Practice the Persian present indicative with restaurant verbs: want, eat, bring, order. Stems, spoken forms, negatives and a quiz.
Present indicative, part 2: verbs for ordering food
Study notes for this lesson. Lesson 8 introduced the present indicative: می (mi-) plus the present stem plus a personal ending. In a restaurant you use a handful of verbs whose present stems look very different from their infinitives. This page shows those stems, the spoken forms you will hear from waiters and customers, and how negatives and compound verbs work.
Restaurant verbs and their present stems
| Infinitive and stem | Pronunciation | Meaning and “I” form |
|---|---|---|
| خواستن ← خواه | /khâstan → khâh/ | to want → mikhâham (spoken: mikhâm) |
| خوردن ← خور | /khordan → khor/ | to eat, drink → mikhoram |
| آوردن ← آور | /âvardan → âvar/ | to bring → miâvaram (spoken: miyâram) |
| دادن ← ده | /dâdan → dah/ | to give → midaham (spoken: midam) |
| گرفتن ← گیر | /gereftan → gir/ | to take, get → migiram |
| نوشیدن ← نوش | /nushidan → nush/ | to drink (formal) → minusham |
| سفارش دادن ← سفارش ده | /sefâresh dâdan → sefâresh dah/ | to order → sefâresh midaham (spoken: sefâresh midam) |
Full example: خواستن (khâstan), to want
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| من می‌خواهم | /man mikhâham (spoken: mikhâm)/ | I want |
| تو می‌خواهی | /to mikhâhi (spoken: mikhây)/ | you want |
| او می‌خواهد | /u mikhâhad (spoken: mikhâd)/ | he / she wants |
| ما می‌خواهیم | /mâ mikhâhim (spoken: mikhâym)/ | we want |
| شما می‌خواهید | /shomâ mikhâhid (spoken: mikhâyn)/ | you want (plural or polite) |
| آن‌ها می‌خواهند | /ânhâ mikhâhand (spoken: mikhân)/ | they want |
Notice that the spoken forms drop syllables in a regular way: the h of خواه disappears (می‌خوام), the v of آور becomes y (میارم), and ده shortens to d (می‌دم). Learn to recognize both forms. You can use the written ones when you speak and be understood, but you will hear the short ones from everyone.
Compound verbs
Many Persian verbs are made of a noun plus a simple verb, such as سفارش دادن (sefâresh dâdan), "to order". Only the verb part changes: سفارش می‌دهم (sefâresh midaham), "I order"; سفارش می‌دهیم (sefâresh midahim), "we order". The می and the negative نمی attach to the verb part, never to the noun: سفارش نمی‌دهم (sefâresh nemidaham), "I'm not ordering".
Negative
Use نمی (nemi-) in place of می: گوشت نمی‌خورم (gusht nemikhoram), "I don't eat meat"; نوشابه نمی‌خواهم (nushâbe nemikhâham), "I don't want a soft drink". In speech: نمی‌خوام (nemikhâm).
Examples
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| چه می‌خواهید؟ / چی می‌خواین؟ | /che mikhâhid? / chi mikhâyn?/ | What would you like? (written / spoken) |
| من چلوکباب می‌خواهم. | /man chelo kabâb mikhâham./ | I'd like chelo kebab. |
| شیرین گوشت نمی‌خورد. | /shirin gusht nemikhorad./ | Shirin doesn't eat meat. |
| گارسون منو را می‌آورد. | /gârson meno râ miâvarad./ | The waiter brings the menu. |
| ما دو تا چای می‌خوریم. | /mâ do tâ chây mikhorim./ | We'll have two teas. |
| امیر سفارش می‌دهد. | /amir sefâresh midahad./ | Amir places the order. |
| الان براتون میارم. | /alân barâtun miyâram./ | I'll bring it for you right away. (spoken) |
Common mistakes
- Building the stem from the infinitive: "I want" is می‌خواهم (mikhâham), not می‌خواستم, which means "I wanted" or "I was going to".
- Putting می on the noun of a compound verb: say سفارش می‌دهم, not می‌سفارش دهم.
- Pronouncing written می‌خواهم with a clear h in casual talk. In conversation it is almost always می‌خوام (mikhâm); the h form sounds bookish.
- Using نوشیدن in everyday speech. It is correct but formal; خوردن is what most people say for tea or water.
Other parts of Lesson 9
Practice
-
What is the present stem of âvardan (to bring)? آوردن
Show answer
âvar: miâvaram (spoken: miyâram) آور
-
Say "We want rice" in written Persian.
Show answer
mâ berenj mikhâhim. ما برنج می‌خواهیم.
-
Make negative: sefâresh midaham. سفارش می‌دهم.
Show answer
sefâresh nemidaham. سفارش نمی‌دهم.
-
Give the spoken form of mikhâhad. می‌خواهد
Show answer
mikhâd می‌خواد
-
Translate: "Shirin doesn't eat meat."
Show answer
shirin gusht nemikhorad. شیرین گوشت نمی‌خورد.
Previous lesson: Lesson 8: Reading. Next lesson: Lesson 10: New Words.
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