The past: one stem, six endings
The past is the friendliest corner of the grammar: take the past stem, add the person, done. Raftan, to go, has the stem raft: raftam, I went; rafti, you went; raft. Khordan gives khordam — I ate; boodan gives boodam — I was. No auxiliary, no agreement tricks, and the same six endings fit every verb in the language. Diruz be bazaar raftam — yesterday I went to the bazaar — is a complete sentence with no pronoun at…
How it works
The past is the friendliest corner of the grammar: take the past stem, add the person, done. Raftan, to go, has the stem raft: raftam, I went; rafti, you went; raft. Khordan gives khordam — I ate; boodan gives boodam — I was. No auxiliary, no agreement tricks, and the same six endings fit every verb in the language. Diruz be bazaar raftam — yesterday I went to the bazaar — is a complete sentence with no pronoun at all.
Table
| Who | رفتن — to go | خوردن — to eat | بودن — to be |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | رفتم — raftam | خوردم — khordam | بودم — boodam |
| you | رفتی — rafti | خوردی — khordi | بودی — boodi |
| he, she | رفت — raft | خورد — khord | بود — bood |
| we | رفتیم — raftim | خوردیم — khordim | بودیم — boodim |
| you (pl.) | رفتید — raftid | خوردید — khordid | بودید — boodid |
| they | رفتند — raftand | خوردند — khordand | بودند — boodand |
By example
- دیروز به بازار رفتمdiruz be bâzâr râftamYesterday I went to the bazaar
- چای خوردمchay khârdamI drank tea
- در خانه بودمdar khâne budamI was at home
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
The past: how does it work in Persian?
The past is the friendliest corner of the grammar: take the past stem, add the person, done. Raftan, to go, has the stem raft: raftam, I went; rafti, you went; raft. Khordan gives khordam — I ate; boodan gives boodam — I was. No auxiliary, no agreement tricks, and the same six endings fit every…
What does it look like in a Persian example sentence?
“دیروز به بازار رفتم” (diruz be bâzâr râftam) — Yesterday I went to the bazaar. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.