7.7 Grammar: The Present and Past Tenses
Present Tense:
Simple present tense is formed by prefixing “می ” to the present stem with personal endings.
Present progressive is formed by adding the present tense of داشتن before the main verb of the sentence with personal ending.
Look at the table below for the two verbs of “To see” & “To eat”. As you see in the table in Persian language every verb has 2 different stems. Past and Present. Past stem is made by removing from the ends of infinitive form of verb.
| Present stem of the verb | Past stem of the verb | infinitive form of the verb |
|---|---|---|
| بین | دید | دیدن |
| خور | خورد | خوردن |
In this table you see how you change the verb in simple present, simple past or present progressive tenses with all different personal endings:
| Third Person Plural | Second Person Plural | First Person Plural | Third Person Singular | Second Persian Singular | First Person Singular | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| آنها می بینند | شما می بینید | ما می بینیم | او می بیند | تو میبینی | من می بینم | Simple present Tense |
| آنها دیدند | شما دیدید | ما دیدیم | او دید | تو دیدی | من دیدم | Simple Past Tense |
| آنها می دیدند | شما می دیدید | ما می دیدیم | او می دید | تو می دیدی | من می دیدم | Past continuous |
Structure:
| Past Tense | Present Tense | Habitual Aspect Marker | Verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| می + خورد
می + رفت |
می + خور می + رو |
می می |
خوردن
رفتن |
|
من سیب می خوردم I used to eat mangos. او ساعت هشت به مدرسه می رفت We used to go to school at 8 o’clock. |
من سیب می خورم I eat mangos. او ساعت 8 به مدرسه می رود He goes to school at 8 o’clock. |
Example |
Negation of Habitual Aspect:
In order to change habitual aspect sentences in to negative, we connect ن to the beginning of the verb.
Examples:
- دختران فوتبال بازی می کنند “Girls play football.”
- -دختران فوتبال بازی نمی کنند “Girls do not play football.”
- – تو هر روز اتاقت را تمیز می کنی“You clean your room everyday.
- – تو هر روز اتاقت را تمیز نمی کنی “You do not to clean your room everyday.”
Uses of Habitual Aspect:
(a) To express routine actions.
Examples:
- -من ساعت ۴ از خواب بیدار می شوم “I get up at 4 o’clock.”
- -من ساعت ۵ چای می نوشم “I drink tea at 5 o’clock.”
- -من ساعت ۸ صبح از خواب بیدار می شوم “I go to school at 8 o’clock.”
Activity:
Please add five more examples here. After writing your examples, please change your sentences to negative and past tense.
| your sentence in past tense | past stem of the verb | neg. sent. | your sentence in present tense
|
Infinitive form of verb you use in your sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ۱ | |||||
| ۲ | |||||
| ۳ | |||||
| ۴ | |||||
| ۵ |
(b) To express habitual actions.
Examples:
- -صبا کتاب می خواند “Saba reads books.”
- – ماهان گیتار می نوازد “Mahan plays guitar.”
- -نیلوفر می رقصد “Neelufar dances.”
Activity:
Please add five more examples here. After writing your examples, please change your sentences to negative and past tense.
| your sentence in past tense | past stem of the verb | neg. sent. | your sentence in present tense
|
Infinitive form of verb you use in your sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ۱ | |||||
| ۲ | |||||
| ۳ | |||||
| ۴ | |||||
| ۵ |
(c) To express permanent actions.
Examples:
- – پیتر در میشیگان زندگی می کند“Peter lives in Michigan.”
- -جین اینجا کار می کند “Jen works here.”
- -من به استادم احترام می گذارم “I respect my teacher.”
Activity:
Please add five more examples here. After writing your examples, please change your sentences to negative and past tense:
| your sentence in past tense | past stem of the verb | neg. sent. | your sentence in present tense
|
Present stem of verb you use in your sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ۱ | |||||
| ۲ | |||||
| ۳ | |||||
| ۴ | |||||
| ۵ |
(d) To express general/universal truth.
Examples:
- -زمین دور خورشید می چرخد “The earth revolves around the sun.”
- -معمولا گل رز قرمز است “Usually, roses are red.”
- -در میشیگان برف می بارد “It snows in Michigan.”
Activity:
Please add five more examples here. After writing your examples, please change your sentences to negative and past tense.
| your sentence in past tense | past stem of the verb | neg. sent. | your sentence in present tense
|
Present stem of verb you use in your sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ۱ | |||||
| ۲ | |||||
| ۳ | |||||
| ۴ | |||||
| ۵ |
(e) To narrate a story and to express series of events:
When narrating a story, background information is generally expressed using habitual (imperfective aspect) construction. Whereas, the foreground information is expressed using perfective aspect. Habitual construction (background information) in the story below is highlighted.
Example:
شیری در جنگل زندگی می کرد – در همان جنگل یک موش هم زندگی می کرد – یک روز شیر به موش می گوید من تو را می خورم – موش می گوید مرا نخور – یک روز شکارچی شیر را به دام می اندازد بعد موش تله را گاز می گیرد – اینگونه است که موش به شیر کمک می کند
“A lion lived in a forest. In the same forest, there also lived a rat. One day, the lion says to the rat, “I will eat you.” The rat says, “Please don’t eat me.” One day, a hunter traps the lion in a net. Then, the rat chews the net. This is how the rat frees the lion.”
(f) To express impersonal sentences
Examples:
- … مردم این را میگویند “People say that…”
- را به فارسی می گی؟ flower چطوری “How do you say “flower” in Persian?”
- – چای خوب اینجا موجود است“Good tea is available here.”
Activity:
Please add five more examples here. After writing your examples, please change your sentences to negative and past tense.
| your sentence in past tense | past stem of the verb | neg. sent. | your sentence in present tense
|
Present stem of verb you use in your sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ۱ | |||||
| ۲ | |||||
| ۳ | |||||
| ۴ | |||||
| ۵ |
(g) To express immediate future action by adding adverbs like حالا / الان “right away” and بیا “let’s”.
Examples:
- -من الان/ حالا می آیم “I will come right away.”
- -بیا یک فیلم ببینیم “Let’s watch a film.”
- -گربه نکن , مامان الان بهت غذا میده “Don’t cry, mother will give you food right away.”
Uses of the Past Habitual Tense:
(a) The past habitual tense is generally used to express past habits, routines, and permanent actions.
Examples:
- – من سال گذشته ساعت 10 به مدرسه می رفتم“I used to go to school at 10 o’clock last year.”
- کجای ایران زندگی می کردید؟“Where did you used to live in Iran?”
- – برادرم تا ماه گذشته هر روز با من صحبت می کرد“My brother used to talk to me everyday, until last month.”
Activity:
Please add five more examples here. After writing your examples, please change your sentences to negative and present tense.
| your sentence in Present tense | Present stem of the verb | neg. sent. | your sentence in past tense
|
Infinitive form of verb you use in your sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ۱ | |||||
| ۲ | |||||
| ۳ | |||||
| ۴ | |||||
| ۵ |
Activities:
(a) Please choose the correct form of the habitual aspect marker, based on the subject of the sentence.
(b) Please write your daily routine of this semester/year. After writing your daily routine, compare it with last semester/year. (Hint: Please use present habitual for current daily routine and use past habitual for last semester/year.)
(c) Please ask your friends about their hobbies and enlist them here. (Hint: Use: شما در اوقات فراغتتان چه می کنید؟ “What do you do in your free time?” to ask their hobbies.)
(d) Please watch a short film and write the story in Persian. After writing, please record yourself here and share your story with the instructor/any native speaker for the feedback.
!سپاس
