Breakdown of لطفا میتوانید این پول را برای من نگه دارید؟
Questions & Answers about لطفا میتوانید این پول را برای من نگه دارید؟
لطفا means please and it commonly comes first to set a polite tone. It is not grammatically required, but without it the sentence sounds more direct. You can also place it later (e.g., after the verb), but sentence-initial is very common in polite requests.
میتوانید is the polite 2nd-person form of توانستن (to be able to), so it literally means you can / you are able to. In Persian, using can like this is a standard polite way to make requests (similar to English Could you…?). Even though it looks like ability, in context it’s usually a request.
Both spellings occur, but the most standard modern spelling uses:
- می
- verb with a half-space (zero-width non-joiner): میتوانید
- and often the short vowel mark in توان is omitted anyway
So میتوانید is a common informal/typed variant, while میتوانید is more standard (especially in edited writing).
را marks a definite/specific direct object. Here it signals that این پول is the direct object of نگه دارید (keep/hold). In many everyday contexts, را can be dropped in casual speech, but keeping it sounds clearer and more complete, especially in polite requests.
برای من means for me and clarifies who benefits from the action (you’re holding it on my behalf). In speech, it’s often shortened to برام (colloquial). In writing, you may also see برایم (more formal/compact).
نگه دارید is the polite (2nd person plural/respectful) imperative/subjunctive form of نگه داشتن (to keep/hold). In polite requests, Persian often uses an imperative form but softens it with things like لطفا and میتوانید…؟. So even though نگه دارید is an imperative form, the whole sentence reads as a polite question-request.
Many Persian verbs are made from a non-verbal element + a form of داشتن / کردن / شدن etc. Here:
- نگه is the “held/kept” part (from نگه داشتن)
- دارید is the conjugated helper part (you have/you keep)
In writing, these commonly appear separated: نگه دارید.
Persian often drops the subject pronoun because the verb ending already shows the person. میتوانید implies you (polite). Adding شما is possible for emphasis or contrast, but usually unnecessary in a neutral request.
Yes. لطفا این پول را برای من نگه دارید. is a normal polite request (more like Please keep this money for me.). Adding میتوانید…؟ turns it into a question-form request, often felt as slightly softer/more indirect.
Common spoken alternatives include:
- لطفاً این پولو برام نگه میداری؟ (informal to a friend; singular میداری)
- میشه این پولو برام نگه دارید؟ (very common polite phrasing; میشه…؟ = is it possible…?)
- این پولو لطفاً برام نگه دارید. (polite)
Choice depends on formality and who you’re talking to.
این پول usually means this money as an amount (money as an uncountable concept). این پولها means these monies / these bills/coins (multiple discrete items). If you’re physically handing over several banknotes/coins, این پولها can fit better; otherwise این پول is very natural.