A short beginner Persian reading about a car repair, sentence by sentence with pronunciation and English, key words and a quiz.
Reading practice: Ali's car breaks down
Study notes for this lesson. This original reading text uses the words and grammar of Lesson 17. It is written in standard written Persian. Read each sentence aloud, check the pronunciation, then cover the English column and try to understand the Persian alone.
Before you read, look at the title and guess: what might go wrong with a car, and who can fix it? If you have studied the New Words page, you already know almost every word in the text. New words are explained in the key word list below.
Reading text
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| علی یک ماشین کوچک دارد. | /ali yek mâshin-e kuchak dârad./ | Ali has a small car. |
| دیروز ماشین علی خراب شد. | /diruz mâshin-e ali kharâb shod./ | Yesterday Ali's car broke down. |
| ترمز ماشین صدای بدی می‌داد. | /tormoz-e mâshin sedâ-ye badi midâd./ | The car's brakes were making a bad noise. |
| علی ماشین را به تعمیرگاه آقای کریمی برد. | /ali mâshin râ be ta'mirgâh-e âghâ-ye karimi bord./ | Ali took the car to Mr. Karimi's repair shop. |
| آقای کریمی یک تعمیرکار خوب و باتجربه است. | /âghâ-ye karimi yek ta'mirkâr-e khub va bâtajrobe ast./ | Mr. Karimi is a good, experienced mechanic. |
| او به ترمز و موتور نگاه کرد. | /u be tormoz va motor negâh kard./ | He looked at the brakes and the engine. |
| آقای کریمی گفت: «ترمز مشکل دارد، اما موتور سالم است.» | /âghâ-ye karimi goft: "tormoz moshkel dârad, ammâ motor sâlem ast."/ | Mr. Karimi said, "The brakes have a problem, but the engine is fine." |
| علی گفت: «لطفاً روغن را هم عوض کنید.» | /ali goft: "lotfan roghan râ ham avaz konid."/ | Ali said, "Please change the oil too." |
| تعمیر ماشین دو میلیون تومان هزینه داشت. | /ta'mir-e mâshin do milyun tomân hazine dâsht./ | The repair cost two million tomans. |
| آقای کریمی گفت: «فردا ساعت ده بیایید.» | /âghâ-ye karimi goft: "fardâ sâ'at-e dah biyâyid."/ | Mr. Karimi said, "Come tomorrow at ten." |
| روز بعد، ماشین آماده بود و علی خوشحال به خانه رفت. | /ruz-e ba'd, mâshin âmâde bud va ali khoshhâl be khâne raft./ | The next day the car was ready, and Ali went home happy. |
Key words
- خراب شدن (kharâb shodan): to break down
- تعمیرگاه (ta'mirgâh): repair shop
- تعمیرکار (ta'mirkâr): mechanic
- ترمز (tormoz): brakes
- موتور (motor): engine
- باتجربه (bâtajrobe): experienced
- سالم (sâlem): healthy; here, in good condition
- هزینه داشتن (hazine dâshtan): to cost
- آماده (âmâde): ready
Grammar to notice
Sentences 8 and 10 contain imperatives from the grammar page: عوض کنید (avaz konid, "change") and بیایید (biyâyid, "come"). Both are plural forms, used to be polite. Sentence 3 uses می‌داد (midâd), the past progressive, "was making."
After you read
- Find the three people or places in the text: Ali, Mr. Karimi and the repair shop. Underline every word that belongs to the car: ماشین, ترمز, موتور, روغن.
- Retell the story in three Persian sentences of your own, for example: ماشین علی خراب شد. آقای کریمی ترمز را درست کرد. ماشین فردا آماده شد.
- Change sentence 1 to talk about yourself: "I have a small car" is من یک ماشین کوچک دارم. (man yek mâshin-e kuchak dâram.)
- Read the text again and time yourself. Try to read it aloud in under one minute without looking at the pronunciation column.
Practice
-
What was wrong with Ali's car? ترمز ماشین چه مشکلی داشت؟
Show answer
The brakes were making a bad noise. ترمز صدای بدی می‌داد.
-
Who is Mr. Karimi? آقای کریمی کیست؟
Show answer
A good, experienced mechanic. یک تعمیرکار خوب و باتجربه.
-
Was there a problem with the engine? موتور مشکل داشت؟
Show answer
No, the engine was fine. نه، موتور سالم بود.
-
How much did the repair cost? تعمیر چقدر هزینه داشت؟
Show answer
Two million tomans. دو میلیون تومان.
-
How did Ali feel at the end? علی در آخر چه حالی داشت؟
Show answer
Happy. خوشحال بود.
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