- How are possessive adjectives formed?
- Where is the place of possessive adjectives in a sentence?
- What is the emphatic form of expressing possession?
Possession is normally expressed by placing bound personal pronouns at the end of noun phrases.
| م -am my | مان -emân our; my (formal) |
| ت -at your (informal) | تان -etân your |
| ش -ash his, her, its | شان -eshân their; his, her (formal) |
If the preceding word ends in a long vowel, a -y- appears between the word and the possessive adjectives.
Examples
| پدرم pedar-am My father |
| مادرم دیشب زنگ زد mâdar-am dishab zang zad My mother phoned last night |
| آن پسر برادرش است Ân pesar barâdar-ash ast That boy is his brother |
| بلیطم کجاست؟ belit-am kojâ'st? Where is my ticket? |
| کفشهایت را بپوش Kafshhâ-yat râ bepush Put your shoes on! |
| دستهایت را بشور Dasthâ-yat râ beshur Wash your hands |
| دستش شکست Dast-ash shekast He broke his arm |
| به ساعتش نگاه کرد Be sâat-ash negâh kard She looked at her watch |
In the above examples, the noun phrase consists of a bare noun. The possessive adjective comes after the last element of the noun phrase which is the noun itself, in this case.
| دوست خوبم dust-e khub-am My good friend |
| سگ کوچکش را دوست دارد Sag-e kuchak-ash râ dust dârad She loves her little dog |
| کتاب دوستم Ketâb-e dust-am My friend's book |
| کلید اتاقم را گم کرده‌ام Kelid-e otâgh-am râ gom kardeam I have lost my room key |
In the above examples, the noun phrase consists of a noun and an adjective (good friend, little dog) or a complement (friend's book, room key). The possessive adjective comes after the last element of the noun phrase. In English, it comes before the first element.
Emphatic form
Possession can also be expressed using genitive case and free personal pronouns. This structure is mainly used for emphasis:
| -e man my | -e mâ our |
| -e to your (informal) | -e shomâ your |
| -e u his, her, its | -e ishân their; his, her (formal) |
| -e ân his, her, its | -e ânhâ their |
Examples
| به نظرم be nazar-am In my opinion |
| به نظر من be nazar-e man In my opinion (emphatic) |
| جای من است Jâ-ye man ast That's my seat |
| این خانه‌ی ماست In khâne-ye mâ'st This is our house |
| تقصیر تو نیست Taghsir-e to nist It's not your fault |
| انگلیسی او بهتر از من است Engelisi-ye u behtar az man ast His English is better than mine |
| دیگر دوست من نیستی Digar dust-e man nisti You are not my friend anymore |