Intermediate course · Intermediate lesson 3
In Lesson 12 you learned mikhâm beram, “I want to go”. That second verb, beram, is in the Persian subjunctive, and it opens the door to a whole family of useful sentences: “I must go”, “Can I sit here?”, “It might rain”, “Shall we take the metro?” This lesson shows you how to form it and the words that trigger it.
Once you have the subjunctive, you can make plans, ask permission and talk about obligations, which covers a large part of daily life in Tehran.
Forming the subjunctive
Take the present stem, put be- in front instead of mi-, and add the usual personal endings. The spoken forms are given first.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| برم | beram (written: beravam) | that I go |
| بری | beri (written: beravi) | that you go (informal) |
| بره | bere (written: beravad) | that he/she goes |
| بریم | berim (written: beravim) | that we go |
| برید | berid (written: beravid) | that you go (polite) |
| برن | beran (written: beravand) | that they go |
A few more you will use constantly:
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| بخرم | bekharam | (that) I buy |
| بخورم | bokhoram (careful speech: bekhoram) | (that) I eat, drink |
| ببینم | bebinam | (that) I see |
| بگم | begam (written: beguyam) | (that) I say |
| بیام | biyâm (written: biâyam) | (that) I come |
| بپرسم | beporsam | (that) I ask |
| بشینم | beshinam (written: beneshinam) | (that) I sit |
| بگیرم | begiram | (that) I take, get |
| باشم | bâsham | (that) I am, be |
Grammar note: Three things to watch. First, budan (to be) has its own subjunctive with no be-: bâsham, bâshi, bâshe, bâshim, bâshid, bâshan. That is why باشه bâshe means “OK”: literally “let it be”. Second, compound verbs with kardan usually drop be-: avaz konam, as in Lesson 13’s kojâ avaz konam? Third, the negative uses na- instead of be-: نرم naram, نخرم nakharam.
Bâyad: must, have to
باید bâyad never changes. Follow it with the subjunctive, and the verb ending shows who must do it. The negative نباید nabâyad means “must not”.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| باید برم. | Bâyad beram. | I have to go. |
| باید بلیت بخریم. | Bâyad belit bekharim. | We have to buy tickets. |
| نباید اینجا سیگار بکشید. | Nabâyad injâ sigâr bekeshid. | You mustn’t smoke here. |
Mitunam: can, be able to
“Can” is a full verb, tunestan (written: tavânestan), followed by the subjunctive.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| می‌تونم | mitunam (written: mitavânam) | I can |
| می‌تونی | mituni | you can (informal) |
| می‌تونه | mitune | he/she can |
| می‌تونیم | mitunim | we can |
| می‌تونید | mitunid | you can (polite) |
| می‌تونن | mitunan | they can |
| می‌تونم یه سؤال بپرسم؟ | Mitunam ye so’âl beporsam? | Can I ask a question? |
| می‌تونم اینجا بشینم؟ | Mitunam injâ beshinam? | Can I sit here? |
| فردا نمی‌تونم بیام. | Fardâ nemitunam biyâm. | I can’t come tomorrow. |
Shâyad, mikhâm and friends
Several other words are followed by the subjunctive. شاید shâyad means “maybe” or “might”. Mikhâm (I want) you know already, and it changes like any present verb: mikhâi (you want), mikhâd (he/she wants).
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| شاید بارون بیاد. | Shâyad bârun biyâd. | It might rain. |
| شاید فردا برم تجریش. | Shâyad fardâ beram Tajrish. | I might go to Tajrish tomorrow. |
| می‌خوام فارسی یاد بگیرم. | Mikhâm fârsi yâd begiram. | I want to learn Persian. |
| می‌خوای بیای؟ | Mikhâi biyâi? | Do you want to come? |
| بهتره بریم. | Behtare berim. | We’d better go. |
| بریم! | Berim! | Let’s go! |
| با مترو بریم؟ | Bâ metro berim? | Shall we go by metro? |
The last two show the subjunctive on its own: with -im it makes a suggestion (“let’s”), and as a question it asks “shall we?”
Dialogue: planning a trip to the bazaar
Jack and his friend Sara are chatting at work on a Thursday.
Jack: فردا می‌خوام برم بازار بزرگ.
Fardâ mikhâm beram bâzâr-e bozorg.
I want to go to the Grand Bazaar tomorrow.
Sârâ: ولی بازار فردا تعطیله!
Vali bâzâr fardâ ta’tile!
But the bazaar is closed tomorrow!
Jack: آهان، جمعه. پس باید شنبه برم.
Âhân, jom’e. Pas bâyad shanbe beram.
Ah, Friday. So I’ll have to go on Saturday.
Sârâ: شنبه منم می‌تونم بیام.
Shanbe manam mitunam biyâm.
I can come on Saturday too.
Jack: عالیه! با مترو بریم؟
Âliye! Bâ metro berim?
Great! Shall we go by metro?
Sârâ: آره، باید خط یک رو بگیریم. بهتره زود بریم.
Âre, bâyad khat-e yek ro begirim. Behtare zud berim.
Yes, we need to take Line 1. We’d better go early.
Jack: ساعت نه و نیم تو ایستگاه همدیگه رو ببینیم؟
Sâ’at-e noh-o nim tu istgâh hamdige ro bebinim?
Shall we meet at the station at half past nine?
Sârâ: باشه، می‌بینمت!
Bâshe, mibinamet!
OK, see you!
New words: تعطیله ta’tile (it’s closed, it’s a holiday), منم manam (me too; short for man ham), عالیه âliye (great!), زود zud (early), همدیگه hamdige (each other) and می‌بینمت mibinamet (I’ll see you). Notice khat-e yek ro begirim: the object marker from the last lesson, before a subjunctive.
Tehran tip: Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, bâzâr-e bozorg, closes on Fridays and public holidays, and many stalls close by late afternoon. The nearest metro stop is Panzdah-e Khordâd on Line 1. When someone tells you a place is ta’til, it is shut for the day, not just for lunch.
Practise
- Say “I have to go” and “I mustn’t go”.
- Ask politely whether you can sit here.
- Say “It might rain tomorrow”.
- Complete with the right form: Mikhâm ye belit … (kharidan).
- Suggest to a friend: “Let’s go to Tajrish.”
- Say “We can’t come on Friday”.
- Why does bâshe mean “OK”?
Show answers
- باید برم bâyad beram; نباید برم nabâyad beram.
- می‌تونم اینجا بشینم؟ Mitunam injâ beshinam?
- شاید فردا بارون بیاد Shâyad fardâ bârun biyâd.
- bekharam: Mikhâm ye belit bekharam.
- بریم تجریش! Berim Tajrish!
- جمعه نمی‌تونیم بیایم Jom’e nemitunim biyâim.
- It is the subjunctive of budan (to be): “let it be”.
Flashcards
Test yourself
Summary
- The subjunctive is be- + present stem + ending: beram, bekharam, biyâm; the negative uses na-.
- bâyad (must) and nabâyad (mustn’t) never change; the following verb shows who.
- mitunam (I can) is a normal verb followed by the subjunctive.
- shâyad (might), mikhâm (I want) and behtare (we’d better) also take the subjunctive.
- On its own, berim means “let’s go”, and berim? “shall we go?”.