Leaving Out a Clear Pronoun

Level 1

The ending ـم, ـی, ـیم, ـید or ـند names the person, so Dari does not need the pronoun.

How It Works

With the pronounWithout itMeaning
من خوب استم.خوب استم.I am well.
تو کجا استی؟کجا استی؟Where are you?
ما شاگرد استیم.شاگرد استیم.We are students.

English must say I, you and we. In Dari the ending already says it, so the short sentence is the normal one.

The ending must stay right. خوب استی؟ asks you. خوب است؟ asks about him or her.

Keep the pronoun to stress a person: من خسته استم، اما تو نیستی.

Name a new person the first time: احمد معلم است. After that, معلم است is enough.

Examples (5)

  1. خوب استم.

    I am well.

    The ending ـم shows I, so من is left out.

  2. کجا استی؟

    Where are you?

    The ending ـی shows you, so تو is left out.

  3. شاگرد استیم.

    We are students.

    The ending ـیم shows we, so ما is left out.

  4. در خانه استند.

    They are at home.

    The ending ـند shows they, so آن‌ها is left out.

  5. من خسته استم، اما تو نیستی.

    I am tired, but you are not.

    Both pronouns stay to stress the two people.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping a pronoun that does not match the ending.

    تو کجا استم؟
    کجا استی؟

    The ending ـم goes only with من. For تو, the ending is ـی, and the pronoun can be left out.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Leaving Out a Clear PronounLevel 1

Learn This First

The ending of be already shows who is speaking, so you must know those forms first.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.