Present Third-Person Endings ad to e and and to an | Farsi Grammar

In the standard present system, third singular ends in ـد and third plural in ـند: می‌رسد، می‌رسند. Everyday Tehran Persian regularly uses ـه and ـن instead: می‌رسه، می‌رسن (informal, regional: Tehran). The ending changes its sound and spelling, but the opposition between “he/she/it” and “they” remains.

This mapping is productive across many simple and compound verbs. It must be learned as agreement morphology, not as a license to delete final letters. Start from the six-person standard paradigm on Personal Endings across Tenses, then map whole person values into a consistent conversational system.

The Core Correspondence

Person	Standard	Tehran colloquial	Ending value
third singular	می‌رسدmi-resad	می‌رسهmi-rese	ـد → ـه
third plural	می‌رسندmi-resand	می‌رسنmi-resan	ـند → ـن
third singular negative	نمی‌رسد	نمی‌رسه	negation plus singular ending
third plural negative	نمی‌رسند	نمی‌رسن	negation plus plural ending
second plural/polite	می‌رسید	می‌رسین	distinct second-person ـین

The guide preserves the ZWNJ after می‌ and نمی‌: می‌خوره، نمی‌نویسن. Informal messaging is variable, but writing the boundary consistently shows learners where aspect and negation end and the verb begins.

قطار معمولا ساعت هفت می‌رسه.

qatâr ma'mulan sâ'at-e haft mi-rese.

The train usually arrives at seven. (informal, regional: Tehran; third singular)

قطارا معمولا از سکوی دو می‌رسن.

qatârâ ma'mulan az sakku-ye do mi-resan.

The trains usually arrive at platform two. (informal, regional: Tehran; third plural)

💡

The final ـه and ـن are not optional noise. They tell the listener which third person the subject requires.

Third Singular ـه

For a regular present stem ending in a consonant, colloquial ـه attaches directly: می‌خورد → می‌خوره، می‌نویسد → می‌نویسه، می‌گیرد → می‌گیره. High-frequency forms such as می‌خواد and میاد retain د instead and must be learned as lexical paradigms; see Irregular Spoken Verb Stems.

سارا هر روز برای مادرش ناهار می‌پزه.

Sârâ har ruz barâ-ye mâdar-ash nâhâr mi-paze.

Sara cooks lunch for her mother every day. (informal, regional: Tehran)

این دستگاه کارت بانکی هم می‌گیره.

in dastgâh kârt-e bânki ham mi-gire.

This machine also accepts bank cards. (informal Tehran speech)

نیما جواب نمی‌ده؛ احتمالا توی متروئه.

Nimâ javâb nemi-de; ehtemâlan tu-ye metro-e.

Nima isn’t answering; he is probably on the metro. (informal, regional: Tehran)

The two final ـه sounds in the last example have different grammatical hosts. نمی‌ده is a finite verb built on colloquial دهـ “give”; متروئه is a noun predicate plus colloquial copula. The preceding structure lets listeners tell them apart. The copular pattern is reviewed on Reduced Copula است to ـه or ـست.

Third Plural ـن

Third plural ـن attaches to the spoken present stem: می‌خورن، می‌نویسن، می‌گیرن. Do not confuse it with polite/second-plural ـین. The subject may be overt or omitted, but agreement still identifies the intended participant.

بچه‌ها بعد از تمرین خیلی آب می‌خورن.

bachche-hâ ba'd az tamrin kheyli âb mi-khoran.

The children drink a lot of water after practice. (informal, regional: Tehran)

همکارام گزارشا رو آخر هفته می‌نویسن.

hamkârâm gozâreshâ ro âkhar-e hafte mi-nevisan.

My colleagues write the reports at the end of the week. (informal, regional: Tehran)

نمی‌دونم چرا این مغازه‌ها زود می‌بندن.

nemi-dunam cherâ in maghâze-hâ zud mi-bandan.

I don’t know why these shops close early. (informal, regional: Tehran)

In the last example, می‌بندن is plural because مغازه‌ها is construed as multiple establishments in colloquial speech. Formal rules about singular agreement with inanimate plurals have discourse-sensitive spoken variation; this page’s main contrast is the ending once plural agreement is selected.

Simple and Compound Verbs

In a compound verb, only the light verb carries person: کار می‌کنه، تصمیم می‌گیرن، تماس می‌گیره. The nonverbal element remains stable. This follows ordinary Persian compound-verb structure; colloquiality changes the inflected component rather than adding an ending to the noun.

لیلا الان روی طرح جدید کار می‌کنه.

Leylâ alân ru-ye tarh-e jadid kâr mi-kone.

Leila is working on the new design now. (informal, regional: Tehran)

اونا معمولا دقیقه‌ی آخر تصمیم می‌گیرن.

unâ ma'mulan daqiqe-ye âkhar tasmim mi-giran.

They usually decide at the last minute. (informal, regional: Tehran)

مسئول بخش عصرها با مشتریا تماس می‌گیره.

mas'ul-e bakhsh asr-hâ bâ moshtariyâ tamâs mi-gire.

The section manager calls customers in the afternoons. (informal workplace speech, regional: Tehran)

Keep Second Person Separate

English you does not force learners to distinguish Persian polite شما from “they.” Tehran morphology does. Compare شما می‌رین “you go” with اونا می‌رن “they go.” Substituting ـن after شما changes person rather than merely sounding casual.

شما پنجشنبه هم مطب می‌رین؟

shomâ panjshanbe ham matab mi-rin?

Do you go to the clinic on Thursdays too? (polite informal Tehran speech; second plural/polite)

پزشکا پنجشنبه‌ها هم مطب می‌رن.

pezeshkâ panjshanbe-hâ ham matab mi-ran.

The doctors also go to the clinic on Thursdays. (informal, regional: Tehran; third plural)

Register and Complete Conversion

Careful speech and formal prose retain می‌رود، می‌روند. Tehran می‌ره، می‌رن are not mistakes among friends, family, or colleagues in relaxed interaction. A formal subject does not automatically require a formal ending in reported conversation, and an academic document does not become conversational merely because its topic is everyday life.

مدیر می‌گه نتیجه فردا آماده می‌شه.

modir mi-ge natije fardâ âmâde mi-she.

The manager says the result will be ready tomorrow. (informal report, regional: Tehran)

مدیر اعلام می‌کند که نتیجه فردا آماده خواهد شد.

modir e'lâm mi-konad ke natije fardâ âmâde khâhad shod.

The manager announces that the result will be ready tomorrow. (formal written standard)

A Short Dialogue

— بچه‌ها کی می‌رسن؟ — مهسا می‌گه تا هشت می‌رسن، ولی امیر دیرتر میاد.

— bachche-hâ key mi-resan? — Mahsâ mi-ge tâ hasht mi-resan, vali Amir dirtar miyâd.

— When will the others arrive? — Mahsa says they’ll arrive by eight, but Amir is coming later. (informal, regional: Tehran)

Common Mistakes

1. Using third plural after polite شما

❌ شما فردا با قطار می‌رن؟

Incorrect for polite شما — third-plural می‌رن does not agree; use second-plural/polite می‌رین.

✅ شما فردا با قطار می‌رین یا با ماشین؟

shomâ fardâ bâ qatâr mi-rin yâ bâ mâshin?

Are you going by train or car tomorrow? (polite informal Tehran speech)

2. Keeping a standard ending on one colloquial item mechanically

⚠️ اونا هر روز دیر می‌رسند.

unâ har ruz dir mi-resand.

They arrive late every day. Grammatically interpretable, but colloquial اونا with carefully articulated می‌رسند is an unmotivated register mix in ordinary Tehran dialogue.

✅ اونا بیشتر روزا سر وقت می‌رسن.

unâ bishtar-e ruzâ sar-e vaqt mi-resan.

They arrive on time most days. (informal, regional: Tehran)

3. Dropping the entire agreement ending

❌ سارا هر روز می‌نویس.

Incorrect as a present-indicative statement — the third-singular verb lacks its required finite ending.

✅ سارا هر شب چند خط می‌نویسه.

Sârâ har shab chand khat mi-nevise.

Sara writes a few lines every night. (informal, regional: Tehran)

4. Using Tehran endings in formal prose

⚠️ این گزارش نشون می‌ده هزینه‌ها افزایش پیدا می‌کنن.

in gozâresh neshun mi-de hazine-hâ afzâyesh peydâ mi-konan.

This report shows that costs increase. Grammatical colloquial Persian, but unsuitable as the sentence of a formal report.

✅ این گزارش نشان می‌دهد که هزینه‌ها افزایش پیدا می‌کنند.

in gozâresh neshân mi-dahad ke hazine-hâ afzâyesh peydâ mi-konand.

This report shows that costs increase. (formal written standard)

Key Takeaways

Standard present third singular ـد maps to Tehran ـه; third plural ـند maps to ـن.
Preserve the می‌/نمی‌ ZWNJ boundary and person agreement.
Keep polite second-plural ـین distinct from third-plural ـن.
Compound verbs place the ending only on the light verb.
Use the reduced paradigm consistently in Tehran conversation and restore standard endings in formal writing.

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