The perfective past indicative tense describes a single completed occurrence (→ perfective aspect) in the past, which is based on the known state of affairs (→ indicative mood). This Persian tense is called “past simple” in other grammar references. However, it has perfective aspect and contrasts with imperfective past tense. In traditional terms, this tense can be referred to as “aorist”. English “past simple” is not exclusively used to express perfective aspect and therefore, it is not an exact equivalent of Persian’s perfective past. For example, in the sentence “I ran every morning” it expresses the imperfective aspect whereas Persian has a difference tense for this aspect.
Formation
The perfective past tense is formed according to the following pattern:
Conjugation
Simple verbs
- Verb: رفتن (“raftan”; to go)
- Past stem: رفت (“raft”)
| 1S | رفتم raftam I went |
|---|---|
| 2S | رفتی rafti You went |
| 3S | رفت raft He/She/It went |
| 1P | رفتیم raftim We went |
| 2P | رفتید raftid You went |
| 3P | رفتند raftand They went |
Compound verbs
- Verb: کار کردن (“kâr kardan”; to work)
- Preverb: کار (“kâr”)
- Past stem: کرد (“kard”)
| 1S | کار کردم kâr kardam I worked |
|---|---|
| 2S | کار کردی kâr kardi You worked |
| 3S | کار کرد kâr kard He/She/It worked |
| 1P | کار کردیم kâr kardim We worked |
| 2P | کار کردید kâr kardid You worked |
| 3P | کار کردند kâr kardand They worked |
Negative conjugation
The negative form of perfective past is constructed by prefixing ن (“na”) to past stem.
| 1S | نرفتم naraftam I did not go |
|---|---|
| 2S | نرفتی narafti You did not go |
| 3S | نرفت naraft He/She/It did not go |
| 1P | نرفتیم naraftim We did not go |
| 2P | نرفتید naraftid You did not go |
| 3P | نرفتند naraftand They did not go |
| 1S | کار نکردم kâr nakardam I did not work |
|---|---|
| 2S | کار نکردی kâr nakardi You did not work |
| 3S | کار نکرد kâr nakard He/She/It did not work |
| 1P | کار نکردیم kâr nakardim We did not work |
| 2P | کار نکردید kâr nakardid You did not work |
| 3P | کار نکردند kâr nakardand They did not work |
Examples
| دیروز صبح، علی را دیدم Diruz sobh, Ali râ didam I saw Ali yesterday morning |
| پارسال، به ایران سفر کردم Pârsâl, be Irân safar kardam Last year, I traveled to Iran |
| ماشینش را شست Mâšin-aš râ šost She washed her car |
| جلسه نزدیک دو ساعت طول کشید Jalase nazdik-e do sâat tul kešid The meeting lasted about two hours |