Present Tense (Simple Present)

Introduction to the Persian Simple Present

In this chapter you learn how to talk about habits, facts, and things that happen regularly in Persian. This is called the simple present tense. You will see how verbs change with different subjects, how to form negatives, and how to say very basic questions in the present. We will focus on common, high‑frequency verbs so you can start speaking right away.

Remember that the detailed list of “common verbs in daily life” will come in the next chapter, so here we use only a small but important set of verbs as examples.

What the Simple Present Is Used For

Persian uses the simple present to talk about repeated actions, routines, and general truths. In English this is the same basic idea as “I go,” “you eat,” “she works,” and “we live.”

Some typical uses are:

I live in Tehran.
He works in a bank.
We study Persian every day.
Water boils at 100 degrees.

In Persian, the same ideas use the simple present forms that you will learn in this chapter.

The Structure of the Simple Present

The Persian simple present is built in three parts: a prefix, a verb stem, and a personal ending.

For most verbs in spoken and standard modern Persian, the pattern is:

In everyday modern Persian, the same form is usually written and pronounced as:

می‌رم miram “I go”

This shorter, spoken form is very common, so in this chapter we show both the “full” and the common colloquial form when needed.

Personal Endings in the Simple Present

The personal endings are the small parts that show who does the action. You already met Persian personal pronouns in an earlier chapter. Here you see how each pronoun connects to its ending in the simple present.

For regular verbs, the endings are:

In everyday spoken Persian, many people drop the final “d” in -ad and -and and do not pronounce the short a. So:

می‌رود miravad often sounds like می‌ره mire
می‌روند miravand often sounds like می‌رن miran

Both are correct in practice, but written standard Persian keeps the full forms more often, especially in formal texts.

The Key Verb “to go” رفتن (raftan)

The verb “to go” is very frequent and is a good model. The present stem of رفتن is رو rav (in speech often pronounced rov or ro).

Here is the simple present of رفتن in standard and spoken forms:

من می‌روم man miravam / miram “I go”
تو می‌روی to miravi / miri “You go” (singular)
او می‌رود u miravad / mire “He / she goes”
ما می‌رویم mâ miravim / mirim “We go”
شما می‌روید shomâ miravid / mirid “You go” (plural / formal)
آنها می‌روند ânhâ miravand / miran “They go”

You can now start making simple present sentences:

من به مدرسه می‌روم.
man be madrese miravam / miram.
“I go to school.”

او به کار می‌رود.
u be kâr miravad / mire.
“He / she goes to work.”

The Verb “to want” خواستن (khâstan)

Another very common verb in the present is “to want” خواستن khâstan. Its present stem is خواه khâh. In everyday speech, the forms are often slightly shorter.

Standard simple present:

من می‌خواهم man mikhâham “I want”
تو می‌خواهی to mikhâhi “You want”
او می‌خواهد u mikhâhad “He / she wants”
ما می‌خواهیم mâ mikhâhim “We want”
شما می‌خواهید shomâ mikhâhid “You want” (plural / formal)
آنها می‌خواهند ânhâ mikhâhand “They want”

In speech, you often hear:

می‌خوام mikham “I want”
می‌خوای mikhâyi / mikhâi “You want”
می‌خواد mikhâd / mikhâ “He / she wants”
می‌خوایم mikhâim “We want”
می‌خواید mikhâid “You (pl.) want”
می‌خوان mikhân “They want”

Example sentences:

من آب می‌خواهم.
man âb mikhâham / mikham.
“I want water.”

او کتاب می‌خواهد.
u ketâb mikhâhad / mikhâd.
“He / she wants a book.”

The Verb “to have” داشتن (dâshtan) in the Present

The verb “to have” داشتن dâshtan is essential in daily communication. Its present stem is دار dâr when it is used as a normal verb. In practice, “to have” in the sense of possession is usually expressed with “dâshtan” in the simple present.

Standard forms:

من دارم man dâram “I have”
تو داری to dâri “You have”
او دارد u dârad “He / she has”
ما داریم mâ dârim “We have”
شما دارید shomâ dârid “You have” (plural / formal)
آنها دارند ânhâ dârand “They have”

In speech, you often do not use the prefix “mi-” with “dâshtan” when it means simple possession. So “I have a book” is usually:

من کتاب دارم.
man ketâb dâram.
“I have a book.”

If you add “mi-” and say می‌دارم, it sounds literary or old in modern Persian for most meanings. For A2 you can remember that for normal “have” (possession) you just use the forms above without “mi-”.

More examples:

او پول دارد.
u pul dârad.
“He / she has money.”

ما ماشین داریم.
mâ mâshin dârim.
“We have a car.”

The Verb “to eat” خوردن (khordan)

The verb “to eat” is خوردن khordan. The present stem is خور khor. In spoken language it is often pronounced khor or xor, and in some forms the “r” sound may weaken, but you should keep it in careful speech.

Standard simple present:

من می‌خورم man mikhoram “I eat”
تو می‌خوری to mikhori “You eat”
او می‌خورد u mikhorad “He / she eats”
ما می‌خوریم mâ mikhorim “We eat”
شما می‌خورید shomâ mikhorid “You eat” (plural / formal)
آنها می‌خورند ânhâ mikhorand “They eat”

Spoken forms:

می‌خورم mikhoram or می‌خورَم with less clear vowels
often heard simply as “mikhhoram,” “mikhori,” “mikhore,” “mikhorim,” “mikhorid,” “mikhoran.”

Examples:

من نان می‌خورم.
man nân mikhoram.
“I eat bread.”

آنها برنج می‌خورند.
ânhâ berenj mikhorand / mikhoran.
“They eat rice.”

The Verb “to go” vs “to come” آمدن (âmadan)

To complete your basic movement verbs, you should also know “to come” آمدن âmadan. The present stem is آ a or آی ây in some forms. In writing, the present stem is often written as آی ây.

Standard simple present:

من می‌آیم man miâyam “I come”
تو می‌آیی to miâyi “You come”
او می‌آید u miâyad “He / she comes”
ما می‌آییم mâ miâyim “We come”
شما می‌آیید shomâ miâyid “You come” (plural / formal)
آنها می‌آیند ânhâ miâyand “They come”

In everyday speech:

میام miyâm / miâm “I come”
میای miyâi “You come”
میاد miyâd “He / she comes”
میایم miyâim “We come”
میاید miyâid “You (pl.) come”
میان miyân “They come”

Examples:

من به خانه می‌آیم.
man be khâne miâyam / miyâm.
“I come home.”

دوستِ من اینجا می‌آید.
dust-e man injâ miâyad / miyâd.
“My friend comes here.”

Forming Negatives in the Simple Present

Negation in Persian simple present is very regular. You put “na-” or “ne-” in front of the verb instead of “mi-”, or you put it before “dâr-” for “to have.”

For most verbs:

With “to go” رفتن:

من نمی‌روم man nemiravam / nemiram “I do not go”
تو نمی‌روی to nemiravi / nemiri “You do not go”
او نمی‌رود u nemiravad / nemire “He / she does not go”

So in practice, for most verbs the negative is:

ن + می + present stem + ending

like نمی‌رم nemiram “I do not go,” نمی‌خوام nemikham “I do not want,” نمی‌خورم nemikhoram “I do not eat,” etc.

Examples:

من به مدرسه نمی‌روم.
man be madrese nemiravam / nemiram.
“I do not go to school.”

او نان نمی‌خورد.
u nân nemikhorad / nemikhore.
“He / she does not eat bread.”

For “to have” داشتن:

Negation is usually done with “nadâshtan” in the past, but in the simple present of possession, you normally use “nadâram,” “nadâri,” etc., again without “mi-.”

من کتاب ندارم.
man ketâb nadâram.
“I do not have a book.”

ما ماشین نداریم.
mâ mâshin nadârim.
“We do not have a car.”

Here the pattern is:

Simple Present in Short Questions

The full formation of yes/no questions will be in a later chapter, but you can already understand some very basic question patterns in the simple present.

In spoken Persian, yes/no questions often sound the same as statements, but with a rising intonation. In writing, a question mark is used, and sometimes the word آیا âyâ at the beginning, especially in more formal style.

Compare:

تو می‌روی.
to miravi / mir i.
“You go.”

تو می‌روی؟
to miravi / mir i?
“Do you go?”

So the verb form itself does not change. Only the intonation and the question mark show that it is a question.

Some basic examples with the verbs you know:

تو می‌آیی؟
to miâyi / miyâi?
“Do you come?”

شما نان می‌خورید؟
shomâ nân mikhorid?
“Do you eat bread?”

شما ماشین دارید؟
shomâ mâshin dârid?
“Do you have a car?”

In more formal written style:

آیا شما ماشین دارید؟
âyâ shomâ mâshin dârid?
“Do you have a car?”

You do not need to use “âyâ” in everyday conversation. Just raise your voice at the end and use the question mark in writing.

The Simple Present and Time Expressions

To show that something is a habit or a repeated action, you often combine the simple present with adverbs of time or frequency. These adverbs will be studied in detail in the next chapter, but here are two very common words to understand typical sentences:

همیشه hamishe “always”
هر روز har ruz “every day”

Examples:

من همیشه صبحانه می‌خورم.
man hamishe sobhâne mikhordam.
“I always eat breakfast.”

ما هر روز فارسی می‌خوانیم.
mâ har ruz fârsi mikhânim.
“We study Persian every day.”

Here you can see how the simple present naturally fits with “always” and “every day.”

Colloquial Short Forms and Everyday Speech

In real spoken Persian, people often shorten the forms of the simple present. You have already seen some examples, like:

می‌روم → می‌رم miravam → miram
می‌خواهم → می‌خوام mikhâham → mikham
می‌آیم → میام miâyam → miyâm

It is useful to recognize both forms. When you write more formally, you can use the full forms. When you speak, you will probably use the shorter ones.

Try to listen for the following patterns:

Final “-am” is usually pronounced clear: می‌رم miram, می‌خوام mikham.
Final “-ad” often becomes “-e”: می‌رود miravad → می‌ره mire.
Final “-and” often becomes “-an”: می‌روند miravand → می‌رن miran.

At A2 level, it is enough if you can understand these spoken forms and produce either full or short forms correctly.

Practice Models

Here are a few short model sentences that show the verbs in simple present. Try to read them aloud and translate them:

من فارسی می‌خوانم.
man fârsi mikhânam.
“I study / read Persian.”

تو آب می‌خوری.
to âb mikhori.
“You drink water.” (literally “you eat water,” but in context it means “drink”)

او تهران زندگی می‌کند.
u tehrân zendegi mikonad / mikone.
“He / she lives in Tehran.”

ما به مدرسه می‌رویم.
mâ be madrese miravim / mirim.
“We go to school.”

شما کتاب دارید.
shomâ ketâb dârid.
“You have a book.”

آنها قهوه نمی‌خورند.
ânhâ ghahve nemikhorand / nemikhoran.
“They do not drink coffee.”

Vocabulary Table for This Chapter

Below is a list of the important words and forms used in this chapter.