- How is the indicative past narrative imperfect tense formed?
- How is its negative conjugation formed?
- What is the equivalent English tense?
The indicative past narrative imperfect is a past tense with an indicative mood that has both narrative and imperfect aspects at the same time. It is formed according to the following pattern:
| می (mi-) | + | past participle | + | weak form of بودن (to be) in present simple |
|---|
The weak form of بودن (budan: to be) in present simple is:
| 1S | ام am |
1P | ایم im |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2S | ای i |
2P | اید id |
| 3S | است ast |
3P | اند and |
Conjugation
Simple verbs
- Infinitive: رفتن (raftan: to go)
- Past participle: رفته (rafte: gone)
| 1S | می‌رفته‌ام mirafteam I have used to go I have been going |
|---|---|
| 2S | می‌رفته‌ای miraftei You have used to go You have been going |
| 3S | می‌رفته‌است mirafteast He/She has used to go He/She has been going |
| 1P | می‌رفته‌ایم mirafteim We have used to go We have been going |
| 2P | می‌رفته‌اید mirafteid You have used to go You have been going |
| 3P | می‌رفته‌اند mirafteand They have used to go They have been going |
Compound verbs
- Verb: کار کردن (kâr kardan: to work)
- Preverb: کار (kâr: work)
- Infinitive: کردن (kardan: to do)
- Past participle: کرده (karde: done)
| 1S | کار می‌کرده‌ام kâr mikardeam I have used to work I have been working |
|---|---|
| 2S | کار می‌کرده‌ای kâr mikardei You have used to work You have been working |
| 3S | کار می‌کرده‌است kâr mikardeast He/She has used to work He/She has been working |
| 1P | کار می‌کرده‌ایم kâr mikardeim We have used to work We have been working |
| 2P | کار می‌کرده‌اید kâr mikardeid You have used to work You have been working |
| 3P | کار می‌کرده‌اند kâr mikardeand They have used to work They have been working |
Negative conjugation
The negative form of the past narrative imperfect tense is constructed by prefixing ن (ne-) to می (mi-).
| 1S | نمی‌رفته‌ام nemirafteam I have not used to go I have not been going |
|---|---|
| 2S | نمی‌رفته‌ای nemiraftei You have not used to go You have not been going |
| 3S | نمی‌رفته‌است nemirafteast He/She has not used to go He/She has not been going |
| 1P | نمی‌رفته‌ایم nemirafteim We have not used to go We have not been going |
| 2P | نمی‌رفته‌اید nemirafteid You have not used to go You have not been going |
| 3P | نمی‌رفته‌اند nemirafteand They have not used to go They have not been going |
| 1S | کار نمی‌کرده‌ام kâr nemikardeam I have not used to work I have not been working |
|---|---|
| 2S | کار نمی‌کرده‌ای kâr nemikardei You have not used to work You have not been working |
| 3S | کار نمی‌کرده‌است kâr nemikardeast He/She has not used to work He/She has not been working |
| 1P | کار نمی‌کرده‌ایم kâr nemikardeim We have not used to work We have not been working |
| 2P | کار نمی‌کرده‌اید kâr nemikardeid You have not used to work You have not been working |
| 3P | کار نمی‌کرده‌اند kâr nemikardeand They have not used to work They have not been working |
Examples
The past narrative imperfect tense does not have an exact equivalent in English but its usage covers English present perfect continuous.
| انگلیسی می‌خوانده‌است؟ Engelisi mikhwândeast? Has she been studying English? |
| سالها آنجا درس می‌داده‌است Sâlhâ ânjâ dars midâdeast She has been teaching there many years |
| او را از مدتها پیش می‌شناخته‌ام U râ az moddathâ pish mishenâkhteam I have known her a long time |
| چه مدت برای آن شرکت کار می‌کرده‌اید؟ Che moddat barâ-ye ân sherkat kâr mikardeid? How long have you been working for that firm? |