Past simple

RULE past stem + past ending

raftan (to go)
raftam I went raftim we went
rafti you went raftid you went
raft he/she/it went raftand they went
kâr kardan (to work)
kâr kardam I worked kâr kardim we worked
kâr kardi you worked kâr kardid you worked
kâr kard he/she/it worked kâr kardand they worked

Examples

This tense is equivalent to English «past simple».

  • Diruz sobh John râ didam — I saw John yesterday morning
  • Pârsâl, be Irân safar kardam — Last year, I traveled to Iran
  • Mâshin-ash râ shost — She washed her car
  • Dishab tâ sâat-e davâzdah be râdiyo gush dâdam — I listened to the radio until twelve o'clock last night
  • Jalase nazdik-e do sâat tul keshid — The meeting lasted about two hours

Past imperfect

RULE imperfect particle «mi» + past stem + past ending

miraftam miraftim
mirafti miraftid
miraft miraftand
kâr mikardam kâr mikardim
kâr mikardi kâr mikardid
kâr mikard kâr mikardand

Examples

This tense, like other «imperfect» tenses, does not have any equivalents in English. It can be translated with different English tenses based on the context.

  • Hamishe mikhwâst Engelisi yâd begirad — He always wanted to learn English
  • Vaght-i ke pedar-ash mord, dar California kâr mikard — He worked (or: was working) in California when his father died
  • Vaght-i ke jang shoru` shod, dar Espâniyâ zendegi mikardand — They lived (or: were living) in Spain when the war started
  • Hamishe dir be kelâs miâmad — She was always coming to class late
  • Al`ân dar yek edâre kâr mikonam, ammâ ghablan dar yek bânk kâr mikardam — At present, I work in an office but previously, I worked in a bank

An example to demonstrate the difference between «past simple» and «past imperfect»:

  • I ran five miles yesterday — Diruz, panj mâyl davidam
  • I ran five miles every morning — Har sobh, panj mâyl midavidam

Particularities

The verbs «budan» (to be) and «dâshtan» (to have) are not normally conjugated in this tense unless they are used in conditional and other non-factual statements:

  • Shâyad agar man ham be jâ-ye to mibudam, hamin kâr râ mikardam — Perhaps if I were you, I would also do so.
  • Dar jâ-yi budam ke nabâyad mibudam. — I were somewhere that I shouldn't be.

Past narrative

RULE past participle + past ending

rafteam I have gone rafteim we have gone
raftei you have gone rafteid you have gone
rafte he/she/it has gone rafteand they have gone
kâr kardeam I have worked kâr kardeim we have worked
kâr kardei you have worked kâr kardeid you have worked
kâr karde he/she/it has worked kâr kardeand they have worked

Examples

This tense is equivalent to English «present perfect».

  • Ân ketâb râ chand bâr khwândeam — I have read that book several times
  • Do sâl injâ kâr karde — He has worked here for two years
  • Tamâm-e hafte az kelâs ghâyeb budeand — They have been absent from class all week
  • Dah ruz ast ke nadideam-ash — I have not seen him for ten days
  • In behtarin ketâb-i ast ke tâ konun khwândeam — This is the best book that I have ever read

Past precedent

RULE past participle + auxiliary «budan» (to be) in past simple

rafte budam I had gone rafte budim we had gone
rafte budi you had gone rafte budid you had gone
rafte bud he/she/it had gone rafte budand they had gone
kâr karde budam I had worked kâr karde budim we had worked
kâr karde budi you had worked kâr karde budid you had worked
kâr karde bud he/she/it had worked kâr karde budand they had worked

Examples

This tense is equivalent to English «past perfect».

  • Farâmush karde budam — I had forgotten
  • Pul-i nadâshtam chon kif-am râ gom karde budam — I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet
  • Vaght-i ke residim, ânhâ rafte budand — By the time we arrived, they had gone

Past narrative imperfect

RULE imperfect particle «mi» + past participle + past ending

mirafteam mirafteim
miraftei mirafteid
mirafte mirafteand
kâr mikardeam kâr mikardeim
kâr mikardei kâr mikardeid
kâr mikarde kâr mikardeand

Examples

This tense does not have any equivalents in English but its usage covers English «present perfect progressive». See notes mentioned for past imperfect.

  • Engelisi mikhwânde? — Has she been studying English?
  • Sâlhâ ânjâ dars midâde — She has been teaching there many years
  • U râ az moddathâ pish mishenâkhteam — I have known her a long time
  • Che moddat barâ-ye ân sherkat kâr mikardeid? — How long have you been working for that firm?

Past precedent imperfect

RULE imperfect particle «mi» + past participle + auxiliary «budan» (to be) in past simple

singular plural
1st mirafte budam mirafte budim
2nd mirafte budi mirafte budid
3rd mirafte bud mirafte budand
singular plural
1st kâr mikarde budam kâr mikarde budim
2nd kâr mikarde budi kâr mikarde budid
3rd kâr mikarde bud kâr mikarde budand

This tense does not have any equivalents in English but its usage covers English «past perfect progressive». See notes mentioned for past imperfect.

Past narrative precedent

RULE past participle + auxiliary «budan» (to be) in past narrative

rafte budeam rafte budeim
rafte budei rafte budeid
rafte bude rafte budeand
kâr karde budeam kâr karde budeim
kâr karde budei kâr karde budeid
kâr karde bude kâr karde budeand

Examples

This tense does not have any equivalents in English. Just as «I have gone» brings «I went» to the present time, this tense brings «I had gone» to the present time.

  • Goft ke ân film râ dide bude — She said she had seen that movie
  • Az man porsid ke cherâ in ghadr zud mehmâni râ tark karde budeam — He asked me why I had left the party so early
  • Vâzeh bud ke be mâ âdres-e eshtebâh dâde bude — It was clear that he had given us the wrong address

Past narrative precedent imperfect

RULE imperfect particle «mi» + past participle + auxiliary «budan» (to be) in past narrative

mirafte budeam mirafte budeim
mirafte budei mirafte budeid
mirafte bude mirafte budeand
kâr mikarde budeam kâr mikarde budeim
kâr mikarde budei kâr mikarde budeid
kâr mikarde bude kâr mikarde budeand

This tense does not have any equivalents in English.