Persian does not use one negative form for every English present sentence. First find the kind of predicate. An ordinary action or process uses نمی on its finite verb: نمیروم “I do not go.” An adjective, noun, or location predicate uses the negative copula: خوشحال نیستم “I am not happy.” Ordinary possession uses ندارم: وقت ندارم “I do not have time.”
The Verbs section teaches how these forms are built. In particular, review Negative Present with نمی for stems, endings, spelling, and prefix placement. This page answers the next question: which Persian predicate receives negation, and exactly what claim does the resulting sentence deny?
The A1 decision procedure
| What is the positive claim? | Negative choice | Model |
|---|---|---|
| someone acts, changes, perceives, or regularly does something | نمی + finite verb | به دانشگاه نمیروم |
| someone/something is a noun, has a property, or is at a location | نیست with subject agreement | خوشحال نیستم |
| someone possesses or has something available | ندارم، ندارد... | وقت ندارم |
| something does not exist in a place or situation | usually third-singular نیست; explicit وجود ندارد in formal contexts | اینجا آسانسور نیست |
من جمعهها به دانشگاه نمیروم.
man jom'e-hâ be dâneshgâh nemi-ravam.
I don't go to the university on Fridays. (neutral; habitual action)
من امروز در دانشگاه نیستم.
man emruz dar dâneshgâh nistam.
I am not at the university today. (neutral; location/state)
من امروز کلاس ندارم.
man emruz kelâs na-dâram.
I don't have class today. (neutral; possession or schedule)
These are not interchangeable negatives. نمیروم denies going, نیستم denies being in a location, and ندارم denies having a class. English uses not or do not across all three, but Persian lets predicate type choose the finite negative.
Actions, habits, and processes take نمی
Use نمی when the positive sentence contains an ordinary present lexical verb. The event can be happening now, repeated as a habit, or stated as a general fact. Its interpretation comes from context; the negative still applies to the verbal claim.
صدایتان را خوب نمیشنوم.
sedâ-yetân râ khub nemi-shenavam.
I can't hear you well. (polite neutral; present perception problem)
این اتوبوس روزهای تعطیل از مرکز شهر نمیگذرد.
in otobus ruz-hâ-ye ta'til az markaz-e shahr nemi-gozarad.
This bus does not pass through the city center on holidays. (neutral; schedule/general habit)
English often translates the first example with cannot, but Persian is simply denying successful hearing. Do not add a modal unless ability itself is the point.
Simple and compound predicates make the same semantic choice. In نمیخوابم, the simple verb is negative. In کار نمیکنم, نمی appears on the finite light verb, but it denies the compound predicate کار کردن as a whole.
این هفته در خانه کار نمیکنم.
in hafte dar khâne kâr nemi-konam.
I'm not working from home this week. (neutral; compound predicate)
بعد از ناهار نمیخوابم؛ فقط کمی استراحت میکنم.
ba'd az nâhâr nemi-khâbam; faqat kami esterâhat mi-konam.
I don't sleep after lunch; I only rest for a while. (neutral; correction of the activity)
The formation of the compound pattern belongs to Compound Verbs in the Present. Here the useful principle is semantic: negate the one finite element of the predicate, not every written word in it.
States and classifications take نیست
An adjective or noun is not a present-tense verb. خوشحال means “happy,” not “is happy”; دانشجو means “student,” not “is a student.” Their negative finite element is a form of نیست.
امروز خستهام، اما ناراحت نیستم.
emruz khaste-am, ammâ nârâhat nistam.
I am tired today, but I am not upset. (neutral; adjective predicate)
این اتاق انبار نیست؛ آزمایشگاه است.
in otâq anbâr nist; âzmâyeshgâh ast.
This room is not a storeroom; it is a laboratory. (neutral; classification correction)
The full negative-copula paradigm is deliberately not repeated here; it belongs to Negative Copula نیست. The predicate-choice contrast is what matters: ordinary actions take نمی, while copular properties and identities take نیست.
Possession and existence
Ordinary present possession uses داشتن without می. Its negative is ندارم، نداری، ندارد..., not نمیدارم. Existence has no possessor; third-singular نیست or formal وجود ندارد describes absence.
امروز برای جلسهی دیگری وقت ندارم.
emruz barâ-ye jalase-ye digari vaqt na-dâram.
I don't have time for another meeting today. (neutral; possession/availability to a person)
در این ساختمان آسانسور نیست.
dar in sâkhtemân âsânsur nist.
There is no elevator in this building. (neutral; existence in a location)
Compare من ماشین ندارم “I do not have a car” with اینجا ماشین نیست “there is no car here.” The first establishes a possessor; the second establishes a location. بودن versus داشتن develops that choice.
One negative operator, one finite element
A basic clause normally needs one negative finite predicate. Do not keep a negative lexical verb and add نیست after it. In من امروز کار نمیکنم, نمیکنم already denies working; a second copula would create an unfinished or contradictory structure.
— امروز کار میکنی؟ — نه، کار نمیکنم؛ مرخصی هستم.
— emruz kâr mi-koni? — na, kâr nemi-konam; morakhkhasi hastam.
— Are you working today? — No, I'm not; I'm on leave. (neutral conversation; action versus state)
Short نه rejects the question, but the full answer still uses the negative appropriate to its predicate. A prohibition, inability, or obligation uses other verbal morphology; consult Negative Imperatives and Subjunctives rather than treating every negative as نمی. Negative words such as هیچکس are taught later under هیچکس and Negative Concord.
Scope: what is being corrected?
The negative finite verb denies the proposition, but context and contrast show the narrower correction. The following sentences share امروز به دفتر نمیروم; the continuation tells the listener whether today or the office is the corrected part.
امروز به دفتر نمیروم؛ فردا میروم.
emruz be daftar nemi-ravam; fardâ mi-ravam.
I'm not going to the office today; I'm going tomorrow. (neutral; correction of time)
امروز به دفتر نمیروم؛ به دانشگاه میروم.
emruz be daftar nemi-ravam; be dâneshgâh mi-ravam.
I'm not going to the office today; I'm going to the university. (neutral; correction of destination)
Persian often uses stress in speech to signal this narrow focus. Since ordinary writing does not mark stress, supplying the positive alternative prevents the reader from mistaking a local correction for a claim that no going happens at all.
Common Mistakes
1. Applying نمی to an adjective
❌ من امروز نمیخوشحالم.
Incorrect — خوشحال is an adjective; its negative finite element is نیستم.
✅ من امروز خوشحال نیستم.
man emruz khoshhâl nistam.
I am not happy today.
2. Using نیست for an ordinary action
❌ من جمعهها به دانشگاه رفتن نیستم.
Incorrect — رفتن is an action, so use the finite verbal negative نمیروم.
✅ من آخر هفتهها به اداره نمیروم.
man âkhar-e hafte-hâ be edâre nemi-ravam.
I don't go to the office at weekends.
3. Using نمیدارم for neutral possession
❌ الان پول نقد نمیدارم.
Incorrect in ordinary Iranian Persian — present possession uses ندارم.
✅ الان پول نقد ندارم.
alân pul-e naqd na-dâram.
I don't have cash right now.
4. Repeating verbal and copular negation
❌ اینترنت امروز کار نمیکند نیست.
Incorrect — نمیکند is already the finite negative of کار کردن; do not add نیست.
✅ اینترنت امروز خوب کار نمیکند.
internet emruz khub kâr nemi-konad.
The internet is not working well today.
5. Leaving a narrow correction unclear
❌ من امروز به شیراز نمیروم، یعنی هیچ سفری ندارم؛ به اصفهان میروم.
Incorrect interpretation — the final clause shows that only the destination شیراز is denied, not all travel.
✅ من امروز به شیراز نمیروم؛ به اصفهان میروم.
man emruz be Shirâz nemi-ravam; be Esfahân mi-ravam.
I'm not going to Shiraz today; I'm going to Isfahan. (destination correction)
Key Takeaways
- Identify the predicate first: action نمیروم, copular state خوشحال نیستم, possession وقت ندارم, existence اینجا آسانسور نیست.
- Place one negative operator on the clause's finite predicate; do not negate every content word.
- Simple and compound action predicates both use نمی on their finite verbal element.
- A continuation can show whether negation corrects the time, destination, object, or whole event.
- Use the linked Verbs pages for formation and paradigms; this page is about predicate choice and meaning.
Now practice Farsi
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Negative Present with نمیA1 — Negate Persian present verbs with نمی, place it correctly in simple and compound predicates, and use negative indefinites without English interference.
- Negative Copula نیستA1 — Negate Persian noun, adjective, and locative predicates with the inflected نیست series rather than prefixing the positive copula.
- بودن versus هستنA1 — Distinguish Persian بودن from the هست series in identity, existence, presence, past tense, and the subjunctive.
- Compound Verbs in the PresentA1 — Conjugate Persian compound verbs by keeping the nonverbal element stable and placing present-tense marking on the light verb.
- هیچکس and Negative ConcordA2 — Understand how Persian licenses هیچ-expressions across a clause, assigns their scope, and changes their interpretation in questions and other nondeclarative contexts.