Study notes for lesson 4 grammar: the negative of 'to be' in Persian (nistam, nist), yes/no questions and where-questions, with examples.
Negative and questions with "to be" in Persian
Study notes for this lesson. The lesson 4 grammar video returns to the simple present of "to be". Lesson 3 covered the positive forms (هستم, است). This page adds what you need for real conversations: how to say "I am not", how to ask yes/no questions, and how to ask where something is.
The negative: نیستم
The negative of "to be" is one word for each person. There is no separate word for "not": you replace هستم with نیستم, and so on. Unlike the positive, the negative has no short ending; it is always written as a separate word.
| Form | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| من نیستم | /man nistam/ | I am not |
| تو نیستی | /to nisti/ | you are not (informal) |
| او نیست | /u nist/ | he, she, it is not |
| ما نیستیم | /mâ nistim/ | we are not |
| شما نیستید | /shomâ nistid/ | you are not (plural or polite) |
| آنها نیستند | /ânhâ nistand/ | they are not |
In everyday speech these forms barely change. The main difference is in the plural: نیستید often sounds like nistin and نیستند like nistan.
Positive and negative side by side
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| اتاق گرم است. / اتاق گرم نیست. | /otâgh garm ast. / otâgh garm nist./ | The room is warm. / The room is not warm. |
| من خسته‌ام. / من خسته نیستم. | /man khaste-am. / man khaste nistam./ | I am tired. / I am not tired. |
| ما گرسنه‌ایم. / ما گرسنه نیستیم. | /mâ gorosne-im. / mâ gorosne nistim./ | We are hungry. / We are not hungry. |
Yes/no questions
A yes/no question keeps the word order of a statement. In speech, the voice rises at the end. In formal writing, you can put آیا (âyâ) at the start of the sentence, but in conversation it is rarely used.
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| آپارتمان گران است؟ | /âpârtemân gerân ast?/ | Is the apartment expensive? |
| آیا آپارتمان گران است؟ | /âyâ âpârtemân gerân ast?/ | Is the apartment expensive? (formal) |
| تو خسته نیستی؟ | /to khaste nisti?/ | Aren't you tired? |
| بله، خسته‌ام. / نه، خسته نیستم. | /bale, khaste-am. / na, khaste nistam./ | Yes, I'm tired. / No, I'm not tired. |
Asking "where?"
کجا (kojâ) means "where". With است it becomes کجاست (kojâst), "where is". The answer often uses اینجا (injâ), "here", or آنجا (ânjâ), "there", which combine with است in the same way.
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| آشپزخانه کجاست؟ | /âshpazkhâne kojâst?/ | Where is the kitchen? |
| آشپزخانه آنجاست. | /âshpazkhâne ânjâst./ | The kitchen is there. |
| رضا اینجاست. | /rezâ injâst./ | Reza is here. |
| سارا اینجا نیست. | /sârâ injâ nist./ | Sara is not here. |
Common mistakes
- Writing the negative as an ending, as in خسته‌نیستم joined together. نیستم is a separate word.
- Using نه for "not" inside a sentence: من نه خسته هستم is wrong. نه only answers a question; inside the sentence use نیستم.
- Changing the word order for a question. Persian has no inversion and no helper like "do": آپارتمان گران است؟ is the question, with rising intonation.
- Forgetting that نیست also means "there isn't": چای نیست, "there is no tea".
Short answers
Persian short answers repeat the adjective rather than the verb alone. To آپارتمان گران است؟ a natural reply is نه، گران نیست or simply نه، نیست. To تو گرسنه‌ای؟ you answer بله، گرسنه‌ام or نه، گرسنه نیستم. Avoid answering with بله or نه alone to a teacher or an older person; the full sentence sounds more polite.
Other pages in this lesson
Practice
-
Say "I am not hungry".
Show answer
man gorosne nistam. من گرسنه نیستم.
-
Make this sentence negative. آپارتمان گران است.
Show answer
âpârtemân gerân nist. آپارتمان گران نیست.
-
How do you ask "Where is the room?"
Show answer
otâgh kojâst? اتاق کجاست؟
-
What is the formal word that can start a yes/no question?
Show answer
âyâ آیا
-
Correct the mistake. ما خسته نیستند.
Show answer
mâ khaste nistim. ما خسته نیستیم.
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