Chapter 14 of 17 · Explore the Farsi path
Verbs and stories · Chapter 14 of 17
Recognise was, went, saw and said
These action words tell you what happens in a story. Learn to spot them near the end of a sentence, then use the familiar words around them to follow along.
≈ 3 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- Look near the end of the sentence for the verb. In a story, it’s often in the past tense.
- بود
bud “was”, رفت raft “went”, دید did “saw” and گفت goft “said” do much of the work. - میخواست
mikhâst “wanted” tells you what someone already wanted while the story’s events happened. - و
va / o “and” is written as one letter and is often pronounced o in connected speech. - یکی بود، یکی نبود
yeki bud, yeki nabud is a traditional story opening.
Action words that tell you what happened
A few words do a lot of work in a story. Start with these seven; you’ll meet them again in the reading exercises.
| Farsi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| بود | was |
| رفت | went |
| آمد | came |
| دید | saw |
| گفت | said |
| خواست | wanted |
| نوشید | drank |
نوشید
Core words you already know
| Farsi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| پرنده | bird |
| خانه | house |
| آب | water |
| جنگل | forest |
| سگ | dog |
| روباه | fox |
| به | to |
| در | in; at |
Use these as anchors when a story line feels crowded. You do not need every word before you can follow who did what.
What changes when you add mi-?
You’ve seen mi- in present forms. It can appear with a past form too. Compare the two examples to see why you need the whole verb to work out the time.
The bird went to the house.
پرنده به خانه رفت.
parande be khâne raft.
به
The dog wanted water.
سگ آب میخواست.
sag âb mikhâst.
Which action word comes last?
- پرنده به خانه رفت.
Show answer +Hide answer −
رفتraft “went”. The whole line is “The bird went to the house.” - روباه پرنده را دید.
Show answer +Hide answer −
دیدdid “saw” is the final action, and را râ follows the bird receiving that action. The whole line is “The fox saw the bird.” - گربه گفت: «سلام.»
Show answer +Hide answer −
گفتgoft “said”. The whole line is “The cat said, ‘Hello.’”