Past Tense (Simple Past)

Overview of the Simple Past in Persian

In this chapter you learn how to talk about completed actions in the past in Persian. You will see how the simple past is formed, how it is used with different persons, and how regular verbs work. Irregular patterns and more complex uses belong to later chapters, so here we focus on the basic and most common structure.

Persian examples will generally be shown in three forms: Persian script, transliteration in Latin letters, and English meaning.

The Idea of Simple Past

The Persian simple past is used for actions that are finished and complete. It often corresponds to both English “did” and “have done,” depending on context.

For example:
من رفتم.
man raftam.
I went. / I have gone.

In speech and writing at A2 level, the simple past is the main tense you will use to talk about “yesterday,” “last week,” or any finished event.

Structure of the Simple Past

The simple past in Persian is built in three parts:

1. A verb stem (the core part of the verb)
2. A past tense marker, usually the vowel /-t/ or /-d/ attached to the stem
3. A personal ending that shows who did the action

In this chapter we focus on positive (affirmative) sentences. Negation and questions are taught in later sections.

Example with the verb “to go” رفتن / raftan / to go:
رفتن → رفتـ + ـم = رفتم
raftan → raft- + -am = raftam
I went.

Personal Endings for the Simple Past

The personal endings are almost the same for most verbs in the simple past. You add them after the past marker.

Here are the pronouns with their simple past endings, using the verb رفتن / raftan / to go.

من رفتم.
man raftam.
I went.

تو رفتی.
to rafti.
You went. (singular, informal)

او رفت.
u raft.
He / she went.

ما رفتیم.
mā raftim.
We went.

شما رفتید.
shomā raftid.
You went. (plural or formal)

آنها رفتند.
ānhā raftand.
They went.

We can see the pattern more clearly if we separate endings:

من: -م / -am
تو: -ی / -i
او: no ending (just the past stem with t/d)
ما: -یم / -im
شما: -ید / -id
آنها: -ند / -and

Remember that in writing, there is no pronoun agreement on the verb itself beyond these endings. You still usually say the pronoun, especially at A2 level, so that your meaning is clear.

Regular Verb Pattern: Example “to go” and “to eat”

The verb رفتن / raftan / to go is very common and regular in the past.

Infinitive: رفتن / raftan / to go
Past stem: رفت / raft

Now add endings:

من رفتم. man raftam. I went.
تو رفتی. to rafti. You went.
او رفت. u raft. He / she went.
ما رفتیم. mā raftim. We went.
شما رفتید. shomā raftid. You went.
آنها رفتند. ānhā raftand. They went.

Another common verb is خوردن / khordan / to eat.
Past stem: خورد / khord

من خوردم.
man khordam.
I ate.

تو خوردی.
to khordi.
You ate.

او خورد.
u khord.
He / she ate.

ما خوردیم.
mā khordim.
We ate.

شما خوردید.
shomā khordid.
You ate.

آنها خوردند.
ānhā khordand.
They ate.

Finding the Past Stem

For many common verbs at A2 level, you will learn the past form together with the infinitive. A simple way, useful with many regular verbs, is:

1. Take the infinitive.
2. Remove the final ن / -n.
3. The part that remains, often plus /t/ or /d/, is your past stem.

For example:

نوشتن / neveshtan / to write
Remove ن: نوشت / nevesht → past stem: نوشت / nevesht

گفتن / goftan / to say
Remove ن: گفت / goft → past stem: گفت / goft

خریدن / kharidan / to buy
Remove ن: خرید / kharid → past stem: خرید / kharid

Then you add the personal endings.

نوشتن → نوشتـ + م = نوشتم
neveshtan → nevesht- + am = neveshtam
I wrote.

گفتن → گفتـ + ی = گفتی
goftan → goft- + i = gofti
You said.

خریدن → خرید + ند = خریدند
kharidan → kharid + and = kharidand
They bought.

Some very common verbs are irregular in the present, but their simple past still follows this pattern at A2 level, which makes the past easier than the present.

Common Regular Verbs in Simple Past

Here are some high-frequency verbs in the simple past, in full paradigms, to help you see and remember the pattern.

Verb “to write” نوشتن / neveshtan

Infinitive: نوشتن / neveshtan / to write
Past stem: نوشت / nevesht

من نوشتم.
man neveshtam.
I wrote.

تو نوشتی.
to neveshti.
You wrote.

او نوشت.
u nevesht.
He / she wrote.

ما نوشتیم.
mā neveshtim.
We wrote.

شما نوشتید.
shomā neveshtid.
You wrote.

آنها نوشتند.
ānhā neveshtand.
They wrote.

Verb “to say” گفتن / goftan

Infinitive: گفتن / goftan / to say
Past stem: گفت / goft

من گفتم.
man goftam.
I said.

تو گفتی.
to gofti.
You said.

او گفت.
u goft.
He / she said.

ما گفتیم.
mā goftim.
We said.

شما گفتید.
shomā goftid.
You said.

آنها گفتند.
ānhā goftand.
They said.

Verb “to buy” خریدن / kharidan

Infinitive: خریدن / kharidan / to buy
Past stem: خرید / kharid

من خریدم.
man kharidam.
I bought.

تو خریدی.
to kharidi.
You bought.

او خرید.
u kharid.
He / she bought.

ما خریدیم.
mā kharidim.
We bought.

شما خریدید.
shomā kharidid.
You bought.

آنها خریدند.
ānhā kharidand.
They bought.

Using Simple Past in Short Sentences

At A2 level, you connect the simple past with basic vocabulary that you already know, such as people, objects, and time words. In this chapter we focus on the verb part; more detailed time expressions appear in later sections.

Some example sentences:

من دیروز رفتم خانه.
man diruz raftam xāne.
I went home yesterday.

او کتاب خرید.
u ketāb kharid.
He / she bought a book.

ما ناهار خوردیم.
mā nāhār khordim.
We ate lunch.

آنها فارسی گفتند.
ānhā fārsi goftand.
They spoke Persian. (literally: they said Persian.)

تو نامه نوشتی.
to nāme neveshti.
You wrote a letter.

The typical neutral word order stays Subject Object Verb, as you have learned before. The verb in simple past is always at the end of the sentence:

Subject + Object + Verb (in simple past)

For example:
من + کتاب + خریدم.
man + ketāb + kharidam.
I + book + bought.
I bought a book.

Differences in Spoken and Written Forms

At this level, we use standard colloquial forms that are widely understood in Iran. In very informal speech, some endings may be shortened, but you should first learn the full forms:

رفتَم → often pronounced raftam
رفتیم → pronounced raftim
خوردیم → pronounced khordim

You do not need to write the shortened forms. Use the standard spelling with full endings.

Practice Suggestions

To get comfortable with the simple past, practice these steps:

1. Take an infinitive you know, for example رفتن / raftan / to go.
2. Find the past stem: رفت / raft.
3. Add endings for each pronoun and say them aloud.
4. Put the verb at the end of a short sentence with a subject and object.

For example with خوردن / khordan / to eat:

1. Infinitive: خوردن / khordan.
2. Past stem: خورد / khord.
3. Forms: خوردم, خوردی, خورد, خوردیم, خوردید, خوردند.
4. Sentences:
   من صبحانه خوردم.
   man sobhāne khordam.
   I ate breakfast.

ما نان خوردیم.
mā nān khordim.
We ate bread.

With regular practice, the simple past will become automatic and you can then combine it with more complex time expressions and narratives in the following chapters.

Vocabulary List for This Section