Making a plan in Persian is a small conversation, not just a future-tense sentence. One person proposes an activity, the other checks availability, both settle a time and place, and someone confirms the result. Everyday Iranian Persian usually uses a present form with a future time expression or قرار است + subjunctive, not a mechanical equivalent of English will.
This page assembles those forms into a practical exchange. For the morphology itself, see Present Indicative for Future Time.
The four-part planning sequence
| Communicative job | Useful pattern | Register |
|---|---|---|
| propose | پنجشنبه با هم ناهار بخوریم؟ | neutral |
| check availability | ساعت شش وقت داری؟ | neutral familiar |
| fix details | جلوی سینما همدیگر را میبینیم | neutral standard |
| confirm | پس قرارمان شد پنجشنبه ساعت شش | neutral |
پنجشنبه عصر وقت داری با هم قهوه بخوریم؟
panjshanbe asr vaqt dâri bâ ham qahve bekhorim?
Are you free Thursday evening to have coffee together? (familiar, neutral)
The proposal uses first-person plural subjunctive بخوریم, literally “shall we have?” It includes both speaker and listener. A present question such as وقت داری؟ checks whether the plan fits the listener's schedule.
Present forms for settled arrangements
Once the time is explicit, the present indicative naturally describes an arranged future event. The time expression prevents a habitual interpretation.
شنبه ساعت شش جلوی سینما همدیگر را میبینیم.
shanbe sâ'at-e shesh jelow-ye sinemâ hamdigar râ mi-binim.
We'll meet in front of the cinema at six on Saturday. (neutral standard; settled arrangement)
من بلیتها را میگیرم و تو میز را رزرو میکنی.
man belit-hâ râ mi-giram va to miz râ rezerv mi-koni.
I'll get the tickets, and you'll reserve the table. (neutral; division of tasks)
Persian present morphology can describe routines too, so شنبهها “on Saturdays” would suggest repetition, while این شنبه or a clock time points to one future arrangement.
قرار است for an established plan
Use قرار است + subjunctive when an arrangement, schedule, or expectation already exists. قرار است does not promise that the event will actually happen; it reports the plan.
قرار است فردا ساعت ده در دفتر وکیل باشیم.
qarâr ast fardâ sâ'at-e dah dar daftar-e vakil bâshim.
We're supposed to be at the lawyer's office tomorrow at ten. (neutral standard)
قرار است ناهید آدرس دقیق را امشب برایمان بفرستد.
qarâr ast Nâhid âdres-e daqiq râ emshab barâ-yemân beferestad.
Nahid is supposed to send us the exact address tonight. (neutral standard)
The person ending belongs to the planned action: باشیم agrees with “we,” while بفرستد agrees with Nahid. The full contrast between intention and outcome belongs to قرار است for Plans and Expectations.
Do not confuse this construction with قرار گذاشتن, which means arranging or agreeing on something:
با دندانپزشک قرار گذاشتم که دوشنبه ساعت چهار بروم.
bâ dandân-pezeshk qarâr gozâshtam ke doshanbe sâ'at-e chahâr beravam.
I arranged with the dentist to go at four on Monday. (neutral standard)
Invitation questions without pressure
A direct میآیی؟ “Are you coming?” may presuppose an existing event. To make a new invitation, Persian often combines availability or desire with a shared subjunctive proposal.
جمعه برنامهای داری یا دوست داری برویم کوه؟
jom'e barnâme-i dâri yâ dust dâri beravim kuh?
Do you have plans Friday, or would you like us to go hiking? (familiar, neutral standard)
اگر فرصت دارید، فردا برای ناهار به ما ملحق میشوید؟
agar forsat dârid, fardâ barâ-ye nâhâr be mâ molhaq mi-shavid?
If you have time, would you join us for lunch tomorrow? (polite standard)
The conditional opening softens the invitation by recognizing that refusal is possible. In informal Tehran speech, دوست داری بریم؟ is natural (informal, regional: Tehran); keep it separate from standard برویم.
Negotiate the time and place
A first suggestion rarely becomes the final plan unchanged. Useful repair moves include برای من دیر است “that's late for me,” زودتر چطور؟ “how about earlier?”, and کجا راحتتری؟ “where is more convenient for you?”
ساعت هفت برای من کمی دیر است؛ ششونیم چطور؟
sâ'at-e haft barâ-ye man kami dir ast; shesh-o-nim chetowr?
Seven is a little late for me; how about six thirty? (neutral conversation)
ایستگاه مترو برای هر دوی ما راحتتر است.
istgâh-e metro barâ-ye har do-ye mâ râhat-tar ast.
The metro station is more convenient for both of us. (neutral standard)
Confirm and create a repair plan
Confirmation repeats the agreed details, not the entire negotiation. پس signals the conclusion; درست است؟ or درسته؟ asks the other person to ratify it.
پس قرارمان شد سهشنبه ساعت پنج جلوی کتابخانه، درست است؟
pas qarâr-emân shod seshanbe sâ'at-e panj jelow-ye ketâbkhâne, dorost ast?
So we've agreed on Tuesday at five in front of the library, right? (neutral standard confirmation)
اگر برنامه عوض شد، لطفا زودتر خبرم کن.
agar barnâme avaz shod, lotfan zudtar khabar-am kon.
If the plan changes, please let me know earlier. (familiar, neutral)
A complete planning dialogue
— پنجشنبه عصر وقت داری؟ — بله، بعد از شش آزادم. — پس ساعت ششونیم جلوی تئاتر همدیگر را میبینیم. — عالی است؛ اگر دیر کردم، به تو پیام میدهم.
— panjshanbe asr vaqt dâri? — bale, ba'd az shesh âzâdam. — pas sâ'at-e shesh-o-nim jelow-ye te'âtr hamdigar râ mi-binim. — âli ast; agar dir kardam, be to payâm mi-daham.
— Are you free Thursday evening? — Yes, I'm free after six. — Then we'll meet in front of the theater at six thirty. — Great; if I'm late, I'll message you. (careful spoken standard)
Common Mistakes
Translating English will into خواهد for every plan
⚠️ فردا با دوستم ناهار خواهم خورد.
fardâ bâ dust-am nâhâr khâham khord.
I will have lunch with my friend tomorrow. (grammatical formal future, but too formal for an ordinary conversational arrangement)
✅ فردا با دوستم ناهار میخورم.
fardâ bâ dust-am nâhâr mi-khoram.
I'm having lunch with my friend tomorrow. (neutral plan)
Using an indicative after standard قرار است
❌ قرار است ساعت نه میآییم.
Incorrect in neutral standard Persian — the planned complement should be subjunctive.
✅ قرار است ساعت نه بیاییم.
qarâr ast sâ'at-e noh biyâyim.
We're supposed to come at nine.
Confirming without enough information
⚠️ پس، بعد میبینمت.
pas, ba'd mi-binam-at.
Grammatical as ‘So, I'll see you later,’ but too vague to confirm an arrangement if no time or place has been fixed.
✅ پس، فردا ساعت چهار در کافه میبینمت.
pas, fardâ sâ'at-e chahâr dar kâfe mi-binam-at.
So I'll see you at the café tomorrow at four.
Doubling person endings in the planned action
❌ قرار است فردا برویمید.
Incorrect — برویمید stacks two person endings instead of selecting one subject form.
✅ قرار است فردا برویم و شما هم بیایید.
qarâr ast fardâ beravim va shomâ ham biyâyid.
The plan is for us to go tomorrow and for you to come too. (standard)
Key Takeaways
- Use a future time expression plus the present indicative for settled everyday arrangements.
- Use قرار است + subjunctive when reporting an established plan or schedule.
- Propose, check availability, negotiate time and place, confirm, and agree on what happens if the plan changes.
- A shared subjunctive question such as برویم؟ makes a natural invitation.
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Present Indicative for Future TimeA2 — Use the Persian present indicative for plans, appointments, schedules, and confident future events, and contrast it with خواهد forms.
- قرار است for Plans and ExpectationsB1 — Use قرار است and قرار بود to describe schedules, expectations, intended actions, and plans that may or may not happen.
- Present Subjunctive FormationA2 — Form the Persian present subjunctive with بـ, the present stem, and personal endings, including vowel allomorphy, preverbs, compounds, irregulars, and stress.
- Giving Directions and InstructionsA2 — Give clear Persian routes and step-by-step instructions with familiar and polite imperatives, landmarks, prepositions, sequencing, and prohibitives.