Past Tense in Farsi
The past tense is formed using the past stem of the verb plus personal endings.
Finding the Past Stem
Take the infinitive and remove "-an":
| Infinitive | Stem | Meaning |
|---|
| raftan | raft | went |
| khordan | khord | ate |
| didan | did | saw |
| goftan | goft | said |
Personal Endings (Past)
| Pronoun | Ending |
|---|
| man | -am |
| to | -i |
| oo | (nothing) |
| ma | -im |
| shoma | -id |
| oonaa | -and |
Conjugation Example: raftan (to go)
| Pronoun | Phonetic | Translation |
|---|
| man | raftam | I went |
| to | rafti | You went |
| oo | raft | He/She went |
| ma | raftim | We went |
| shoma | raftid | You went (formal) |
| oonaa | raftand | They went |
More Examples
| Phonetic | Translation |
|---|
| khordam | I ate |
| khordim | We ate |
| goftam | I said |
| didam | I saw |
Negative Past: na-
Add "na-" before the verb:
| Verb | Negative | Translation |
|---|
| raftam | naraftam | I didn't go |
| khordam | nakhordam | I didn't eat |
| goftam | nagoftam | I didn't say |
Important Note
The verb "boodan" (to be) in past:
| Pronoun | Phonetic | Translation |
|---|
| man | boodam | I was |
| to | boodi | You were |
| oo | bood | He/She was |
| ma | boodim | We were |
| shoma | boodid | You were (formal) |
| oonaa | boodand | They were |
