The imperfective past precedent indicative tense describes a continuing, repetitive or habitual occurrence (→ imperfective aspect) in the past, which precedes another past occurrence (→ precedent aspect) and is based on the known state of affairs (→ indicative mood). It combines the meanings expressed by imperfective past and past precedent. The imperfective past precedent tense does not have an equivalent in English. It can be translated with different English tenses based on the context. When it refers to a habitual or repeated occurrence, the past perfect tense or the “used to” structure can be used. When it refers to an ongoing occurrence, the past perfect continuous tense can be used.
Formation
The imperfective past precedent is formed according to the following pattern in the indicative mood. The auxiliary verb is always بودن (“budan”; to be)
| می (mi-) | 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 | می‌رفته بودم
mirafte budam I had used to go I had been going |
|---|---|
| 2S | می‌رفته بودی
mirafte budi You had used to go You had been going |
| 3S | می‌رفته بود
mirafte bud He/She had used to go He/She had been going |
| 1P | می‌رفته بودیم
mirafte budim We had used to go We had been going |
| 2P | می‌رفته بودید
mirafte budid You had used to go You had been going |
| 3P | می‌رفته بودند
mirafte budand They had used to go They had been going |
Compound verbs
- Verb: کار کردن (“kâr kardan”; to work)
- Preverb: کار (“kâr”)
- Past stem: کرد (“kard”)
| 1S | کار می‌کرده بودم
kâr mikarde budam I had used to work I had been working |
|---|---|
| 2S | کار می‌کرده بودی
kâr mikarde budi You had used to work You had been working |
| 3S | کار می‌کرده بود
kâr mikarde bud He/She had used to work He/She had been working |
| 1P | کار می‌کرده بودیم
kâr mikarde budim We had used to work We had been working |
| 2P | کار می‌کرده بودید
kâr mikarde budid You had used to work You had been working |
| 3P | کار می‌کرده بودند
kâr mikarde budand They had used to work They had been working |
Negative conjugation
The negative form of the imperfective past precedent tense is constructed by adding ن (“ne-”) before می (“mi-”). In the presence of the imperfective particle “mi”, the negation particle “na” is pronounced “ne”.
| 1S | نمی‌رفته بودم
nemirafte budam I had not used to go I had not been going |
|---|---|
| 2S | نمی‌رفته بودی
nemirafte budi You had not used to go You had not been going |
| 3S | نمی‌رفته بود
nemirafte bud He/She had not used to go He/She had not been going |
| 1P | نمی‌رفته بودیم
nemirafte budim We had not used to go We had not been going |
| 2P | نمی‌رفته بودید
nemirafte budid You had not used to go You had not been going |
| 3P | نمی‌رفته بودند
nemirafte budand They had not used to go They had not been going |
| 1S | کار نمی‌کرده بودم
kâr nemikarde budam I had not used to work I had not been working |
|---|---|
| 2S | کار نمی‌کرده بودی
kâr nemikarde budi You had not used to work You had not been working |
| 3S | کار نمی‌کرده بود
kâr nemikarde bud He/She had not used to work He/She had not been working |
| 1P | کار نمی‌کرده بودیم
kâr nemikarde budim We had not used to work We had not been working |
| 2P | کار نمی‌کرده بودید
kâr nemikarde budid You had not used to work You had not been working |
| 3P | کار نمی‌کرده بودند
kâr nemikarde budand They had not used to work They had not been working |