The verb comes last
English puts the verb in the middle (subject-verb-object). Persian puts it at the end (subject-object-verb). Everything else comes before it.
- من نان میخورم. (man nān mikhoram) — I eat bread.
- علی چای مینوشد. (ali chāy minushad) — Ali drinks tea.
- ما فارسی میخوانیم. (mā fārsi mikhānim) — We study Persian.
The usual order
A neutral sentence follows this pattern:
subject – time – place – object – verb
| Subject | Time | Place | Object | Verb | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| من | هر روز | در دفتر | کار میکنم | I work at the office every day. | |
| مریم | صبح | در خانه | چای | میخورد | Maryam drinks tea at home in the morning. |
| ما | امشب | به سینما | میرویم | We are going to the cinema tonight. |
The subject pronoun is often dropped (امشب به سینما میرویم.) and the time word can also stand first (فردا من به تهران میروم.). The verb does not move.
Destinations and other phrases with a preposition (به سینما، در خانه) come before the verb too. Prepositions themselves stand before their noun, as in English.
Specific objects with را
A specific, known object is marked with را (lesson 15). Such an object usually comes earlier, before the place or the person receiving it:
- من کتاب را به علی میدهم. — I give the book to Ali.
Questions: nothing moves
English moves the question word to the front and adds "do". Persian keeps the statement order and puts the question word where the answer would be:
| Statement | Question |
|---|---|
| تو در بانک کار میکنی. — You work at the bank. | تو کجا کار میکنی؟ — Where do you work? |
| علی چای میخورد. — Ali drinks tea. | علی چه میخورد؟ — What does Ali drink? |
| مریم فردا میآید. — Maryam comes tomorrow. | مریم کِی میآید؟ — When is Maryam coming? |
Spoken Persian bends the rule
In conversation a destination often follows the verb and loses به: میرم خونه (miram khune, colloquial) for written به خانه میروم (I am going home). Write the verb last; recognise the spoken order when you hear it.
Watch out as an English speaker
- The English SVO habit: ✗ من میخورم نان. / ✓ من نان میخورم.
- Do not front the question word: ✗ چه تو میخوری؟ / ✓ تو چه میخوری؟
- "Go to" + place still goes before the verb in writing: ✗ من میروم به مدرسه. / ✓ من به مدرسه میروم.
- A compound verb (کار کردن, to work) is one unit, so time words go before it, not inside: ✗ من کار هر روز میکنم. / ✓ من هر روز کار میکنم.
Example dialogue
شما کجا کار میکنید؟ — Where do you work?
من در بیمارستان کار میکنم. — I work at the hospital.
هر روز به بیمارستان میروید؟ — Do you go to the hospital every day?
نه، جمعهها در خانه میمانم. — No, on Fridays I stay at home.