Which preposition goes with which Persian verb: با، به، از، در with common verbs, differen
Verbal Prepositions
Many verbs preceded by their own prepositions.
| Speak (with) | (گفتگو کردن (با | Passing (on) | (گذشتن (از |
| /goftegu kardan bâ/ | /gozashtan az/ | ||
| Greeting (to) | (سلام کردن (به | Go (to) | (رفتن (به |
| /salâm kardan be/ |
/raftan be/ |
||
| Ask (from) | (سوال کردن (از
/soâl kardan az/ |
Study (at) | (درس خواندن (در
/dars khândan dar/ |
| Answer (to) | (جواب دادن (به | Come (from) | (آمدن (از |
|
/javâb dâdan be/ |
/âmadan az/ |
Exercises: Complete following sentences with prepositions.
Which preposition goes with which Persian verb: با، به، از، در with common verbs, differences from English, spoken short forms and a quiz.
Verbs that take their own preposition
Many Persian verbs come with a fixed preposition, just as English says "listen to" or "wait for." The problem is that the Persian preposition is often not the one English would use, and sometimes English uses none at all. The safest approach is to learn each verb together with its preposition, as the lesson shows.
The verbs from the lesson
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| گفتگو کردن با | /goftegu kardan bâ/ | to talk with, to have a conversation with |
| گذشتن از | /gozashtan az/ | to pass through, to cross; also to give up |
| سلام کردن به | /salâm kardan be/ | to say hello to, to greet |
| رفتن به | /raftan be/ | to go to |
| سؤال کردن از | /so'âl kardan az/ | to ask (someone) |
| درس خواندن در | /dars khândan dar/ | to study at / in |
| جواب دادن به | /javâb dâdan be/ | to answer, to reply to |
| آمدن از | /âmadan az/ | to come from |
How the four prepositions behave
- با (bâ), "with": verbs of talking and doing together: صحبت کردن با, حرف زدن با, ازدواج کردن با (to marry).
- به (be), "to": the person or place an action goes toward: گفتن به (to tell), زنگ زدن به (to call), کمک کردن به (to help), نگاه کردن به (to look at), گوش دادن به (to listen to), فکر کردن به (to think about).
- از (az), "from": the source, and also the person you ask, thank or fear: پرسیدن از (to ask), تشکر کردن از (to thank), ترسیدن از (to be afraid of).
- در (dar), "in, at": where something happens: زندگی کردن در, کار کردن در.
Where English and Persian differ
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| به مادرم زنگ زدم. | /be mâdaram zang zadam./ | I called my mother. (Persian: "to my mother") |
| از معلم پرسیدم. | /az mo'allem porsidam./ | I asked the teacher. (Persian: "from the teacher") |
| با او ازدواج کرد. | /bâ u ezdevâj kard./ | He / She married him / her. (Persian: "with him / her") |
| به من کمک کنید. | /be man komak konid./ | Help me. (Persian: "to me") |
| از شما تشکر می‌کنم. | /az shomâ tashakkor mikonam./ | I thank you. (Persian: "from you") |
| از سگ می‌ترسد. | /az sag mitarsad./ | He / She is afraid of dogs. |
| به موسیقی گوش می‌دهیم. | /be musighi gush midahim./ | We listen to music. |
| به تو فکر می‌کنم. | /be to fekr mikonam./ | I'm thinking about you. |
| از پل گذشتیم. | /az pol gozashtim./ | We crossed the bridge. |
| به همه سلام کرد. | /be hame salâm kard./ | He / She said hello to everyone. |
In spoken Persian
With pronouns, spoken Persian joins the preposition and a short pronoun: بهش گفتم (behesh goftam), "I told him / her"; ازش پرسیدم (azash porsidam), "I asked him / her"; باهاش حرف زدم (bâhâsh harf zadam), "I talked with him / her." With places, به is usually dropped after verbs of motion: رفتم خونه (raftam khune), "I went home"; اومد مدرسه (umad madrese), "He came to school."
Common mistakes
- Using را where Persian wants a preposition: "I asked him" is از او پرسیدم, not او را پرسیدم.
- Using به with "ask": the person asked takes از; the person told takes به.
- Translating "talk to" word for word: Persian talks "with": با او صحبت کردم.
- Forgetting the preposition with "call" and "help": به علی زنگ زدم, به علی کمک کردم.
Now fill in the prepositions in the exercise above and check the answer page.
Practice
-
Which preposition goes with تشکر کردن (to thank)?
Show answer
az از
-
Translate: "I called Sara."
Show answer
be sârâ zang zadam. به سارا زنگ زدم.
-
Complete: من …… پدرم صحبت کردم.
Show answer
bâ: "I talked with my father." با
-
What does ازش پرسیدم mean?
Show answer
I asked him / her.
- Lesson 38: Answers to the exercise
- Previous: Grammar Lesson 37
- Next: Lesson 39, Prepositions with Question Words
See all lessons in the Persian grammar series.
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