این و آن
This and That
این کتاب is this book. این کتابها is these books: این stays the same before the noun.
How It Works
Before a noun. این کتاب and آن کتاب distinguish “this book” from “that book.” No ezafe joins the demonstrative to the following noun. For multiple books, say این کتابها and آن کتابها; the demonstrative itself stays این or آن.
Standing alone. این خوب است. means “This is good.” To refer to several items, اینها خوباند. means “These are good.” Here اینها takes the plural marker because no following noun is doing that job.
Everyday Iranian forms. اون commonly corresponds to آن, and اونا to آنها. Actual distance can be physical or conversational: the referent may be an idea mentioned earlier.
Examples (4)
- این کتاب
this book
No ezafe is needed after این.
- آن کتابها
those books
آن remains unchanged before the plural noun.
- اینها خوباند.
These are good.
The standalone demonstrative is plural.
- اون کتاب
that book
A common everyday counterpart of آن کتاب.
Related Patterns
Practice این و آن in Bubblegum
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