من الان تلویزیون تماشا نمیکنم؛ دارم به موسیقی گوش میدهم.

Yes, they usually do. In this sentence, من is optional from a purely grammatical point of view, because نمی‌کنم and می‌دهم already mean I do not do and I give/do.

So why include من?

• for emphasis
• for clarity
• because the speaker may be contrasting their own actions with someone else’s
• because it sounds natural in many contexts, especially at the start of a sentence

So both of these are possible:

• من الان تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم
• الان تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم

The version with من feels a bit more explicit: I’m not watching TV right now...

الان means now / right now.

In this sentence, it marks the time of the first action:

• من الان تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم

Its position is fairly flexible in Persian. You may hear or see:

• من الان تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم
• الان من تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم
• من تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم الان — possible in speech, but less neutral

The version in your sentence is very natural and common.

This uses the compound verb تماشا کردن, which means to watch or more literally to do viewing.

Structure:

• تلویزیون = television / TV
• تماشا = watching, viewing
• نمی‌کنم = I do not do

So literally, the structure is something like:

• TV watching I am-not-doing

But naturally it means:

• I am not watching TV

This is very common in Persian: many actions are expressed with a noun + کردن.

Examples:

• کار کردن = to work
• فکر کردن = to think
• تماشا کردن = to watch

Because تلویزیون here is being used in a general, activity-like sense: watch TV, not watch the television set as a specific object.

Compare:

• تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم = I’m not watching TV
• تلویزیون را تماشا نمی‌کنم = I’m not watching the television / I’m not watching that TV-related thing

In everyday Persian, when talking about common activities like watching TV, را is usually omitted.

So the sentence sounds natural without را.

Yes, many speakers do say that, especially in everyday speech. But there is a small difference in style and usage.

Common options:

• تلویزیون تماشا کردن = to watch TV
• به تلویزیون نگاه کردن = to look at the TV

Notes:

• تماشا کردن is very standard for watching something like TV, a film, or a performance.
• نگاه کردن often focuses more on the act of looking.
• With نگاه کردن, you usually use به:
  • به تلویزیون نگاه می‌کنم

So:

• تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم = very natural for I’m not watching TV
• به تلویزیون نگاه نمی‌کنم = also possible, but slightly more literally I’m not looking at the TV

The negative is made with نـ / نمیـ before the present verb.

Here the base verb is کردن. In the present, first person singular is:

• می‌کنم = I do / I am doing

Negative:

• نمی‌کنم = I do not do / I am not doing

So in your sentence:

• تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم = I am not watching TV

A very important spelling note: The standard spelling is usually:

• نمی‌کنم
• می‌دهم

with a short invisible joiner called a half-space. Many people also type them without it:

• نمیکنم
• میدهم

Both are understood, but the standard written form is:

• نمی‌کنم
• می‌دهم

This is the Persian way of making the present progressive very explicit: am/is/are doing.

Structure:

• دارم = I have / I am having
• plus the main verb in present form:
  • گوش می‌دهم = I listen / I am listening

Together:

• دارم به موسیقی گوش می‌دهم = I am listening to music

This is similar to English I am listening.

Persian often has two ways to express a present action:

1. simple present form, which can also mean present ongoing in context

   • به موسیقی گوش می‌دهم

2. explicit progressive with دارم

   • دارم به موسیقی گوش می‌دهم

The version with دارم strongly emphasizes that the action is happening right now.

Yes. That would still be correct and natural.

• به موسیقی گوش می‌دهم can mean:
  • I listen to music
  • I am listening to music

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

When you add دارم, you make the ongoing action more vivid and immediate:

• دارم به موسیقی گوش می‌دهم = I’m listening to music right now

So the sentence uses دارم because it fits very well with the contrast:

• I’m not watching TV; I’m listening to music.

Because the verb expression is گوش دادن به ..., which means to listen to ....

So the pattern is:

• به چیزی گوش دادن = to listen to something

Examples:

• به موسیقی گوش می‌دهم = I listen to music
• به رادیو گوش می‌دهد = he/she listens to the radio
• به حرفم گوش کن = listen to what I’m saying

This is one of those verbs where Persian requires a preposition, just like English requires to in listen to.

Yes. گوش means ear.

The expression گوش دادن literally comes from something like to give ear, but in modern Persian it simply means to listen.

So:

• گوش = ear
• دادن = to give
• گوش دادن = to listen

Then:

• گوش می‌دهم = I listen
• دارم ... گوش می‌دهم = I am listening

You do not need to think of the literal meaning when using it; just learn گوش دادن به as a fixed verb phrase.

Persian does not use a/an/the in the same way English does.

So:

• موسیقی can mean music
• به موسیقی گوش می‌دهم = I’m listening to music

No article is needed.

If Persian wants to express something like a certain music or this music, it uses other words, for example:

• یک موسیقی = a piece/type of music, though this is not always the most natural phrasing
• این موسیقی = this music

But in a general sentence like this, plain موسیقی is exactly what you expect.

The semicolon links two closely related clauses:

• من الان تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم
• دارم به موسیقی گوش می‌دهم

It shows a pause stronger than a comma, but not as final as a period.

In English, this is similar to:

• I’m not watching TV right now; I’m listening to music.

In Persian writing, you might also see a period or even a comma in informal text. The semicolon simply makes the contrast neat and clear.

In careful pronunciation, it is close to:

• man al-ān televiziyon tamāshā nemi-konam; dāram be musiqi gush mi-daham

In everyday spoken Persian, it often sounds a bit more relaxed:

• man alān televizion tamāshā نمی‌کنم; dāram be موسیقی gush midam

A few important points:

• الان is often pronounced alān
• تلویزیون is commonly pronounced something like televizion / televizion
• گوش sounds like goosh
• می‌دهم in speech often becomes می‌دم
• نمی‌کنم in speech often sounds like نمی‌کنم / نمیکنم with reduced vowels depending on the speaker

So the written form may look slightly more formal than what you hear in conversation.

It could, but it does not have to.

You could say:

• من الان تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم
• من الان دارم تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم — this is not the natural way to say it
• more naturally: من الان تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم؛ دارم به موسیقی گوش می‌دهم

In Persian, the simple present with الان often already gives the meaning right now. So the first half is perfectly natural without دارم.

Also, the second clause benefits more from دارم because it highlights the action that is currently happening.

So the sentence feels balanced:

• first, what is not happening
• then, what is happening

It is mostly neutral and very natural.

• The vocabulary is standard.
• The structure is common.
• The use of دارم makes it sound natural for everyday spoken meaning.
• The punctuation and full forms like می‌دهم are slightly more careful/written than very casual speech.

In casual conversation, many speakers might say something like:

• من الان تلویزیون تماشا نمی‌کنم، دارم به موسیقی گوش می‌دم.

That is the same sentence in a more colloquial written style.

A very useful way to learn Persian is by memorizing whole chunks. From this sentence, the best chunks are:

• الان = right now
• تلویزیون تماشا کردن = to watch TV
• نمی‌کنم = I don’t / I’m not doing
• دارم ... می‌... = I am ...-ing
• به موسیقی گوش دادن = to listen to music
• گوش می‌دهم = I listen / I’m listening

If you learn those chunks, you can build many similar sentences:

• الان فیلم تماشا نمی‌کنم.
• دارم کتاب می‌خوانم.
• دارم به رادیو گوش می‌دهم.
• الان کار نمی‌کنم.

That makes the sentence much easier to reuse in real conversation.