Leaving Out Repeated Words

Level 6

The verb you leave out must fit the second clause in tense. The reader adds the person from the new subject.

How It Works

Good prose does not repeat what the reader already knows. Two clauses built the same way share one verb.

FullShort
برادرم چای سبز خواست و خواهرم شیرچای خواستبرادرم چای سبز خواست و خواهرم شیرچای
کریم از کندز آمده است و یوسف از تخار آمده استکریم از کندز آمده است و یوسف از تخار

Three rules keep the short form clear.

  • The verb in the first clause must also fit the second in tense. A new subject brings its own person: من چای خواستم و او شیرچای.
  • The new words stay in place, each with its own preposition or را.
  • A comma separates the clauses, and و joins the last pair.

The same idea works for a shared subject. احمد به بازار رفت و کتاب خرید says the subject once. When the second clause needs a different tense, say its verb: من دیروز رفتم و او فردا می‌رود.

Where to meet it: news lists of who went where, school reports and stories. The short form keeps a sentence from sounding heavy. Speech does the same, with a pause where the verb would be.

Examples (5)

  1. احمد به هرات رفت، فرید به قندهار و مینا به مزار شریف.

    Ahmad went to Herat, Farid to Kandahar and Mina to Mazar-e Sharif.

    The verb رفت is said once, and two commas replace it.

  2. برادرم چای سبز خواست و خواهرم شیرچای.

    My brother asked for green tea and my sister for milk tea.

    The second clause leaves out خواست.

  3. فرزانه کتاب‌های تاریخی را می‌خواند و لیلا کتاب‌های هنری را.

    Farzana reads history books and Laila reads art books.

    The second clause keeps its own را and leaves out می‌خواند.

  4. من پارسال به بامیان رفتم و امسال به بدخشان.

    Last year I went to Bamyan, and this year to Badakhshan.

    The second clause keeps its own preposition به and leaves out رفتم.

  5. کریم از کندز آمده است و یوسف از تخار.

    Karim has come from Kunduz and Yusuf from Takhar.

    The second clause leaves out both the participle and است.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out a verb whose tense is different.

    من دیروز رفتم و او فردا.
    من دیروز رفتم و او فردا می‌رود.

    The dropped verb would be رفت, which cannot mean tomorrow. Say the new verb.

How It Connects

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

Leaving Out Repeated WordsLevel 6

Learn This First

Parallel sentences drop repeated words, like a pronoun.