Imperative mood is made from the subjunctive mood with the difference that the ending for 2nd person singular is omitted. In Persian, all six persons have an imperative form. English is not so. The main imperative tenses are as follows:
Present simple
STRUCTURE It is made from subjunctive present simple
benevisam | - | benevisim | let's write! |
---|---|---|---|
benevis | write! | benevisid | write! |
benevisad | - | benevisand | - |
kâr bekonam | - | kâr bekonim | let's work! |
---|---|---|---|
kâr bekon | work! | kâr bekonid | work! |
kâr bekonad | - | kâr bekonand | - |
Regarding compound verbs, the subjunctive prefix be- is often omitted especially when the verb is kardan or shodan.
If the present stem ends in -av then it changes to -ow for 2S (because it doesn't take ending). The reason is that final -av becomes -aw (pronounced similar to ou in house) and the diphthong sound aw has become ow in Persian of Iran.
beravam | - | beravim | let's go! |
---|---|---|---|
berow | go! | beravid | go! |
beravad | - | beravand | - |
In spoken Persian, be- is sometimes pronouncded bo- as kind of vowel harmony:
- Borow! — Go!
- Borow kenâr! — Go away!
- Bokhor! — Eat!
NOTE The imperative present of the verb budan (to be) is made with the stem bâsh. Additionally, it doesn't take the subjunctive prefix be:
bâsham | - | bâshim | let's be! |
---|---|---|---|
bâsh | be! | bâshid | be! |
bâshad | - | bâshand | - |
Negative form
As mentioned on the page about negative conjugation, the negative form of present subjunctive (and consequently, present imperative), is made by replacing be- with na-:
nanevisam | - | nanevisim | let's not write! |
---|---|---|---|
nanevis | don't write! | nanevisid | don't write! |
nanevisad | - | nanevisand | - |
kâr nakonam | - | kâr nakonim | let's not work! |
---|---|---|---|
kâr nakon | don't work! | kâr nakonid | don't work! |
kâr nakonad | - | kâr nakonand | - |
Examples
- Dasthâ-yat râ beshur! — Wash your hands!
- Kafshhâ-yat râ bepush! — Put your shoes on!
- Be man dast nazan! — Don't touch me!
- Movâzeb bâsh! — Look out!
- Sâket bâsh! — Be quiet!
- Bebin! — See!
- Negâh kon! — Look!
- Narow! — Don't go!
- Biyâ! — Come!
- Nayâ! — Don't come!
- Biyâ injâ! — Come here!
- Khafe show! — Shut up!
- Gom show! — Get lost!
Past narrative
STRUCTURE It is made from subjunctive past narrative
rafte bâsham | - | rafte bâshim | - |
---|---|---|---|
rafte bâsh | - | rafte bâshid | - |
rafte bâshad | - | rafte bâshand | - |
kâr karde bâsham | - | kâr karde bâshim | - |
---|---|---|---|
kâr karde bâsh | - | kâr karde bâshad | - |
kâr karde bâshad | - | kâr karde bâshand | - |