Perfective Present Subjunctive

The perfective present subjunctive tense describes a single occurrence in present or future, which is based on a hypothetical or subjective attitude rather than the real course of events (→ subjunctive mood). This Persian tense is called “present simple” in other grammar references but it has perfective aspect. Since the present and future are typically expressed with the same tenses in Persian, the perfective present subjunctive tense can also function as the perfective future subjunctive tense.

Formation

The perfective present subjunctive tense is formed according to the following pattern:

Conjugation

Simple verbs

• Verb: رفتن (“raftan”; to go)
• Present stem: رو (“rav”)

Compound verbs

• Verb: کار کردن (“kâr kardan”; to work)
• Preverb: کار (“kâr”)
• Present stem: کن (“kon”)

Special cases

In compound verbs, particularly when the preverb contains the words بر (“bar”) or در (“dar”), the prefix ب is usually omitted.

• Verb: بر گشتن (“bar gaštan”; to return)
• Preverb: بر (“bar”)
• Present stem: گرد (“gard”)

The verb بودن (“budan”; to be) forms its perfective present subjunctive using the stem باش (bâš). Additionally, it does not take the prefix ب:

The verb داشتن (“dâštan”; to have) is not normally conjugated in perfective present subjunctive and instead, its present perfect subjunctive form is used. This also applies to compound verbs retaining the sense of “to have”. The following table compares بر داشتن (“bar dâštan”; to pick up) with دوست داشتن (“dust dâštan”; literally: to have a feeling of liking or love). The verb دوست داشتن is normally conjugated in present perfect subjunctive even though it is possible to conjugate it in perfective present subjunctive.

Subjunctive prefix

The main pronunciation of the subjunctive prefix ب is “be” but it can change to “bi” or “bo” depending on the present stem. When the present stem begins with any vowels but “i”, the epenthetic consonant ی (“y”) is added between the prefix and the vowel. Additionally, “be” changes to “bi”. This case also applies to when the present stem begins with the consonant y.

But when the present stem begins with “i”, the epenthetic consonant is a glottal stop and as a result, its conjugation follows the general pattern:

In spoken Persian, “be” changes to “bo” when the present stem begins with a consonant and the vowel “o”, most notably خوردن (“xordan”), کشتن (koštan) and کردن (“kardan”):