Beginner course · Lesson 9
Two verbs do more work than any others in everyday Persian: “to be” and “to have”. This lesson covers the verb to be in Persian, and the verb to have, in both the full written forms you will see in print and the short spoken forms you will hear in every Tehran shop and taxi.
You will also learn the personal pronouns, the negatives “I’m not” and “I don’t have”, and a handful of everyday expressions built on these verbs. The endings you learn here come back in every tense, so they are worth getting right now.
Pronouns
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| من | man | I |
| تو | to | you (informal) |
| اون / او | un (spoken) / u (written) | he, she |
| ما | mâ | we |
| شما | shomâ | you (polite or plural) |
| اونا / آنها | unâ (spoken) / ânhâ (written) | they |
Because the verb ending shows who is doing something, pronouns are often dropped: khastam means “I’m tired” on its own. There is no “he” or “she” distinction: un covers both, and the verb is the same for both. Remember from Lesson 5 to use shomâ with adults you do not know well.
To be
The full form is هستم hastam (I am), but in speech it shrinks to an ending attached to the word before it.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| من هستم / ـم | man hastam / -am | I am: khastam (I’m tired) |
| تو هستی / ـی | to hasti / -i | you are: khubi? (are you well?) |
| او است / ـه | u ast / -e | he/she is: khube (it’s good) |
| ما هستیم / ـیم | mâ hastim / -im | we are |
| شما هستید / ـید | shomâ hastid / -id | you are (polite) |
| آنها هستند / ـن | ânhâ hastand / -an | they are |
Written and spoken side by side
Here is “to be” with خسته khaste (tired) as you would see it written in a newspaper or a book:
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| خسته‌ام | khaste-am | I am tired |
| خسته‌ای | khaste-i | you are tired (informal) |
| خسته است | khaste ast | he/she is tired |
| خسته‌ایم | khaste-im | we are tired |
| خسته‌اید | khaste-id | you are tired (polite) |
| خسته‌اند | khaste-and | they are tired |
And here is “to be” with خوب khub (good, well) as you will hear it in Tehran:
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| خوبم | khubam | I’m well |
| خوبی | khubi | you’re well (informal) |
| خوبه | khube (written: khub ast) | he/she/it is well; it’s good |
| خوبیم | khubim | we’re well |
| خوبید / خوبین | khubid / khubin | you’re well (polite) |
| خوبن | khuban (written: khub hastand) | they’re well |
Three things to notice. First, “is” becomes -e after a consonant (khube, gerune) but -st after â or u: kojâst? (where is it?), injâst (it’s here). Second, in relaxed speech the polite -id is often heard as -in: chetorin? for chetorid? (how are you?). Third, Tehranis blend khaste-am into khastam.
The full forms hastam, hasti and so on are still used in speech, especially for emphasis or after nouns: man dâneshju hastam (I’m a student), as in Lesson 6.
“I’m not” and “there is”
The negative is نیست nist, with the same endings: nistam (I am not), nist (he/she/it is not). Moshkel nist means “no problem”.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| نیستم | nistam | I am not |
| نیستی | nisti | you are not (informal) |
| نیست | nist | he/she/it is not; there isn’t |
| نیستیم | nistim | we are not |
| نیستید / نیستین | nistid / nistin (spoken) | you are not (polite) |
| نیستن | nistan (written: nistand) | they are not |
هست hast on its own means “there is”, and nist means “there isn’t”. Châi hast? is “is there any tea?”; the answer might be bale, hast or na, nist.
To have
The spoken forms come first; the written form is given where it differs.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| دارم | dâram | I have |
| داری | dâri | you have (informal) |
| داره | dâre (written: دارد dârad) | he/she has (spoken) |
| داریم | dârim | we have |
| دارید | dârid (relaxed speech: dârin) | you have (polite) |
| دارن | dâran (written: دارند dârand) | they have (spoken) |
| ندارم | nadâram | I don’t have |
To make “to have” negative, put na- in front:
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| ندارم | nadâram | I don’t have |
| نداری | nadâri | you don’t have (informal) |
| نداره | nadâre (written: ندارد nadârad) | he/she doesn’t have |
| نداریم | nadârim | we don’t have |
| ندارید | nadârid | you don’t have (polite) |
| ندارن | nadâran (written: ندارند nadârand) | they don’t have |
Grammar note: Most Persian verbs need mi- in the present tense (Lesson 12), but “to have” does not: “I have” is dâram, never midâram. The endings, though, are the same ones you have just learned for “to be”.
Everyday phrases with “have”
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| آب دارید؟ | âb dârid? | do you have water? |
| وقت ندارم | vaght nadâram | I don’t have time |
| بچه دارید؟ | bache dârid? | do you have children? |
| کار دارم | kâr dâram | I’m busy (literally “I have work”) |
| عجله دارم | ajale dâram | I’m in a hurry |
| دوست دارم | dust dâram | I like; I love |
| مشکل نداره | moshkel nadâre | no problem; that’s fine |
Tehran tip: In a corner shop, … dârid? (do you have …?) and … hast? (is there …?) will get you almost anything. If the answer is nadârim (we don’t have any), shopkeepers will usually point you to a neighbour who does.
Dialogue: In the corner shop
Tom: سلام، آب معدنی دارید؟
Salâm, âb-e ma’dani dârid?
Hello, do you have mineral water?
Shopkeeper: بله، داریم. بزرگ یا کوچیک؟
Bale, dârim. Bozorg yâ kuchik?
Yes, we have. Big or small?
Tom: کوچیک، لطفاً. نون هم دارید؟
Kuchik, lotfan. Nun ham dârid?
Small, please. Do you have bread too?
Shopkeeper: نه، نون نداریم. نونوایی نزدیکه.
Na, nun nadârim. Nunvâyi nazdike.
No, we don’t have bread. The bakery is near.
Tom: مشکل نیست. مرسی.
Moshkel nist. Mersi.
No problem. Thanks.
Shopkeeper: شما ایرانی نیستید؟
Shomâ Irâni nistid?
You’re not Iranian?
Tom: نه، انگلیسی هستم.
Na, Engelisi hastam.
No, I’m English.
Shopkeeper: فارسی‌تون خوبه!
Fârsitun khube!
Your Persian is good!
Tom: لطف دارید.
Lotf dârid.
That’s kind of you.
Ham means “too, also”, and nunvâyi is a bakery (written: nânvâyi). The -tun in fârsitun means “your” (more in Lesson 11). Lotf dârid, literally “you have kindness”, is the standard reply to a compliment.
Practise
- Say “I’m tired” and “I’m not tired”.
- Ask a shopkeeper whether they have bread.
- Say “we’re well” and “they’re well” the spoken way.
- Make these negative: dâram, dâre, dâran.
- Ask “is there any tea?” and answer “no, there isn’t”.
- Turn this written sentence into spoken Tehran Persian: هوا گرم است havâ garm ast (the weather is hot).
- How do you say “I’m in a hurry” and “I’m busy”?
Show answers
- khastam (written: khaste-am); khaste nistam.
- Nun dârid? (written: nân dârid?)
- khubim; khuban.
- nadâram, nadâre, nadâran.
- Châi hast? Na, nist.
- Havâ garme.
- ajale dâram; kâr dâram.
Flashcards
Test yourself
Summary
- The pronouns man, to, un, mâ, shomâ, unâ, often dropped because the verb ending shows the person.
- “To be”: full forms hastam, hasti… and the short spoken endings -am, -i, -e, -im, -id/-in, -an.
- Negatives with nist: nistam, moshkel nist; hast and nist also mean “there is” and “there isn’t”.
- “To have”: dâram, dâri, dâre, dârim, dârid, dâran, no mi-, and the negative with na-: nadâram.