Present Equative

Present Equative Form

Here are the present equative endings that you have to use depending on the subject. We use this present equative form when:

• A = B right now/currently
• A = B definately or categorically

Not that this is only for making statements about what is currently or 100% true. If something tends to be true, or is habitually true, then you will need to use the habitual equative.

Note: in colloquial speech with some dialects, people will use ده - da for both masculine and feminine subjects.

Flip through the following examples and notice how the equative changes depending on the subject.

1st pers. sing.

زه خوشحاله یم

zu khosháala yum

I am happy

Examples

Notice how the equative agrees with the subject, but also how the complement can inflect (change) depending on the gender and number. We'll understand more about how this works when we look at inflection.

Note: To understand why/how these words are changing, you will need to read up on inflection.

Notes on word order

When you're asking a question, all you have to do is change the intonation. You don't have to change the word order like you do in English.

99.9% of the time the equative will go at the end of the sentence. But in poetry the order often gets flipped around. You can also flip the order around to make an emphatic point.