Publisher Description

This fully revised second edition of Basic Persian: A Grammar and Workbook comprises an accessible reference grammar and related exercises in a single volume.This book presents twenty grammar units, covering the core material which students would expect to encounter in their first year of learning Persian. Grammar points are followed by multiple examples and exercises which allow students to reinforce and consolidate their learning.Key features include:• a clear, accessible format• many useful language examples• jargon-free explanations of grammar• abundant exercises with full answer key• a glossary of Persian-English terms• a subject indexRigorous yet engaging, Basic Persian is suitable for both class use and independent study, making it an ideal grammar reference and practice resource for both beginners and students with some knowledge of the language.

Author Biography

Saeed Yousef is Senior Lecturer of Persian at the University of Chicago, USA. He is also a poet and has published books of literary criticism and translations. Hayedeh Torabi was a Lecturer of Persian at the University of Chicago, USA. She is a published writer, essayist and translator.

Table of Contents

ContentsIntroductionUnit 1 The AlphabetUnit 2 Nouns and adjectives Singular and plural The connector ezfeUnit 3 Numbers Demonstrative adjectives Demonstrative pronounsUnit 4 Pronouns Present tense: to be and to haveUnit 5 Simple present tense: other verbs Present progressive with dshtanUnit 6 Definite and indefinite (1)Attributive -i suffixUnit 7 Transitive and intransitive Direct and indirect objects Definite and indefinite (2): rCompound verbsUnit 8 Comparison of adjectives Adjectives as nounsQuestion words Telling the timeSome distributives / quantifiers 'Double negative'Unit 9 ImperativeUnit 10 Infinitive - its usesPast and present stems Unit 11 Future tenseUnit 12 Simple past tensePast progressive tenseUnit 13 Past participlePerfect tensesUnit 14 Subjunctive(Present or simple subjunctive)Unit 15 Perfect (or past) subjunctive Unit 16 Conditionals and wishes.Unit 17 From prepositions to conjunctionsUnit 18 Tense in complex sentences: Time clausesUnit 19 Relative clausesUnit 20 PassiveKey to exercises Persian-English glossaryIndex

Review

'As with English, there's a lot more to Persian than meets the eye, or ear. It needs an all-round practitioner to teach the subtleties of this apparently easy but eloquently idiomatic and multidimensional tongue. Saeed Yousef fits the bill: an experienced teacher, a connoisseur of his own and several other languages, and a poet. His book is an essential vade mecum for all who have decided to make Persian their own.'John Perry, Professor of Persian (Emeritus), The University of Chicago 'When I started, I knew about five words of Persian and had a very shaky grasp of Arabic script, which still looked like squiggles if I wasn't really concentrating. I opened the book and began to read. And wow, after a while the squiggles turned into letters which I could see even when I wasn't concentrating, and then lines of letters turned into words, and then lines of words turned into sentences.'Manny Rayner (April 2019), Goodreads,

Review Quote

As with English, there's a lot more to Persian than meets the eye, or ear. It needs an all-round practitioner to teach the subtleties of this apparently easy but eloquently idiomatic and multidimensional tongue. Saeed Yousef fits the bill: an experienced teacher, a connoisseur of his own and several other languages, and a poet. His book is an essential vade mecum for all who have decided to make Persian their own. John Perry, Professor of Persian (Emeritus), The University of Chicago 'When I started, I knew about five words of Persian and had a very shaky grasp of Arabic script, which still looked like squiggles if I wasn't really concentrating. I opened the book and began to read. And wow, after a while the squiggles turned into letters which I could see even when I wasn't concentrating, and then lines of letters turned into words, and then lines of words turned into sentences.' Manny Rayner (April 2019), Goodreads,

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