Six of the most useful Persian verbs have present stems that look strikingly different from their infinitives: رفتن (رو)، آمدن (آی)، گفتن (گو)، خواستن (خواه)، دادن (ده)، شدن (شو). The irregularity lies in choosing the stem. Once that stem is known, productive prefixes and person endings build forms such as میروم، نمیآیند، میگویید، میخواهد، میدهیم، میشوند.
There is no reliable modern rule that derives رو from رفتن or آی from آمدن. Historical explanations exist, but they do not spare an A1 learner from memorizing the pair. The efficient strategy is to store one lexical unit—infinitive plus present stem—and then reuse the regular grammar around it.
This page expands the general method introduced in The Present Stem with a focused set worth memorizing immediately.
The six essential pairs
| Infinitive | Past stem | Present stem | First singular present | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| رفتنraftan | رفتraft | روrav- | میرومmi-ravam | go |
| آمدنâmadan | آمدâmad | آیây- | میآیمmi-âyam | come |
| گفتنgoftan | گفتgoft | گوgu- | میگویمmi-guyam | say |
| خواستنkhâstan | خواستkhâst | خواهkhâh- | میخواهمmi-khâham | want |
| دادنdâdan | دادdâd | دهdeh- | میدهمmi-deham | give |
| شدنshodan | شدshod | شوshav- | میشومmi-shavam | become |
The written stems رو and شو contain و, but before vowel-initial personal endings standard pronunciation is rav- and shav-: میروم mi-ravam, میشویم mi-shavim. The stems گو and آی meet endings through an audible glide: میگویم mi-guyam, میآییم mi-âyim. Learn spelling and pronunciation together.
رفتن (رو) and آمدن (آی): motion
Standard میروم and میآیم contrast motion away from and toward a deictic center. Their past forms return to رفت and آمد. Do not carry a past stem into the present merely because its letters are more visible in the infinitive.
روزهای کاری با مترو به مرکز شهر میروم.
ruz-hâ-ye kâri bâ metro be markaz-e shahr mi-ravam.
On workdays I go downtown by metro. (neutral standard; رو pronounced rav before ـم)
مهمانها حدود ساعت هشت میآیند.
mehmân-hâ hodud-e sâ'at-e hasht mi-âyand.
The guests are coming around eight. (careful spoken standard; آی + ـند)
The corresponding singular imperatives are برو—careful bero, commonly boro in conversation—and بیا biyâ. Their surface vowels are not obtained simply by pronouncing be-rav or be-ây. These high-frequency shapes must be learned with their standard and conversational pronunciations.
اگر آمادهای، بیا کنار پنجره بنشین.
agar âmâde-i, biyâ kenâr-e panjare beneshin.
If you're ready, come sit by the window. (informal singular command with standard forms)
گفتن (گو): saying
Present گو normally surfaces with ی before an ending: میگویم، میگویی، میگوید، میگوییم، میگویید، میگویند. The imperative is بگو begu, without that glide at the end. The negative keeps the same present stem: نمیگویم.
مادرم همیشه میگوید عجله نکن.
mâdar-am hamishe mi-guyad ajale nakon.
My mother always says not to rush. (neutral standard; گو + ـد)
اسم این خیابان را چطور میگویید؟
esm-e in khiyâbân râ chetor mi-guyid?
What do you call this street? (polite standard; literally ‘how do you say the name?’)
Everyday Tehran speech reduces these forms sharply: میگم، میگی، میگه، میگیم، میگین، میگن (informal: Tehran). Standard میگویم and colloquial میگم belong to parallel paradigms; میگوم is not the standard first singular.
خواستن (خواه): wanting
Standard خواه keeps its written ه: میخواهم، میخواهی، میخواهد... In careful Iranian pronunciation that consonant may be weak, while Tehran forms usually contract the whole sequence to میخوام، میخوای، میخواد... (informal: Tehran).
برای شام یک غذای سبک میخواهم.
barâ-ye shâm yek ghazâ-ye sabok mi-khâham.
I want a light meal for dinner. (careful standard)
برای تولدت چی میخوای؟
barâ-ye tavallod-at chi mi-khây?
What do you want for your birthday? (informal: Tehran)
The same written auxiliary خواه later builds a formal future before a bare past stem, as in خواهم رفت. That is a different construction from lexical میخواهم بروم “I want to go”; sharing the stem does not make their syntax identical.
دادن (ده): giving and a major light verb
Present ده builds میدهم، میدهی، میدهد، میدهیم، میدهید، میدهند. It appears both as a simple verb “give” and as the light verb in frequent predicates such as نشان دادن “show,” توضیح دادن “explain,” and ادامه دادن “continue.” In compound verbs, only دادن is inflected.
رسید خرید را همراه سفارش به شما میدهم.
resid-e kharid râ hamrâh-e sefâresh be shomâ mi-deham.
I'll give you the receipt with the order. (polite standard; simple دادن)
راهنما مسیر کوتاهتر را روی نقشه نشان میدهد.
râhnamâ masir-e kutâh-tar râ ru-ye naqshe neshân mi-dehad.
The guide shows the shorter route on the map. (neutral standard; نشان دادن)
Everyday Tehran forms are میدم، میدی، میده، میدیم، میدین، میدن (informal: Tehran); the contracted stem must not be combined with formal endings.
شدن (شو): becoming and change of state
شدن expresses becoming, entering a state, or—in many compound predicates—a change or result. Standard present شو is pronounced shav- before endings: میشوم، میشوی، میشود، میشویم، میشوید، میشوند. Colloquial Tehran commonly uses میشم، میشی، میشه، میشیم، میشین، میشن.
هوا بعد از غروب خیلی خنک میشود.
havâ ba'd az ghorub kheyli khonak mi-shavad.
The weather gets much cooler after sunset. (neutral standard; change of state)
اگر زود راه بیفتیم، گرفتار ترافیک نمیشویم.
agar zud râh bioftim, gereftâr-e terâfik nemi-shavim.
If we leave early, we won't get stuck in traffic. (careful spoken standard; negative شو)
The singular imperative is بشو besho, and many speakers prefer lexical alternatives in contexts where a bare “become!” would sound odd. Learn شدن through natural combinations such as آماده شدن “get ready” and تمام شدن “finish/run out.”
A register contrast in connected speech
چه ساعتی میآیید؟ میخواهم پیش از جلسه مسیر را نشانتان بدهم.
che sâ'ati mi-âyid? mi-khâham pish az jalase masir râ neshân-etân bedeham.
What time are you coming? I want to show you the route before the meeting. (polite standard)
کی میای؟ میخوام قبل جلسه مسیر رو نشونت بدم.
key miyây? mi-khâm qabl-e jalase masir ro neshun-at bedam.
When are you coming? I want to show you the route before the meeting. (informal: Tehran)
Both are grammatical. The second consistently uses colloquial میای، میخوام، رو، نشونت، بدم; it is not suitable as the unmarked spelling of a formal email.
Common Mistakes
1. Building a present from the past stem
❌ نادر هر روز دیر میآمدد.
Incorrect — present آمدن uses stem آی; میآمد belongs to the past imperfect system.
✅ نادر بیشتر روزها پیش از همه میآید.
nâder bishtar-e ruz-hâ pish az hame mi-âyad.
Nader arrives before everyone else most days.
2. Leaving a present-stem form without its person ending
❌ من پس از کلاس به خانه میرو.
Incorrect — first singular requires ـم, and رو is pronounced rav before that ending.
✅ من بعد از کلاس مستقیم به خانه میروم.
man ba'd az kelâs mostaqim be khâne mi-ravam.
After class I go straight home. (careful standard)
3. Using a third-singular form with polite شما
❌ شما این واژه را چطور میگوید؟
Incorrect — polite شما requires ending ـید, producing میگویید; میگوید is third singular.
✅ شما این اصطلاح را در فارسی چطور میگویید؟
shomâ in estelâh râ dar fârsi chetor mi-guyid?
How do you say this expression in Persian?
4. Mixing a Tehran stem with a standard ending
❌ آنها فردا ساعت نه میشنند.
Incorrect — میشنند stacks an already person-marked form with an additional third-plural ending.
✅ آنها فردا ساعت نه آماده میشوند.
ân-hâ fardâ sâ'at-e noh âmâde mi-shavand.
They'll be ready at nine tomorrow. (standard)
Key Takeaways
- Learn the six pairs رفتن (رو)، آمدن (آی)، گفتن (گو)، خواستن (خواه)، دادن (ده)، شدن (شو).
- Irregularity selects the stem; prefixes and person endings remain productive.
- Written رو / شو are pronounced rav- / shav- before endings, while گو / آی show a glide in full forms.
- Standard and Tehran paradigms must stay distinct.
- In light-verb predicates such as نشان دادن, the ده stem carries tense and agreement.
Now practice Farsi
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- The Infinitive and Past StemA1 — Recognize Persian infinitives, recover the fully predictable past stem, and use both forms correctly when learning and looking up verbs.
- The Present StemA1 — Learn why Persian present stems must be stored with each verb, recognize common alternations, and use the stem in present-system forms.
- Present Indicative with میA1 — Build the Persian present indicative with می, a present stem, and personal endings for habitual, general, current, and planned events.
- 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.
- Compound Verbs in the PresentA1 — Conjugate Persian compound verbs by keeping the nonverbal element stable and placing present-tense marking on the light verb.
- Simple Past FormationA1 — Build the Persian simple past from the past stem and personal endings, including the zero third-person singular and completed-event reading.