Present Continuous

Forming the Present Continuous in Persian

In Persian, the present continuous describes actions that are happening “right now,” or around the present moment. In modern spoken and written standard Persian, this meaning is expressed mainly with the particle دارم / داری / دارد … plus a present stem.

Persian does not have a separate verb form like English “-ing.” Instead, it uses a combination of the verb داشتن dâštan “to have” and the present tense of the main verb.

You already know the simple present (without داشتن). Here we add the correct form of داشتن dâštan in front of it to show that the action is in progress.

The Verb «داشتن» in the Present

Here is the present tense of داشتن dâštan when it is used as “to have” or as the continuous marker.

من دارم
man dâram
“I have / I am (doing)”

تو داری
to dâri
“you have / you are (doing)” (informal, singular)

او دارد
u dârad
“he / she has / he / she is (doing)”

ما داریم
mâ dârim
“we have / we are (doing)”

شما دارید
šomâ dârid
“you have / you are (doing)” (formal or plural)

آنها دارند
ânhâ dârand
“they have / they are (doing)”

When followed by a verb in simple present, these forms give the present continuous meaning.

Present Continuous with Simple Verbs

Combine دارم / داری … with the simple present form of a verb.

For example, with the verb رفتن raftan, to go (present stem: رو rav-):

من می‌روم
man mi-ravam
“I go.”

من دارم می‌روم
man dâram mi-ravam
“I am going.”

The meaning changes from a general or habitual action to something happening now.

More examples with common verbs:

خوردن xordan “to eat”
من می‌خورم
man mi-xoram
“I eat.”

من دارم می‌خورم
man dâram mi-xoram
“I am eating.”

خواندن xândan “to read”
او می‌خواند
u mi-xânad
“he / she reads.”

او دارد می‌خواند
u dârad mi-xânad
“he / she is reading.”

نوشتن neveštan “to write”
ما می‌نویسیم
mâ mi-nevisim
“we write.”

ما داریم می‌نویسیم
mâ dârim mi-nevisim
“we are writing.”

The position of words stays the same as in simple present. You only add the correct form of داشتن in front.

Present Continuous in Everyday Conversation

In real-life Persian, you will hear the present continuous very often, especially in informal speech. Pronunciation can be slightly shorter or more relaxed, but the structure is the same.

Typical conversational examples:

من دارم می‌آم.
man dâram mi-âm.
“I am coming.”

کجا داری می‌ری؟
kojâ dâri mi-ri?
“Where are you going?” (informal “you”)

داریم می‌ریم خونه.
dârim mi-rim xune.
“We are going home.”

Note these points:

1. The particle می mi- is still used with the main verb, exactly as in the simple present.
2. The progress meaning “right now” comes from داشتن dâštan.
3. In everyday speech, people may pronounce می‌روم as میرَم mi-ram, می‌روی as می‌ری mi-ri, etc., but in writing we keep the full forms, especially for learning.

“Right Now” Time Expressions

To show that something is happening at the moment of speaking, speakers often use expressions like:

الان
al’ân
“now / right now”

الان دارم می‌نویسم.
al’ân dâram mi-nevisam.
“Right now I am writing.”

همین الان
hamin al’ân
“right this moment”

همین الان داری می‌خونی؟
hamin al’ân dâri mi-xuni?
“Are you reading right now?” (informal)

امروز
emruz
“today” (with present continuous, can mean “today, these days I am doing …”)

این روزها
in ruzhâ
“these days”

این روزها دارم فارسی یاد می‌گیرم.
in ruzhâ dâram fârsi yâd migiram.
“These days I am learning Persian.”

The grammar is still the same: داشتن in the present + simple present verb. The time expression only adds clarity.

Emphasis with Word Order

The normal order is:

Subject + داشتن + verb

من دارم کار می‌کنم.
man dâram kâr mi-konam.
“I am working.”

If you move other elements, the emphasis changes, but the continuous form remains:

الان دارم کار می‌کنم.
al’ân dâram kâr mi-konam.
“Right now I am working.” (emphasis on time “now”)

من دارم این کتاب رو می‌خونم.
man dâram in ketâb ro mi-xunam.
“I am reading this book.” (emphasis on “this book”)

The present continuous still depends on دارم / داری / دارد … + simple present.

Habit vs Action in Progress

Persian uses:

1. Simple present, often with adverbs of frequency, for habits.
2. Present continuous, often with “now / these days,” for ongoing actions.

Compare:

من هر روز کار می‌کنم.
man har ruz kâr mi-konam.
“I work every day.” (habit, simple present)

من الان دارم کار می‌کنم.
man al’ân dâram kâr mi-konam.
“I am working now.” (right now, present continuous)

او فارسی یاد می‌گیرد.
u fârsi yâd migirad.
“He / she learns Persian.” or “He / she is a Persian learner.” (more general)

او دارد فارسی یاد می‌گیرد.
u dârad fârsi yâd migirad.
“He / she is learning Persian (at this period / now).” (ongoing process)

Negative Present Continuous

To make the present continuous negative, you keep the present of داشتن and negate the main verb, not داشتن.

Important: Do not say من ندارم می‌خورم for “I am not eating.” That means “I do not have, I eat,” which is incorrect.

Examples:

من دارم نمی‌خونم.
man dâram ne-mi-xunam.
“I am not reading.”

تو داری نمی‌نویسی؟
to dâri ne-mi-nevisi?
“Aren’t you writing?” (informal)

ما داریم نمی‌ریم.
mâ dârim ne-mi-rim.
“We are not going (right now / as planned).”

When the negative refers to possession (“I do not have”), you negate داشتن itself:

من ندارم.
man nadâram.
“I do not have.”

So, meaning is different depending on where the “نـ ne-” goes.

Questions in the Present Continuous

To form yes/no questions in the present continuous, you only change the intonation or add a question word. The word order remains the same.

Yes/no question with intonation:

داری می‌ری؟
dâri mi-ri?
“Are you going?” (informal)

الان داری می‌خوری؟
al’ân dâri mi-xori?
“Are you eating now?”

دارید کار می‌کنید؟
dârid kâr mi-konid?
“Are you working?” (formal or plural)

With question words:

کجا داری می‌ری؟
kojâ dâri mi-ri?
“Where are you going?” (informal)

چی داری می‌نویسی؟
či dâri mi-nevisi?
“What are you writing?” (informal)

کی دارن می‌آن؟
key dâran mi-yân?
“When are they coming?”

The continuous meaning is still shown by the present of داشتن + simple present verb.

Present Continuous with Compound Verbs

Persian uses many compound verbs, often a noun + a light verb like کردن kardan “to do,” زدن zadan “to hit,” or گرفتن gereftan “to take.”

In present continuous, only the light verb takes the present continuous pattern. The noun stays in place.

Example with کار کردن kâr kardan “to work”:

Simple present:
من کار می‌کنم.
man kâr mi-konam.
“I work.”

Present continuous:
من دارم کار می‌کنم.
man dâram kâr mi-konam.
“I am working.”

Another example with حرف زدن harf zadan “to speak, to talk”:

Simple present:
او حرف می‌زند.
u harf mi-zanad.
“He / she speaks.”

Present continuous:
او دارد حرف می‌زند.
u dârad harf mi-zanad.
“He / she is speaking.”

With نگاه کردن negâh kardan “to look, to watch”:

Simple present:
ما تلویزیون نگاه می‌کنیم.
mâ televizion negâh mi-konim.
“We watch TV.”

Present continuous:
ما داریم تلویزیون نگاه می‌کنیم.
mâ dârim televizion negâh mi-konim.
“We are watching TV.”

You do not insert داشتن inside the compound verb. It stands before the whole phrase.

Present Continuous for Temporary Situations

The present continuous can also describe a temporary situation that is true “around now,” not just at this exact second.

For example:

این روزها دارم زیاد کار می‌کنم.
in ruzhâ dâram ziyâd kâr mi-konam.
“These days I am working a lot.”

الان دارم توی تهران زندگی می‌کنم.
al’ân dâram tu-ye Tehrân zendegi mi-konam.
“Right now I am living in Tehran.” (maybe it will change later)

امسال دارم فارسی درس می‌دم.
em-sâl dâram fârsi dars mi-dam.
“This year I am teaching Persian.” (temporary work or project)

In all these examples, the action is not permanent, but it is happening during a limited period around the present.

Present Continuous with “Still” and “Already”

You can combine the present continuous with words like “still” and “already” to add nuance.

هنوز
hanooz
“still, yet”

من هنوز دارم می‌خونم.
man hanooz dâram mi-xunam.
“I am still reading.”

هنوز داری کار می‌کنی؟
hanooz dâri kâr mi-koni?
“Are you still working?” (informal)

دیگه
dige
“any more” (in negatives), also “now, already” in informal speech

دیگه دارم می‌رم.
dige dâram mi-ram.
“I am going now / I am about to go.” (informal)

من دیگه دارم نمی‌خورم.
man dige dâram ne-mi-xoram.
“I am not eating any more.”

باز
bâz
“again”

باز داری دیر می‌رسی.
bâz dâri dir mi-resi.
“You are arriving late again.” (informal “you”)

These words do not change the grammar of the continuous. They only adjust the meaning.

Vocabulary Table