است / ـه: Spoken Copula

Written and Everyday Is

Level 2

Written خوب است commonly becomes everyday خوبه. The attached -e completes a statement; it is not the ezafe connector inside a noun phrase.

How It Works

Recognize a complete statement. خوبه means “It is good.” The adjective خوب supplies the quality, and the attached copula supplies “is.” In سارا معلمه, the noun معلم is the predicate “teacher,” followed by the spoken copula.

Compare a noun phrase. کتابِ خوب means “a good book”; ezafe links the noun to its adjective. کتاب خوبه means “The book is good”; the final -e is a copula. An unwritten vowel and an attached copula are different grammatical clues.

After some words a connecting sound or a contraction changes the visible form. اینجاست, “is here,” is also common and is not formed by simply adding ه. Learn the whole form you encounter.

To negate the quality, use نیست: خوب نیست, “It is not good.” Do not treat the spoken copula as an independent word to negate in isolation.

Keep everyday copula forms in labeled dialogue or casual messages, and retain written-standard است where the setting calls for it.

Examples (4)

  1. خوب است.

    It is good.

    Written-standard third-singular copula.

  2. خوبه.

    It is good.

    Common everyday attached copula.

  3. سارا معلمه.

    Sara is a teacher.

    The spoken copula follows a predicate noun.

  4. کتاب خوبه.

    The book is good.

    This is a clause, unlike the noun phrase کتابِ خوب.

How It Connects

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

است / ـه: Spoken CopulaLevel 2Written and Everyday Is

Learn This First

Use the sentence structure to distinguish the attached spoken copula -e from ezafe and from a lexical verb ending.