The easiest tense in Persian
Take the infinitive, cut off the final ـن, and you have the past stem. Add the endings. There are no irregular forms to memorise.
رفتن (to go) → stem رفت:
| Person | Form | Say |
|---|---|---|
| من | رفتم | raftam |
| تو | رفتی | rafti |
| او | رفت | raft |
| ما | رفتیم | raftim |
| شما | رفتید | raftid |
| آنها | رفتند | raftand |
The third person singular has no ending: the bare past stem is the whole form.
More stems
| Infinitive | Past stem | "I ..." |
|---|---|---|
| خوردن (eat) | خورد | خوردم |
| دیدن (see) | دید | دیدم |
| کردن (do) | کرد | کردم |
| گفتن (say) | گفت | گفتم |
| بودن (be) | بود | بودم |
| شدن (become) | شد | شدم |
| نوشتن (write) | نوشت | نوشتم |
Negative and questions
Put نـ in front: نرفتم، نخوردم، ندیدیم. A question needs no extra word and no change of order, only the intonation:
- دیروز به بازار رفتی؟ — Did you go to the market yesterday?
- نه، نرفتم. — No, I didn't.
Compound verbs
Only the light verb takes the ending: کار کردم (I worked), تلفن زدم (I phoned), یاد گرفتیم (we learned), تلفن نزدم (I didn't phone).
What it covers
Finished actions in the past, usually with a time word: دیروز، پارسال، هفتهٔ پیش، دو سال پیش.
- پارسال به ایران رفتم. — Last year I went to Iran.
- ساعت ۸ بیدار شدم و صبحانه خوردم. — I woke up at eight and had breakfast.
In conversation the simple past also covers much of what English says with "have done" (فیلم را دیدم — I have seen the film). The difference is in lesson 25.
Watch out as an English speaker
- No "did" to build questions or negatives: ✗ دیروز کردی رفتن؟ / ✓ دیروز رفتی؟
- The third person has no ending: ✗ او رفتد. / ✓ او رفت.
- Use the past stem, not the present stem: ✗ بینم for "I saw" / ✓ دیدم.
- English keeps the subject; Persian usually drops it because the ending already says who: رفتم is a full sentence.
Example dialogue
دیشب کجا بودی؟ — Where were you last night?
خانه بودم، یک فیلم دیدم. — I was at home, I watched a film.
چرا زنگ نزدی؟ — Why didn't you call?
دیر شد و خوابیدم. — It got late and I went to sleep.