Study notes for Lesson 12: an original Persian dialogue about what you did yesterday, useful phrases with time words, a role-play and a quiz.
Talking about yesterday
These study notes accompany the Lesson 12 speaking video. The dialogue below is new practice material, not a transcript of the video. Sara and Ali meet at work on Saturday morning, the first day of the Iranian working week, and talk about Friday. Listen for the time words from the New Words page and the simple past from the grammar page.
Dialogue
| Speaker | Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sara | سلام علی، صبح بخیر. | /salâm ali, sobh bekheyr./ | Hi Ali, good morning. |
| Ali | سلام سارا. دیروز کجا بودی؟ | /salâm sârâ. diruz kojâ budi?/ | Hi Sara. Where were you yesterday? |
| Sara | با خانواده‌ام رفتم شمال. | /bâ khânevâde-am raftam shomâl./ | I went up north with my family. |
| Ali | کی برگشتی؟ | /key bargashti?/ | When did you get back? |
| Sara | دیشب ساعت یازده. خیلی دیر رسیدیم. | /dishab sâ'at-e yâzdah. kheyli dir residim./ | Last night at eleven. We got home very late. |
| Ali | پس امروز صبح زود بیدار نشدی؟ | /pas emruz sobh zud bidâr nashodi?/ | So you didn't get up early this morning? |
| Sara | نه، ساعت هشت بیدار شدم. تو دیروز چی کار کردی؟ | /na, sâ'at-e hasht bidâr shodam. to diruz chi kâr kardi?/ | No, I got up at eight. What did you do yesterday? |
| Ali | صبح کار کردم، عصر با دوستم فوتبال دیدیم. | /sobh kâr kardam, asr bâ dustam futbâl didim./ | I worked in the morning, and in the evening my friend and I watched football. |
| Sara | کدوم بازی؟ | /kodum bâzi?/ | Which game? |
| Ali | بازی تیم ملی. ساعت پنج شروع شد. | /bâzi-ye tim-e melli. sâ'at-e panj shoru' shod./ | The national team's game. It started at five. |
| Sara | من ندیدم. کی برد؟ | /man nadidam. ki bord?/ | I didn't see it. Who won? |
| Ali | ایران برد. | /irân bord./ | Iran won. |
Useful phrases
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| دیروز کجا بودی؟ | /diruz kojâ budi?/ | Where were you yesterday? |
| کی برگشتی؟ | /key bargashti?/ | When did you get back? |
| چی کار کردی؟ | /chi kâr kardi?/ | What did you do? |
| دیر رسیدیم. | /dir residim./ | We arrived late. |
| ساعت هشت بیدار شدم. | /sâ'at-e hasht bidâr shodam./ | I got up at eight. |
| کی برد؟ | /ki bord?/ | Who won? |
Spoken and written forms
- کی has two pronunciations: key means "when" and ki means "who". Compare کی برگشتی؟ (key bargashti?) and کی برد؟ (ki bord?).
- چی کار (chi kâr) is the spoken form of چه کار (che kâr), "what (work)".
- کدوم (kodum) is the spoken form of کدام (kodâm), "which".
- In speech, places often come after the verb: رفتم شمال (raftam shomâl). In writing you would say به شمال رفتم (be shomâl raftam).
- شمال (shomâl, north) usually means the provinces along the Caspian Sea, a popular weekend trip from Tehran.
Role-play
Work with a partner. Partner A asks what B did yesterday, last night and last weekend, using کجا بودی؟, چی کار کردی؟ and کی برگشتی؟. Partner B answers with at least three simple past verbs and two time words such as صبح, عصر or دیشب. Then swap roles and add one negative sentence each, for example دیشب تلویزیون ندیدم (dishab televiziyon nadidam), "I didn't watch TV last night".
More from Lesson 12
- Lesson 12: New Words (time words)
- Lesson 12: Grammar (simple past)
- Lesson 12: Reading (Ali's day off)
Practice
-
Where did Sara go yesterday?
Show answer
Up north (to the Caspian region) with her family. با خانواده‌اش رفت شمال.
-
What time did Sara get back?
Show answer
At eleven last night. دیشب ساعت یازده
-
How do you pronounce کی when it means "when"?
Show answer
key
-
Say in Persian: "What did you do yesterday?"
Show answer
diruz chi kâr kardi? دیروز چی کار کردی؟
-
What is the written form of کدوم?
Show answer
kodâm کدام
This page is part of the free course Learn to Speak Persian Fast. Next: Lesson 12: Reading.
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