- Does Persian have indefinite articles?
- Where is the place of an indefinite article in a sentence?
- Are indefinite nouns marked in plural?
Persian's indefinite article is ی (-i). It is added to the end of a noun phrase. If the preceding word ends in the vowel sounds â, o or u, the epenthetic consonant ی (-y-) is added between the word and the indefinite article.
| ماشینی mâshin-i a car |
| ماشین سفیدی mâshin-e sefid-i a white car |
| مشکلی هست moshkel-i hast There is a problem |
The indefinite article should be written separately because it has a distinct grammatical role and is independent from its preceding word. English indefinite article a changes to an just as Persian indefinite article i changes to yi after certain vowels. However, in Persian's native alphabet, the indefinite article is written attached to the last element of the noun phrase. When Persian is written in Latin alphabet, the indefinite article, genitive marker, possessive adjectives, etc. are separated from their host word with a hyphen (-) for educational purposes.
Indefinite plural nouns
In Persian, -i can also mark plural nouns as indefinite. English does not have an exact equivalent for Persian's indefinite plural. It is translated with some, any or simply, a bare plural form.
| ماشینهایی mâshinhâ-yi some cars |
| ماشینهای سفیدی mâshinhâ-ye sefid-i some white cars |
In the above examples, some is used to indicate indefinite plurals. In Persian, indefiniteness is marked with the article i, both in singular and plural forms.
| در کمدم کتابی دارم dar komod-am ketâb-i dâram I have a book in my locker |
| در کمدم کتابهایی دارم dar komod-am ketâbhâ-yi dâram I have books in my locker |
In the above examples, a bare plural form i.e. books indicates an indefinite plural.
More examples
| چیزی chiz-i something |
chizhâ-yi چیزهایی some things |
| کسی kas-i somebody |
کمی Kam-i a little |
| چیزی در موردش نمی‌دانم Chiz-i dar mowred-ash nemidânam I do not know anything about it |
| کمی فارسی بلدم Kam-i Fârsi balad-am I know a little Persian |
| خانه‌ی بزرگی khâne-ye bozorg-i a big house |
| خانه‌ی بزرگتری khâne-ye bozorgtar-i a bigger house |
| روز خوبی داشته باشید! Ruz-e khub-i dâshte bâshid! Have a nice day! |
| چه روز زیبایی! Che ruz-e zibâ-yi! What a beautiful day! |
| در صورت‌حساب اشتباهی هست Dar surat-hesâb eshtebâh-i hast There is a mistake in the bill |
| پسر خوبی باش Pesar-e khub-i bâsh Be a good boy! |
| پسر بدی نیست Pesar-e bad-i nist He is not a bad boy |
Special Structure
When a noun phrase comprises of a noun and one or more adjectives, the indefinite article can be directly added to the noun taking the place of genitive marker (e).
| اتاق بزرگی otâgh-e bozorg-i a big room |
| اتاقی بزرگ otâgh-i bozorg a big room |
This structure is mainly used when the adjective ends in the vowel -i:
| مرد ایرانی‌ای mard-e Irâni-i an Iranian man |
| مردی ایرانی mard-i Irâni an Iranian man |