The past: the same root, -id and the person on the end
Every verb keeps two stems, and the past one is the generous one: add the person ending and the word is done. Khandan, to laugh, gives khandidam — I laughed; khandidi — you laughed; khand. The present of the same verb takes a shortened stem: mikhandam — I laugh. Notice who is who: the -am, -i, -Ø, -im, -id, -and set is the same across all verbs, past and present alike. Madaram ghamgin bood — my mother was sad…
How it works
Every verb keeps two stems, and the past one is the generous one: add the person ending and the word is done. Khandan, to laugh, gives khandidam — I laughed; khandidi — you laughed; khand. The present of the same verb takes a shortened stem: mikhandam — I laugh. Notice who is who: the -am, -i, -Ø, -im, -id, -and set is the same across all verbs, past and present alike. Madaram ghamgin bood — my mother was sad — shows boodan wearing the same endings.
Table
| Who | Past | Reading | Present | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | خندیدم | khandidam | میخندم | mi-khandam |
| you | خندیدی | khandidi | میخندی | mi-khandi |
| he, she | خندید | khandid | میخنده | mi-khande |
| we | خندیدیم | khandidim | میخندیم | mi-khandim |
| you (pl.) | خندیدید | khandidid | میخندید | mi-khandid |
| they | خندیدند | khandidand | میخندن | mi-khandan |
By example
- دیروز خیلی خندیدمdiruz kheyli khândidamYesterday I laughed a lot
- مادرم غمگین بودmâdarem gâmgin budMother was sad
- امشب خسته بودمemshab khâste budamIn the evening I was tired
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
How the past tense is formed in persian?
Every verb keeps two stems, and the past one is the generous one: add the person ending and the word is done. Khandan, to laugh, gives khandidam — I laughed; khandidi — you laughed; khand. The present of the same verb takes a shortened stem: mikhandam — I laugh. Notice who is who: the -am, -i, -Ø…
Khandidam conjugation?
Every verb keeps two stems, and the past one is the generous one: add the person ending and the word is done. Khandan, to laugh, gives khandidam — I laughed; khandidi — you laughed; khand. The present of the same verb takes a shortened stem: mikhandam — I laugh. Notice who is who: the -am, -i, -Ø…
Past and present from the same root?
Every verb keeps two stems, and the past one is the generous one: add the person ending and the word is done. Khandan, to laugh, gives khandidam — I laughed; khandidi — you laughed; khand. The present of the same verb takes a shortened stem: mikhandam — I laugh. Notice who is who: the -am, -i, -Ø…
Boodam conjugation?
Every verb keeps two stems, and the past one is the generous one: add the person ending and the word is done. Khandan, to laugh, gives khandidam — I laughed; khandidi — you laughed; khand. The present of the same verb takes a shortened stem: mikhandam — I laugh. Notice who is who: the -am, -i, -Ø…
What does it look like in a Persian example sentence?
“دیروز خیلی خندیدم” (diruz kheyli khândidam) — Yesterday I laughed a lot. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.