Learn how to form the Persian present indicative with mi-, present stems and personal endings, with tables, examples and a quiz.
The Persian present indicative tense
Study notes for this lesson. The present indicative is the tense you use most in Persian. One form covers "I live", "I am living" and often "I will go" too. It is built from three parts: the prefix می (mi-), the present stem of the verb, and a personal ending.
Personal endings
| Ending | Pronunciation | Person |
|---|---|---|
| ـم | /-am/ | I |
| ـی | /-i/ | you (singular) |
| ـد | /-ad (spoken: -e)/ | he, she |
| ـیم | /-im/ | we |
| ـید | /-id (spoken: -in)/ | you (plural or polite) |
| ـند | /-and (spoken: -an)/ | they |
Full example: رفتن (raftan), to go
The present stem of رفتن is رو (rav). Written and spoken forms are both shown, because everyday Tehran speech shortens this verb a lot.
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| من میروم | /man miravam (spoken: miram)/ | I go / I am going |
| تو می‌روی | /to miravi (spoken: miri)/ | you go |
| او می‌رود | /u miravad (spoken: mire)/ | he / she goes |
| ما می‌رویم | /mâ miravim (spoken: mirim)/ | we go |
| شما می‌روید | /shomâ miravid (spoken: mirin)/ | you go (plural or polite) |
| آن‌ها می‌روند | /ânhâ miravand (spoken: miran)/ | they go |
Present stems you must learn
The present stem cannot always be guessed from the infinitive, so learn it with each new verb. Removing ـن (-an) from the infinitive gives the past stem, not the present stem.
| Infinitive and stem | Pronunciation | Meaning and “I” form |
|---|---|---|
| کردن ← کن | /kardan → kon/ | to do, make → mikonam |
| خواندن ← خوان | /khândan → khân/ | to read, study → mikhânam |
| دیدن ← بین | /didan → bin/ | to see → mibinam |
| آمدن ← آ | /âmadan → â/ | to come → miâyam (spoken: miyâm) |
| شدن ← شو | /shodan → shav/ | to become → mishavam (spoken: misham) |
| گفتن ← گو | /goftan → gu/ | to say → miguyam (spoken: migam) |
| داشتن ← دار | /dâshtan → dâr/ | to have → dâram (no mi-) |
What the present indicative is used for
- Habits and facts: هر روز به مدرسه می‌رود (har ruz be madrese miravad), "she goes to school every day".
- Actions happening now: چه کار می‌کنی؟ (che kâr mikoni?), "what are you doing?".
- Plans in the near future, usually with a time word: فردا میروم (fardâ miravam), "I'm going tomorrow".
Negative
Replace می with نمی (nemi-): نمی‌روم (nemiravam), "I don't go". With compound verbs the prefix goes on the verb part: زندگی نمی‌کنم (zendegi nemikonam), "I don't live". The verb داشتن takes ن (na-) only: ندارم (nadâram), "I don't have".
Examples
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| من در تهران زندگی می‌کنم. | /man dar tehrân zendegi mikonam./ | I live in Tehran. |
| سحر به مدرسه می‌رود. | /sahar be madrese miravad./ | Sahar goes to school. |
| برادرم بیست و پنج سال دارد. | /barâdaram bist-o panj sâl dârad./ | My brother is twenty-five. |
| مادربزرگم هر روز پیاده‌روی می‌کند. | /mâdarbozorgam har ruz piyâde-ravi mikonad./ | My grandmother walks every day. |
| فردا سحر سیزده ساله می‌شود. | /fardâ sahar sizdah sâle mishavad./ | Tomorrow Sahar turns thirteen. |
| ما فارسی می‌خوانیم. | /mâ fârsi mikhânim./ | We study Persian. |
| آن‌ها در تهران زندگی نمی‌کنند. | /ânhâ dar tehrân zendegi nemikonand./ | They don't live in Tehran. |
Common mistakes
- Adding می to داشتن: "I have" is دارم (dâram), not می‌دارم.
- Using the past stem: "I go" is میروم (miravam), not می‌رفتم, which means "I was going" or "I used to go".
- Forgetting the zero-width space: write میروم, not میروم or می روم. Many Iranians type میروم informally, but the standard spelling keeps می separate.
- Mixing written and spoken forms in one sentence, such as من می‌رم مدرسه with a written ending elsewhere. Pick one style and stay with it.
Other parts of Lesson 8
Practice
-
Conjugate khândan for "we". خواندن
Show answer
mikhânim می‌خوانیم
-
What is the present stem of didan (to see)? دیدن
Show answer
bin: mibinam, "I see" بین
-
Make negative: man dar tehrân zendegi mikonam. من در تهران زندگی می‌کنم.
Show answer
man dar tehrân zendegi nemikonam. من در تهران زندگی نمی‌کنم.
-
Why is mi-dâram wrong for "I have"?
Show answer
dâshtan does not take mi- in the simple present: dâram. دارم
-
Give the spoken form of miravad. می‌رود
Show answer
mire می‌ره
Previous lesson: Lesson 7: Reading. Next lesson: Lesson 9: New Words.
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