Lesson 12: Verbs in the Present Tense
Persian verbs are pleasingly regular once you know the pattern. To make the present tense, take the verb’s present stem, put می mi- in front and add a personal ending.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| میخورم | mikhoram | I eat |
| میخوری | mikhori | you eat |
| میخوره | mikhore | he/she eats (spoken) |
| میخوریم | mikhorim | we eat |
| میخورید | mikhorid | you eat (polite) |
| میخورن | mikhoran | they eat (spoken) |
The endings are the same as the short forms of “to be” in Lesson 9. The present tense also covers the near future: fardâ miram means “I’m going tomorrow”.
Common verbs
The catch is that many present stems look different from the infinitive, so learn them in pairs. The spoken forms are given first, as that is what you will hear.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| رفتن – میرم | raftan – miram | to go – I go (written: miravam) |
| خواستن – میخوام | khâstan – mikhâm | to want – I want (written: mikhâham) |
| گفتن – میگم | goftan – migam | to say – I say (written: miguyam) |
| آمدن – میام | âmadan – miyâm | to come – I come (written: miâyam) |
| دیدن – میبینم | didan – mibinam | to see – I see |
| کردن – میکنم | kardan – mikonam | to do – I do |
| دادن – میدم | dâdan – midam | to give – I give (written: midaham) |
Negatives and “want to”
For the negative, use ne- instead of mi-: nemiram (I’m not going), nemikhâm (I don’t want).
To say you want to do something, follow mikhâm with the verb in the form that starts with be-: mikhâm beram (I want to go), mikhâm bekharam (I want to buy), mikhâm bekhoram (I want to eat). You will use this pattern constantly.
Practise
- Say “I’m going to the bazaar” (be bâzâr).
- Say “I want to drink tea” (châi bekhoram; Persians “eat” tea).
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