دیروز با خواهرم به بازار رفتم.

Yesterday I went to the market with my sister.

Breakdown of دیروز با خواهرم به بازار رفتم.

• من: my / I
• به: to
• رفتن: to go
• دیروز: yesterday
• با: with
• خواهر: sister
• بازار: market

Questions & Answers about دیروز با خواهرم به بازار رفتم.

Why is دیروز at the beginning? Can it go elsewhere?

Yes, دیروز (yesterday) is often placed at the start to set the time frame, but it’s flexible. You can also say:

• من دیروز با خواهرم به بازار رفتم. (adds من explicitly)
• با خواهرم دیروز به بازار رفتم.
• با خواهرم به بازار دیروز رفتم. (less natural; time words usually don’t go right before the verb’s object like that)
  Persian word order is generally flexible, but the most neutral/common pattern is: time + (with whom) + (to where) + verb.

Why is با خواهرم used—does با always mean “with”?

با primarily means with in the sense of accompaniment: with my sister. It’s the normal way to express “I went with X.”
It can also mean by/using in other contexts (instrument/means), e.g. با اتوبوس = by bus, but here it clearly means accompaniment.

What does the ـم at the end of خواهرم mean?

ـم is an attached pronoun meaning my. So:

• خواهر = sister
• خواهرم = my sister
  Persian often attaches possessive pronouns directly to the noun: دوستم (my friend), کتابم (my book), etc.

Why is it به بازار and not something like “to the market” with a separate word for “to”?

به is the main preposition for to (direction/goal).

• به بازار = to the bazaar/market
  In everyday Persian, بازار can function like “the market” without an explicit “the.” Persian doesn’t have a direct equivalent of English the.

Is بازار specifically a “bazaar,” or can it just mean a regular market?

بازار literally refers to a bazaar (traditional market area), but it’s also commonly used more generally as market. Context decides whether it’s a traditional bazaar or just “the market.”

What is the verb here and how is it formed: رفتم?

رفتم is the past tense of رفتن (to go). It’s:

• verb stem: رفت-
• ending -م = I (1st person singular)
  So رفتم = I went.
  Other past forms: رفتی (you went), رفت (he/she went), رفتیم (we went), etc.

Does this sentence need the pronoun من (“I”)?

No. Persian often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person. رفتم already means “I went,” so من is optional and usually only added for emphasis or contrast:

• من رفتم، ولی او نرفت. = I went, but he didn’t.

Why is there no word meaning “the” in به بازار?

Persian doesn’t have a definite article like English the. Definiteness is usually understood from context. If you really need to specify something like “that specific market,” you might use other tools (context, demonstratives, etc.), e.g. به آن بازار = to that market.

Could دیروز be replaced with another time word without changing the structure?

Yes, the structure stays the same. For example:

• امروز با خواهرم به بازار رفتم. = Today I went to the market with my sister.
• هفتهٔ پیش با خواهرم به بازار رفتم. = Last week I went…
  Time expressions often appear early in the sentence.

Is خواهرم “my sister” or “my (female) sibling”—does Persian distinguish older/younger?

خواهر just means sister (female sibling) without indicating older/younger. If you want to specify, Persian uses additional words:

• خواهر بزرگ‌ترم = my older sister
• خواهر کوچک‌ترم = my younger sister

Can the order با خواهرم به بازار be reversed?

Often yes, and it can still be correct:

• دیروز به بازار با خواهرم رفتم is understandable but less natural than دیروز با خواهرم به بازار رفتم.
  Persian tends to place companions (با...) before destinations (به...) in neutral speech, but moving phrases is possible for emphasis or rhythm.

How would I make it negative: “Yesterday I didn’t go to the market with my sister”?

You negate the verb in past tense by adding نـ:

• دیروز با خواهرم به بازار نرفتم. = Yesterday I didn’t go to the market with my sister.
  (نرفتم = I did not go)

How would I ask this as a question: “Did you go to the market with your sister yesterday?”

Common options:
1) Intonation only (speech):

• دیروز با خواهرت به بازار رفتی؟
  2) Add آیا (more formal):
• آیا دیروز با خواهرت به بازار رفتی؟
  Here رفتی = “you went” (2nd person singular), and خواهرت = “your sister” (-ت = your).