Lesson Overview
10 exercises Β· Level 1
Grammar Explanation
Negative Verbs in Farsi
Negating verbs in Farsi is done by adding a negative prefix. The prefix changes slightly depending on the tense. In the examples below the prefix is hyphenated so you can see it clearly, in real Farsi writing, it's attached to the verb without a hyphen (e.g. "ne-miram" is written as "nemiram").
Present Tense Negative: ne-
Add "ne-" to the present-tense verb:
miram β ne-miram (I don't go) mikhoram β ne-mikhoram (I don't eat)
"To Be" Negative: nist-
| Positive | Negative | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| hastam | nistam | I am not |
| hasti | nisti | You are not |
| -e / ast | nist | is not |
(No prefix here, "nist" is its own form.)
"To Have" Negative: Special Case
daaram β na-daaram (I don't have) Note: "daashtan" uses "na-" not "ne-"
Past Tense Negative: na-
raftam β na-raftam (I didn't go) khordam β na-khordam (I didn't eat)
Examples
| Phonetic | Translation |
|---|---|
| man ne-miram | I am not going / I don't go |
| to na-daari | You don't have |
| oo nist | He/She is not |
| ma ne-mikhorim | We don't eat |
| oonaa na-raftand | They didn't go |
Key Points
- Present: Add "ne-" before the present-tense verb
- Past: Add "na-" before the past-tense verb
- Exception: "daashtan" (to have) always uses "na-"
- The hyphens are just to highlight the prefix, in real Farsi text, they're written together