پرسیدن porsidan: to Ask | Farsi Grammar

پرسیدن porsidan means “ask” when someone seeks information. Its past stem is پرسیدـ porsid- and its present stem is پرسـ pors-: پرسیدم “I asked,” می‌پرسم “I ask,” and بپرس “ask!”

The person addressed is normally introduced by از, while the question or requested information is the direct object or a following interrogative clause: این سؤال را از مدیر بپرس “ask the manager this question.” English uses ask both for information and requests; Persian usually changes verbs for a requested object or action: از او کمک خواستم “I asked him for help,” not a form of پرسیدن.

Principal parts and core paradigm

Item	Persian	Reading	Use
infinitive	پرسیدن	porsidan	to ask, inquire
past stem	پرسیدـ	porsid-	پرسیدم، می‌پرسیدم
present stem	پرسـ	pors-	می‌پرسم، بپرسم
past participle	پرسیده	porside	perfect and passive
imperative	بپرس؛ بپرسید	be-pors; be-porsid	ask
negative imperative	نپرس؛ نپرسید	na-pors; na-porsid	do not ask

Person	Present indicative	Simple past	Present perfect	Present subjunctive
I	می‌پرسم	پرسیدم	پرسیده‌ام	بپرسم
you (sg.)	می‌پرسی	پرسیدی	پرسیده‌ای	بپرسی
he/she/it	می‌پرسد	پرسید	پرسیده است	بپرسد
we	می‌پرسیم	پرسیدیم	پرسیده‌ایم	بپرسیم
you (pl./polite)	می‌پرسید	پرسیدید	پرسیده‌اید	بپرسید
they	می‌پرسند	پرسیدند	پرسیده‌اند	بپرسند

Negatives are نمی‌پرسم، نپرسیدم، نپرسیده‌ام، نپرسم. Negative command نپرس replaces affirmative بـ with نـ. Because پرسیدن is a regular ـیدن verb, its present stem پرسـ is relatively predictable, unlike many high-frequency simple verbs.

هر وقت معنی واژه‌ای را نمی‌دانم، از استادم می‌پرسم.

har vaqt ma'ni-ye vâzhe-i râ nemi-dânam, az ostâd-am mi-porsam.

Whenever I don’t know a word’s meaning, I ask my teacher. (neutral standard; addressee with از)

دیروز از مسئول کتابخانه ساعت کار را پرسیدم.

diruz az mas'ul-e ketâb-khâne sâ'at-e kâr râ porsidam.

Yesterday I asked the librarian about the opening hours. (neutral standard; simple past)

اگر مسیر را پیدا نکردی، از یک مأمور بپرس.

agar masir râ peydâ na-kardi, az yek ma'mur be-pors.

If you cannot find the route, ask an officer. (neutral singular command)

The frame از کسی چیزی پرسیدن

The most informative full frame is از + person + question/information + پرسیدن. The content may be an explicit noun phrase such as نشانی را, قیمت را, or یک سؤال. If context already supplies the question, the object can be omitted and از او پرسیدم simply means “I asked him/her.”

این سؤال را از بخش پشتیبانی بپرسید؛ من پاسخ دقیقش را نمی‌دانم.

in so'âl râ az bakhsh-e poshtibâni be-porsid; man pâsokh-e daqiq-ash râ nemi-dânam.

Ask the support department this question; I don’t know the exact answer. (polite/plural standard)

پزشک چند سؤال درباره‌ی داروهایی که مصرف می‌کنم پرسید.

pezeshk chand so'âl darbâre-ye dâru-hâyi ke masraf mi-konam porsid.

The doctor asked several questions about the medicines I take. (neutral standard; question as direct object)

💡

Keep از attached conceptually to the source of information: you obtain an answer from someone. The question itself remains the direct object.

Indirect wh-questions

Instead of a question noun, پرسیدن can introduce an embedded interrogative clause. A wh-word such as کجا، چرا، چه زمانی، چطور remains in the position where the missing information belongs; Persian does not add English-style auxiliary inversion. Complementizer که is common but can be omitted in compact conversation.

از مدیر پرسیدم که جلسه‌ی بعدی چه زمانی برگزار می‌شود.

az modir porsidam ke jalase-ye ba'di che zamâni bar-gozâr mi-shavad.

I asked the manager when the next meeting would be held. (formal-neutral indirect wh-question)

بچه‌ها پرسیدند چرا قطار در این ایستگاه توقف نمی‌کند.

bachche-hâ porsidand cherâ qatâr dar in istgâh tavaqqof nemi-konad.

The children asked why the train does not stop at this station. (neutral standard; retained present tense)

Persian normally retains the tense appropriate to the reported situation; it does not mechanically backshift every verb because پرسید is past. The dedicated treatment is on Reported Wh-Questions.

Reported yes-no questions

Formal and careful Persian can introduce a reported yes-no question with آیا. Neutral speech often uses the clause followed by یا نه “or not.” These are embedded questions, not assertions after “ask that.”

از واحد مالی پرسیدم آیا هزینه‌ی ارسال جداگانه حساب می‌شود.

az vâhed-e mâli porsidam âyâ hazine-ye ersâl jodâgâne hesâb mi-shavad.

I asked the finance department whether shipping is charged separately. (formal-neutral; آیا)

از سارا پرسیدم فردا همراه ما می‌آید یا نه.

az sârâ porsidam fardâ hamrâh-e mâ mi-âyad yâ na.

I asked Sara whether she was coming with us tomorrow. (neutral conversational standard; یا نه)

Asking for something uses another predicate

When English ask means “request,” Persian normally uses خواستن از کسی or درخواست کردن. از دوستم خودکار خواستم means “I asked my friend for a pen”; از دوستم پرسیدم خودکار کجاست means “I asked my friend where the pen was.” The English verb hides a semantic difference that Persian makes explicit.

از همکارم خواستم گزارش را پیش از ظهر بفرستد.

az hamkâr-am khâstam gozâresh râ pish az zohr be-ferestad.

I asked my colleague to send the report before noon. (neutral standard; request with خواستن)

سؤال پرسیدن “ask a question” is common and productive, especially when the activity or number of questions matters. سؤال کردن is also current. پرس‌وجو کردن means “make inquiries, ask around” and profiles a broader search for information. حال کسی را پرسیدن or more formal احوال کسی را پرسیدن means “ask how someone is.” احوال‌پرسی کردن describes the reciprocal social act of greeting and asking after one another.

پیش از اجاره‌ی خانه درباره‌ی هزینه‌های ساختمان پرس‌وجو کردیم.

pish az ejâre-ye khâne darbâre-ye hazine-hâ-ye sâkhtemân pors-o-ju kardim.

Before renting the apartment, we made inquiries about the building charges. (neutral/formal; پرس‌وجو کردن)

Tehran speech

Everyday Tehran reduces endings to می‌پرسه، می‌پرسین، می‌پرسن (informal, regional: Tehran). The addressee is often an enclitic inside ازش، ازت، ازشون; the question syntax otherwise remains Persian.

ازش پرسیدی چرا دیروز جواب نداد؟

az-esh porsidi cherâ diruz javâb na-dâd?

Did you ask her why she didn’t answer yesterday? (informal, regional: Tehran)

💡

Conversation compresses the participant frame: از او پرسیدی؟ becomes ازش پرسیدی؟ The preposition از survives because it is selected by پرسیدن.

Common Mistakes

1. Marking the addressee with به

❌ به مسئول ایستگاه ساعت حرکت را پرسیدم.

Incorrect — the person asked is introduced by از.

✅ ساعت حرکت آخرین اتوبوس را از مسئول ایستگاه پرسیدم.

sâ'at-e harekat-e âkharin otobus râ az mas'ul-e istgâh porsidam.

I asked the station attendant when the last bus departed.

2. Using پرسیدن for a requested object

❌ از دوستم یک خودکار پرسیدم.

Incorrect for ‘asked my friend for a pen’ — a requested object uses خواستن.

✅ برای پر کردن فرم از دوستم یک خودکار خواستم.

barâ-ye por kardan-e form az dust-am yek khodkâr khâstam.

I asked my friend for a pen to fill out the form.

3. Doubling question markers in an indirect wh-question

❌ از او پرسیدم که آیا کجا زندگی می‌کند.

Incorrect — آیا marks a yes-no question; کجا already supplies the wh-question.

✅ از او پرسیدم که در کدام محله زندگی می‌کند.

az u porsidam ke dar kodâm mahalle zendegi mi-konad.

I asked her which neighborhood she lived in.

4. Separating می from the present verb

❌ او همیشه سؤال‌های دقیقی می پرسد.

Incorrect standard orthography — می‌ attaches to پرسد with a ZWNJ.

✅ او در هر جلسه سؤال‌های کوتاه و دقیقی می‌پرسد.

u dar har jalase so'âl-hâ-ye kutâh-o daqiqi mi-porsad.

She asks short, precise questions in every meeting.

Key Takeaways

Learn پرسیدن — پرسید — پرس — پرسیده, with بپرس and نپرس.
The full frame is از کسی چیزی پرسیدن: addressee with از, information as object or clause.
Embedded wh-questions retain their wh-word; yes-no questions use formal آیا or neutral یا نه.
Requests use خواستن/درخواست کردن, while پرسیدن seeks information.
Tehran می‌پرسه/می‌پرسن and ازش پرسیدم belong to ordinary informal speech.

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