Persian verbs


Persian verbs or are very regular compared with those of most European languages. From the two stems given in dictionaries it is possible to derive all the other forms of almost any verb. The main irregularity is that given one stem it is not usually possible to predict the other. Another irregularity is that the verb 'to be' has both suffixed forms and an emphatic stem form.
Persian verbs are inflected for three singular and three plural persons. The 2nd and 3rd person plural are often used when referring to singular persons for politeness.
There are fewer verb forms in Persian than in English; there are about ten verb forms in all. The greatest variety is shown in verb forms referring to past events. A series of past constructions is matched by a corresponding series of perfect constructions. These perfect constructions are used sometimes much as the English perfect construction, but often in an inferential or reportative sense, similar to the perfect construction in Turkish.
The simple present has a range of meanings. In colloquial Persian this construction is also used with future meaning, although there also exists a separate future construction used in formal styles. In colloquial Persian there are also three progressive constructions.
There are two subjunctive mood forms, present and perfect. Subjunctive verbs are often used where English uses an infinitive, e.g. 'I want to go' is expressed in Persian as 'I want I may go'.
A perfect participle is made by adding -e to the second stem. This participle is active in intransitive verbs, e.g. ' 'gone', but passive in transitive verbs, e.g. ' 'written '. As well as being used to make the perfect constructions, this perfect participle can be used to make the passive of transitive verbs, by adding different parts of the verb ' 'to become'.
Compound verbs, such as ' 'to open' and ' 'to learn', are very frequently used in modern Persian.
In colloquial Persian, commonly used verbs tend to be pronounced in an abbreviated form, for example ' 'he is' is pronounced e, ' 'he goes' is pronounced mire, and ' 'I say' is pronounced migam.
In Persian the verb usually comes at the end of the clause, although there are sometimes exceptions.

Infinitives and stems

Infinitives end in تن or دن. The principal parts of a verb are the infinitive stem and present stem. The infinitive stem is made simply by removing the ن from the infinitive:
  • - کرد
  • - داشت
  • - گرفت
  • - دید
  • - نوشت
  • - رفت
  • - شد
The present stem tends to vary more, and in many common verbs bears little resemblance to the infinitive stem:
  • کردن - کن
  • داشتن - دار
  • گرفتن - گیر
  • دیدن - بین
  • نوشتن - نويس
  • رفتن - رو
  • شدن - شو
The present indicative, present subjunctive, and present participle are made from the present stem, while the other verb forms are made from the infinitive stem. Both stems can be used to make verbal nouns such as
' 'dialogue', رفت وآمد ' 'going and coming', ' 'calligrapher'.
The infinitive itself differs in usage from the English infinitive; for example, the subjunctive not the infinitive is used in sentences such as 'I want to go' or 'I am able to go'. The Persian infinitive is more like a verbal noun or gerund, used in phrases such as نوشتن اين کتاب ' 'the writing of this book' or اختراع نوشتن 'the invention of writing'.
Note that in the transliteration used in this article, the letter 'x' represents a velar fricative sound, similar to the Peninsular Spanish 'j' as in 'jota', and 'š' and 'č' represent the sounds of English 'sh' and 'ch'.

Participles

Persian verbs have two participles - perfect and present.
The perfect participle is formed by adding ه -e to the infinitive stem. It is passive in transitive verbs but active in intransitive verbs.
  • کردن - کرده 'done' or 'made'
  • گرفتن - گرفته 'taken'
  • دیدن - دیده 'seen'
  • نوشتن - نوشته 'written'
As well as being used to make the perfect constructions, the perfect participle can be used as an adjective or noun:
  • ماهِ گذشته ' 'the past month', i.e. 'last month'
  • نوشته‌هاى او ' 'his writings'
The present participle, which is less common, is formed by adding نده -ande to the present stem. Usually this is used as an agent noun, though sometimes it is a verbal adjective. A true participle ending in -ān also exists for some verbs.

Personal endings

Personal forms of verbs are formed mostly with simple suffixes. The personal suffixes for the present and future constructions and the two subjunctive constructions are:
The 2nd and 3rd persons plural may refer to singular persons for added respect. One major exception is God, for whom plural forms are never used.
The past, imperfect, and pluperfect constructions have very similar endings, except that there is no ending in the 3rd person singular:
  • ـم : first person singular
  • ـی : second person singular
  • - : third person singular
  • ـیم : first person plural
  • ـید, colloquially pronounced -in
  • ـند : third person plural, colloquially pronounced -an
These same endings are used for the verbs هست ' 'he is' and نيست ' 'he isn't', despite them being present constructions.
There is no ending in the 3rd person singular, but often in informal speech, the suffix -eš is added to supply the gap, e.g. ' 'he said'.
The perfect forms have the following personal endings:
  • ـه‌ام : first person singular
  • ـه‌ای : second person singular informal
  • ـه : third person singular
  • ـه‌ايم : first person plural
  • ـه‌ايد : second person plural
  • ـه‌اند : third person plural
Examples of various constructions are given below using the verb کردن ' 'to do'. Note that personal pronouns are frequently dropped and are provided here for clarity.

Present constructions

Simple present

The simple present is formed by prefixing می mi- to the present stem with personal endings :
  • من می‌کنم ' 'I do'
  • تو می‌کنی ' 'you do' - singular
  • او می‌کند ' 'he/she/it does'
  • ما می‌کنیم ' 'we do'
  • شما می‌کنید ' 'you do' - plural or formal
  • ایشان می‌کنند ' 'they do'
The negative is made with the prefix نه ne-, which is stressed: من نمی‌کنم ' 'I don't do'.
In classical Persian the simple present is often found without the prefix mi-, but in modern Persian mi- is always added except in the verb ' 'to have', where it is usually omitted.
The simple present has various present meanings ; it can also have a future meaning. Colloquially the simple present can also be used as a historical present when narrating events of the past, especially when relating events which occurred suddenly or unexpectedly.
Another meaning is the equivalent of an English perfect continuous in sentences such as:
  • 'I have been waiting for you for an hour'

Simple present of 'to be'

The simple present of the verb بودن ' 'to be' is irregular in that it has no present stem. Instead it consists of enclitic words which cannot be used without a preceding noun or adjective. They are as follows:
  • ام ' 'I am'
  • اى ' 'you are'
  • است ' 'he, she, it is'
  • ايم ' 'we are'
  • ايد ' 'you are'
  • اند ' 'they are'
An example of the use of these is as follows:
  • من دخترت ام؛ این برادرم است؛ تو پدرم ای
There is also a second form of the simple present of 'to be' used to add emphasis, express existence and to avoid vowel combinations such as i-i, which despite being a present construction, has the endings of a past construction as follows:
  • هستم ' 'I am'
  • ھستی ' 'you are'
  • ھست ' 'he/she/it is'
  • ھستيم ' 'we are'
  • ھستيد ' 'you are'
  • ھستند ' 'they are'
Yet another, but less commonly used, form of the verb 'to be' is ' 'I am', etc., which has the normal present endings.
The negative of the verb 'to be' in modern Persian is ' 'I am not', which has the same endings as '.

Present progressive

The imperfective aspect of the simple present can be further specified with progressive aspect by adding the simple present of داشتن ' 'to have' before the main verb. It is used in colloquial Persian only:
  • من دارم می‌کنم ' 'I am doing '
  • تو داری می‌کنی '
  • او دارد می‌کند '
  • ما داریم می‌کنیم '
  • شما دارید می‌کنید '
  • آنها دارند می‌کنند '
The two halves of the verb are usually separated by other words, e.g. ' 'he is eating at the moment'. There is no negative.

Past constructions

Past simple

The past simple is formed with the infinitive stem and personal endings. There is no ending in the 3rd person singular:
  • من کردم ' 'I did'
  • تو کردی '
  • او کرد '
  • ما کردیم '
  • شما کردید '
  • آنها کردند '
The stress in this form goes on the syllable before the ending, e.g. ', ' 'I took'. But in a compound verb, the stress goes on the word before the verb, e.g. on ' in ' 'I worked'.
The negative is made with na- : ' 'I didn't do '.
In addition to its normal meaning of the simple past, the past simple also has some idiomatic uses in Persian. For example, colloquially it can be used in 'if' and 'when' clauses referring to future time:
  • وقتی رسیدید لندن، فورن به ما تلفن کنید.' 'when you reach London, phone us at once'
  • تا تو برگدی، من نامه را نوشته ام ' 'by the time you come back I will have written the letter'
Another idiom is ' 'I'm coming '
The past simple construction in Persian is also often used where English might use the perfect to refer to events which have just occurred:
  • ' 'the plane has just this moment landed'
  • ' 'talk of the devil! he's just come in the door!'

Imperfect

The imperfect is formed by prefixing می mi- to the simple past:
  • من می‌کردم ' 'I was doing, used to do, would do, would have done'
  • تو می‌کردی '
  • او می‌کرد '
  • ما می‌کردیم '
  • شما می‌کردید '
  • آنها می‌کردند '
The negative has ne-: ' 'I was not doing'.
The imperfect of بودن ' 'to be' and داشتن ' 'to have' do not use the prefix می mi-, except sometimes when the meaning is 'would be' or 'would have':
  • من بودم ' 'I was'
  • من داشتم ' 'I had'
The negative of these is made with na-: ' 'I was not'.
As well as its main past habitual or past progressive meaning, the imperfect in Persian is also used in a conditional meaning, for example:
  • ' 'if I knew that, I would tell you' / 'if I had known that, I would have told you'
It can also be used in sentences expressing unfulfilled wishes concerning the present or the past:
  • ' 'I would love to have gone' / 'I would have loved to go' / 'I would love to be going'
  • ' 'I wish he were alive'
  • ' 'I would love to have been in his place'

Past progressive

In colloquial Persian the progressive aspect of the imperfect can be reinforced in its progressive meaning by adding the simple past of داشتن ' before it:
  • من داشتم می‌کردم ' 'I was doing '
  • تو داشتی می‌کردی '
  • او داشت می‌کرد '
  • ما داشتیم می‌کردیم '
  • شما داشتید می‌کردید '
  • آنها داشتند می‌کردند '
When used in a sentence, the two parts of the verb are usually separated by other words, e.g.
  • داشتم فراموشت می‌کردم ' 'I was beginning to forget you'
There is no negative.

Pluperfect

The pluperfect is a compound construction formed from the perfect participle and the simple past of the verb بودن. As well as its ordinary use as a pluperfect, like the imperfect it can also be used in a conditional sense:
  • من کرده بودم ' 'I had done', 'I would have done'
  • تو کرده بودی '
  • او کرده بود '
  • ما کرده بودیم '
  • شما کرده بودید '
  • آنها کرده بودند '
The negative is formed with na-: ' 'I hadn't done'.
The verb ' 'to be' is not used in the pluperfect construction, the simple past being used instead.
Sometimes a continuous version of the pluperfect is found but this is rare and not generally used; some Persian grammarians consider it ungrammatical.
As well as its ordinary pluperfect meaning, the pluperfect can also be used instead of the imperfect in the sense 'would have gone' or 'if he had gone':
  • کاش تصادف نکرده بودم ' 'if only I hadn't had an accident!'
  • اگر نیامده بود که آن اتفاق نمی‌افتاد ' 'if he hadn't come, that incident wouldn't have happened!'

Perfect constructions

Corresponding to each of the past constructions, Persian has a set of perfect constructions. These constructions are not only used in the ordinary perfect sense but also in colloquial Persian in an inferential or reported sense.

Perfect simple

The perfect simple is formed by adding the present suffixes of the verb بودن ' to the perfect participle:
  • من کرده ام ' 'I have done'
  • تو کرده ای '
  • او کرده است '
  • ما کرده ایم '
  • شما کرده اید '
  • آنها کرده اند '
The negative is made with na- : ' 'I have not done'.
The perfect construction is used in situations similar to those described for the perfect in English. One situation is the perfect of result:
  • ' 'they have arrived '
  • ' 'I've lost my pen'
Another is the experiential perfect, to describe an event that has happened before :
  • ' 'I have visited America three times'
Another use of the perfect is to describe a situation that has lasted a long time up to now:
  • ' 'we have always been envious of the west'
  • ' 'he has lived here all his life'
Unlike the English perfect, the Persian perfect is compatible with a past-time adverbial. It is often used in sentences such as:
  • ' 'this house was built in 1939'
  • ' 'Manuchehr gave the book back to him yesterday'
Another use which differs from English is in sentences of the type 'it is a long time since X happened':
  • ' 'it is just six months since he came from England'
With verbs meaning 'stand', 'sit', 'lie' the perfect can represent a present state:
  • 'he is standing'

Perfect continuous

The perfect continuous is made by adding the prefix mi- to the perfect:
  • من می‌کرده‌ام ' 'I have been doing'; 'I used to do'
The negative is made with ne-: ' 'I have not been doing'.
This construction is not used in the same way in Persian as the English perfect continuous. As noted above, the present, not the perfect is used in sentences of the kind 'I have been waiting for an hour'.
However, it can be used in sentences such as the following referring to events which have been happening repeatedly or continuously for a long time:
  • ' 'my past has always been following me'
  • ' 'he has lived in this city for years'
Another common use which differs from English is to express a situation that no longer exists, that is, it is the equivalent of 'I used to do':
  • ' 'I used to speak German, but now I have forgotten it'
It can also be used in an inferential sense, as in:
  • ' 'from his wet hair it was evident that he had been bathing'
  • ' because the children were playing that they didn't hear you call'

Perfect progressive

A progressive version of the perfect continuous is also found in colloquial Persian, but it seems only in the 3rd person:
  • او داشته ميکرده ' 'apparently he was doing'
It is typically used in an inferential sense, for example, in sentences in which the speaker is reporting something he has been told, but did not personally witness, such as the following:
  • ' ' he was stealing a car, they gave him a proper beating; he was five days in hospital.'

Perfect pluperfect

A perfect version of the pluperfect can be made by changing ' in the pluperfect to '. This is occasionally used in a non-inferential sense, but much more frequently it is inferential:
  • من کرده بوده ام ' 'I have sometimes been in the position of having done'; 'it seems that I had done'
A typical example of its use is the following:
  • ' 'he told me that he was a communist... some time previously he had gone to Egypt for about three months'

Future constructions

The future construction is formed by adding a shortened version of the infinitive, identical with the infinitive stem, to the simple present form of the verb خواستن ' 'to want', but without the prefix mi-. It is rarely used in colloquial Persian, since the present constructions are usually used with a future meaning instead :
  • خواهم کرد ' 'I will do'
  • خواهی کرد '
  • خواهد کرد '
  • خواهيم کرد '
  • خواهيد کرد '
  • خواهند کرد '
The positive verb is stressed on the personal ending: '. The negative is ' 'I will not do', with stress on ná-.
There is no distinction between simple and continuous in the future. There is also no future perfect. To represent the future perfect Persian uses either the future simple or colloquially the perfect simple:
  • ' 'I shall have finished by Friday'
  • ' 'I shall have finished by Friday'
Another way of expressing future in colloquial Persian is to use a form meaning literally 'he wants to do it' in the sense 'he is about to do it', for example:
  • ' 'the plane is about to take off'
  • ' 'the plane was about to take off'
There are also other expressions used for referring to the future, such as ' 'it is arranged' or ' 'I'm intending to', followed by the subjunctive:
  • ' 'Ali is to come tomorrow'
  • ' 'I'm going to buy an apartment next year'
Present constructions also frequently used with future reference, but especially of verbs of motion or arriving. A time adverbial is also required to avoid ambiguity:
  • ' 'my brother is going to Shiraz tomorrow'

Other moods

Present subjunctive

The present subjunctive is formed by prefixing بـ be- to the present stem with personal endings, e.g. ' 'I may write'. When the verb has the vowel o this changes to bo-:
  • بکنم ' 'that I do, I may do'
  • بکنی '
  • بکند '
  • بکنیم '
  • بکنید '
  • بکنند '
When used as part of a compound verb, the prefix be- is sometimes omitted, e.g. چکار کنم ' 'what am I to do?'
The negative also lacks the prefix be-: ' 'that I not do'.
The present subjunctive of the verb بودن 'to be' is باشم ', with the same endings as above. The present subjunctive of the verb داشتن 'to have' is usually replaced by the perfect subjunctive داشته باشم '.
The present subjunctive is very common in Persian. It is used whenever it is uncertain whether an event will take place, or whether a situation is true, e.g.
  • شاید بروم ' 'maybe I'll go'
  • ممکن است که بيايد ' 'it is possible that he will come'
  • اگر بروم می دوم ' 'if I go, I will run'
  • اميد است که حالت خوب باشد ' 'I hope you are well'
It is used for indefinite relative clauses such as the following:
  • آيا کسی هست که فارسی بلد باشد؟ ' 'is there anyone who knows Persian?'
The subjunctive is also used after phrases such as ' 'before...', ' 'until...', ' 'so that':
  • قبل ازاينکه برويد، اين را امضا کنيد ' 'before you go, sign this'
It is also used instead of an infinitive after verbs such as 'I want', 'I can', 'I must', 'it is possible that', and in indirect commands:
  • باید بروم ' 'I must go'
  • فرمود که حمله کنند ' 'he ordered them to attack'

Perfect subjunctive

The perfect subjunctive is formed by adding ' to the perfect participle. One of the main uses is in sentences referring to an event or state in the past about which there is an element of doubt:
  • گمان می‌کنم رفته باشد ' 'I think he may have gone'
  • او باید اشتباه کرده باشد ' 'he must have made a mistake'
  • امیدوارم که دیر نکرده باشم ' 'I hope I'm not too late'
  • می‌ترسم او رفته باشد ' 'I'm afraid he may have gone'
It is also used for wishes:
  • کاش رفته باشد ' 'if only he were gone'
The negative is made with na-: 'that I have not done'.

Imperative

The imperative is similar to the subjunctive, except that the 2nd person singular has no ending:
  • بنويس ' 'write!'
  • بنويسيد ' 'write!'
The negative lacks the prefix be-: ' 'do not write!'.
If the present stem ends in -av, as in ' 'go', this changes in the imperative singular to -o:
  • برو ' 'go!'
The imperative of the verb بودن 'to be' does not use the 'be-' prefix:
  • باش ' 'be!'
  • باشید ' 'be!'
The imperative of the verb ' 'to have' generally uses the perfect subjunctive form:
  • داشته باش 'have!'

Optative

Although it mostly appears in classical Persian literature, the optative mood is sometimes used in common Persian. It is formed by adding -ād to the present stem:
  • کردن / کن ' 'to do' → Present Stem کن '- → کناد '. To negate it a prefix ma- is added: مکناد ' .
Although in general, this inflection has been abandoned, yet remnants of its usage can be observed in colloquial expressions such as ' 'come what may' and ' lit. 'may that hand not spill ', meaning 'well done'.

Passive voice

Transitive verbs in Persian can be made passive by adding different tenses of the verb ' 'to become' to the perfect participle, e.g.
' 'the letter has been written'
' 'the letter will be written'
In the subjunctive, the prefix be- is usually omitted:
' 'the letter must be written'
In compound verbs, the light verb ' is simply replaced with '. For example, from ' 'to print' is made:
' 'the letter was printed yesterday'

Intransitive, Transitive and Causative

Like English verbs, Persian verbs are either transitive or intransitive. In Persian an accusative marker, را ', comes after any definite direct object:
  • Intransitive: دویدم ' = 'I ran'.
  • Transitive: او را دیدم ' = 'I saw him'
An intransitive verb can be turned into a transitive one by making it into a causative verb. This is done by adding -ān- to the present stem of the verb. For example:
  • Intransitive verb: خوابیدن ' 'to sleep' → خوابیدم ' = 'I slept'.
  • Causative form: خواباندن ' 'to cause to sleep' → او را خواباندم ' = 'I caused him to sleep' ≈ 'I put him to bed'.
There are also cases where a causative verb is formed from a transitive verb:
  • Transitive verb خوردن ' → Causative: خوراندن ≈ 'to feed'.
Causative verbs are not comprehensively productive, but are applied to certain verbs only.

Colloquial pronunciation

In colloquial Persian, many of the most commonly used verbs are pronounced in an abbreviated form; and ān and ām may become un and um. Here are some examples:
  • ' > e 'he is'
  • ' > midam 'I give'
  • ' > miram 'I go'
  • ' > mixunam 'I read'
  • ' > miyām 'I come'
  • ' > umadam 'I came'
  • ' > mišam 'I become'
  • ' > miše 'he becomes'
  • ' > mitunam 'I can'
  • ' > mige 'he says'

Compound verbs

Many verbs nowadays are compound verbs and many old simple verbs have been replaced by a compound. One of the most frequent verbs used to form compound verbs is کَردَن ' 'to do, to make'. For example, the word صُحبَت ' means 'conversation', while صُحبَت کَردَن ' means 'to speak'. Only the light verb is conjugated; the word preceding it is not affected. For example:
  • صُحبَت می‌کُنَم ' 'I speak' or 'I am speaking'
  • دارم صُحبَت می‌کُنَم ' 'I am speaking'
  • صُحبَت کَرده‌اَم ' 'I have spoken'
  • صُحبَت خواهَم کَرد ' 'I will speak'
Some other light verbs used to form compound verbs are:
  • دادن ' as in ' 'to happen'
  • گرفتن ' as in ' 'to learn'
  • زدن ' as in ' 'to talk, to speak'
  • خوردن ' as in ' 'to fall down'
  • شدن ' as in ' 'to calm down'
  • داشتن ' as in ' 'to love'
Some other examples of compound verbs with کَردَن ' are:
  • فِکر کَردَن ' 'to think'
  • فَراموش کَردَن ' 'to forget'
  • گِریه کَردَن ' 'to cry'
  • تَعمیر کَردَن ' 'to repair'
Equivalents for فِکر کَردَن ' and گِریه کَردَن ' are پنداشتن ' and گریستن ', which are normally used in a literary context rather than in daily conversation.

Auxiliary Verbs

The following auxiliary verbs are used in Persian:
  • بایَد ' - 'must': Not conjugated. Followed by a subjunctive.
  • شایَد ' - 'might': Not conjugated. Followed by a subjunctive.
  • تَوانِستَن ' - 'can': Conjugated. Followed by a subjunctive.
  • خواستَن ' - 'want': Conjugated. Followed by a subjunctive.
  • خواهَم - 'I will': Conjugated in the present simple. Followed by the short infinitive.

Forms in indirect speech

In indirect sentences introduced by a past-tense verb, if the second verb refers to a situation simultaneous with, or an event shortly to follow, the main verb, the present tense is used in Persian. It does not change to the past tense as in English:
  • ' 'he said he was a communist'
If the second verb refers to a time earlier than the first verb, it is common to use one of the perfect constructions for the second verb:
However the pluperfect can be used if the fact is certain:
  • ' 'I realised that he had been to Germany'
If the second verb merely represents an idea rather than a statement of fact, or a wish or a possibility, the subjunctive is used:
  • ' 'it's a pity that there's no snow'
  • 'I hope they come soon'