگ است.

این
this
بزرگ
big
بودن
to be
مدرسه
school
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Questions & Answers about این مدرسه بزرگ است.

Why does the sentence start with این and not این یک?

این means this. In Persian you usually don’t need یک (a/an/one) in simple “This is …” sentences.

  • این مدرسه بزرگ است. = This school is big.
    You can add یک if you mean this is a (particular) school (emphasizing category), but it often sounds unnecessary in a basic description.
Is این مدرسه literally “this school,” or does it mean “this is a school”?

Grammatically این مدرسه is a noun phrase: this school. Then بزرگ است is the predicate: is big.
So the structure is: [subject] + [adjective] + است.

What part of speech is بزرگ and where does it go?

بزرگ is an adjective meaning big/large. In Persian, predicative adjectives (after a noun meaning “is big”) come after the subject:

  • مدرسه بزرگ است = The school is big.
    (Unlike English, where the adjective comes after is, Persian puts بزرگ before است.)
What is است exactly, and is it always required?

است is the 3rd-person singular present form of the verb بودن (to be): is.
In everyday speech it’s often dropped or shortened:

  • Formal/written: این مدرسه بزرگ است.
  • Common spoken: این مدرسه بزرگه. (with ـه as the colloquial ending)
  • Sometimes: این مدرسه بزرگ. (context-dependent, more like a fragment)
Why is there no word for “a/the” in the sentence?

Persian doesn’t have definite/indefinite articles like English (the / a). Definiteness is usually understood from context or signaled in other ways. Here, این already makes it definite: this school (a specific one).

How do I pronounce این مدرسه بزرگ است?

A common transliteration/pronunciation is:

  • in madrese bozorg ast
    Notes:
  • این is usually in (long i).
  • مدرسه often sounds like madrese (final -e).
  • است in careful speech is ast.
Is the word order flexible? Can I say بزرگ است این مدرسه?

Standard neutral order is این مدرسه بزرگ است. Persian can reorder for emphasis or in poetry, but for learners it’s best to stick to the normal pattern: subject + adjective + (to be).

Do I need an ezāfe (ـِ) anywhere, like مدرسهٔ بزرگ?

No ezāfe is needed here because بزرگ is being used as a predicate (is big), not as part of a noun phrase.
Compare:

  • Predicate: این مدرسه بزرگ است. = This school is big.
  • Noun phrase: این مدرسهٔ بزرگ = this big school (here you need ezāfe between مدرسه and بزرگ)
How would this change in the negative: “This school is not big”?

You negate است by using نیست (is not):

  • این مدرسه بزرگ نیست.
    In speech: این مدرسه بزرگ نیست / بزرگ نیس (colloquial shortening).
How do I say it about multiple schools: “These schools are big”?

You change این to این‌ها (these) and است to هستند (are) (or the spoken form).

  • Formal: این‌ها مدرسه‌های بزرگی هستند. / این مدرسه‌ها بزرگ هستند.
  • Spoken: این‌ها مدرسه‌های بزرگی‌ان. / این مدرسه‌ها بزرگن.
    Persian has a few natural options depending on style and emphasis.
Is مدرسه masculine or feminine? Do adjectives change?

Persian nouns don’t have grammatical gender like Spanish/French. Adjectives don’t change for gender or number in the same way English doesn’t (no big/big agreement changes). بزرگ stays بزرگ.

Can I drop این and just say مدرسه بزرگ است?

Yes.

  • مدرسه بزرگ است. = The school is big / A school is big (depends on context)
    Adding این makes it clearly this school (pointing to a specific one).