The past precedent indicative tense describes a completed occurrence in the past that precedes another past occurrence (hence called “precedent” aspect) and is based on the known state of affairs (→ indicative mood). Persian past precedent is similar to English pluperfect. The pluperfect tense is more commonly called “past perfect” but English does not have a true past perfect tense i.e. a past occurence that precedes another past occurrence and has present relevance. Persian has such a tense and it is called: past precedent perfect.
Formation
The past precedent tense is formed according to the following pattern in the indicative mood. As opposed to languages like French and German, the auxiliary verb is always بودن (to be).
| past participle | بودن in perfective past |
The conjugation of the auxiliary verb بودن in perfective past is:
| 1S | بودم
budam |
1P | بودیم
budim |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2S | بودی
budi |
2P | بودید
budid |
| 3S | بود
bud |
3P | بودند
budand |
Conjugation
Simple verbs
- Verb: رفتن (“raftan”; to go)
- Past stem: رفت (“raft”)
| 1S | رفته بودم
rafte budam I had gone |
|---|---|
| 2S | رفته بودی
rafte budi You had gone |
| 3S | رفته بود
rafte bud He/She had gone |
| 1P | رفته بودیم
rafte budim We had gone |
| 2P | رفته بودید
rafte budid You had gone |
| 3P | رفته بودند
rafte budand They had gone |
Compound verbs
- Verb: کار کردن (“kâr kardan”; to work)
- Preverb: کار (“kâr”)
- Past stem: کرد (“kard”)
| 1S | کار کرده بودم
kâr karde budam I had worked |
|---|---|
| 2S | کار کرده بودی
kâr karde budi You had worked |
| 3S | کار کرده بود
kâr karde bud He/She had worked |
| 1P | کار کرده بودیم
kâr karde budim We had worked |
| 2P | کار کرده بودید
kâr karde budid You had worked |
| 3P | کار کرده بودند
kâr karde budand They had worked |
Negative conjugation
The negative form of the past precedent tense is constructed by adding ن (“na-”) before the past participle.
| 1S | نرفته بودم
narafte budam I had not gone |
|---|---|
| 2S | نرفته بودی
narafte budi You had not gone |
| 3S | نرفته بود
narafte bud He/She had not gone |
| 1P | نرفته بودیم
narafte budim We had not gone |
| 2P | نرفته بودید
narafte budid You had not gone |
| 3P | نرفته بودند
narafte budand They had not gone |
| 1S | کار نکرده بودم
kâr nakarde budam I had not worked |
|---|---|
| 2S | کار نکرده بودی
kâr nakarde budi You had not worked |
| 3S | کار نکرده بود
kâr nakarde bud He/She had not worked |
| 1P | کار نکرده بودیم
kâr nakarde budim We had not worked |
| 2P | کار نکرده بودید
kâr nakarde budid You had not worked |
| 3P | کار نکرده بودند
kâr nakarde budand They had not worked |
Examples
| پولی نداشتم چون کیفم را گم کرده بودم
Pul-i nadâštam čon kif-am râ gom karde budam I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet |
| وقتی که به ایستگاه رسیدم، قطار تازه رفته بود
Vaǧt-i ke be istgâh residam, ǧatâr tâze rafte bud The train had just left when I arrived at the station |
| مادرم تازه رختها را پهن کرده بود که باران گرفت
Mâdar-am tâze raxthâ râ pahn karde bud ke bârân gereft My mother had just put the washing out when it started to rain |
| او را قبلا دیده بودم اما یادم نمی‌آمد کجا
U râ ǧablan dide budam ammâ yâd-am nemiâmad kojâ I had seen her before, but I couldn’t remember where |