داشتن in the Present | Farsi Grammar

The ordinary present of داشتن “to have” is built on the irregular present stem دار dâr: دارم، داری، دارد، داریم، دارید، دارند. Unlike most lexical verbs, plain possession normally has no می‌. وقت دارم means “I have time,” while می‌دارم is not the neutral everyday equivalent of English I have.

This small exception is worth learning early because داشتن is exceptionally frequent. It expresses ownership, family and social relationships, physical features, time, resources, and obligations formed with a noun. It also reappears as an auxiliary in the present progressive, where it no longer contributes literal possession.

The present paradigm

Person	Affirmative	Negative	Common Tehran affirmative
I	دارمdâram	ندارمnadâram	دارمdâram
you singular	داریdâri	نداریnadâri	داریdâri
he/she/it	داردdârad	نداردnadârad	دارهdâre
we	داریمdârim	نداریمnadârim	داریمdârim
you plural/polite	داریدdârid	نداریدnadârid	دارینdârin
they	دارندdârand	ندارندnadârand	دارنdâran

The endings are the familiar present endings. What must be memorized is the pairing داشتن (دار): the infinitive gives past stem داشت, while the independent present stem is دار. Negation prefixes نـ directly to this stem, producing ندارم, not نمی‌دارم, for ordinary possession.

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Store داشتن (دار) as one two-stem entry. Combine دار with first-singular ـم to make دارم; place negative نـ first to make ندارم.

Ownership and access

The possessed noun normally comes before داشتن, because Persian is generally subject–object–verb. An indefinite or nonspecific possession usually has no را: یک دوچرخه دارم “I have a bicycle.” A specific possessed object can take را: آن کلید را دارم “I have that key.”

یک دوچرخه‌ی قدیمی دارم، ولی هنوز خوب کار می‌کند.

yek docharkhe-ye qadimi dâram, vali hanuz khub kâr mi-konad.

I have an old bicycle, but it still works well. (neutral standard; indefinite possession)

نسخه‌ی اصلی قرارداد را شما دارید؟

noskhe-ye asli-ye qarârdâd râ shomâ dârid?

Do you have the original copy of the contract? (polite standard; specific object with را)

English often uses have got in conversation, but Persian needs no second word corresponding to got: ماشین داریم is complete. Conversely, an enclitic possessor such as ماشینمان means “our car,” not “we have a car.” One is a noun phrase; the other is a complete clause.

Relationships, features, time, and resources

داشتن extends naturally from ownership to things associated with a person or situation: relatives, symptoms, physical features, time, questions, meetings, and opportunities. These are not separate idioms requiring new conjugations.

دو برادر کوچک‌تر دارم که در رشت زندگی می‌کنند.

do barâdar-e kuchek-tar dâram ke dar rasht zendegi mi-konand.

I have two younger brothers who live in Rasht. (neutral standard; family relationship)

این واحد دو اتاق و یک بالکن بزرگ دارد.

in vâhed do otâq va yek bâlkon-e bozorg dârad.

This apartment has two rooms and a large balcony. (neutral standard; part–whole feature)

تا شروع جلسه بیست دقیقه وقت داریم.

tâ shoru'-e jalase bist daqiqe vaqt dârim.

We have twenty minutes until the meeting starts. (careful spoken standard; available time)

اگر درباره‌ی فرم سؤال دارید، همین‌جا بپرسید.

agar darbâre-ye form so'âl dârid, hamin-jâ beporsid.

If you have a question about the form, ask right here. (polite standard)

The possessor is grammatically the subject, so the verb agrees with it. این واحد ... دارد uses third singular because این واحد is the subject; the plural rooms do not control agreement.

Frequent noun + داشتن combinations

Many common combinations contain a noun plus داشتن. Their meaning comes from the whole expression: کار داشتن can mean “to have work/business” or “to need/want something from someone,” while وقت داشتن means “to have time.” Treat the noun and verb as a lexical pairing, even though the ordinary present still lacks می‌.

بعد از ناهار با مسئول حسابداری کار دارم.

ba'd az nâhâr bâ mas'ul-e hesâbdâri kâr dâram.

I need to speak with the accounting manager after lunch. (careful spoken standard; با کسی کار داشتن)

Do not assume that every English expression with have uses داشتن. English have breakfast is Persian صبحانه خوردن, and have a look may be نگاه کردن. The verb must be learned with the Persian expression rather than copied from English.

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داشتن covers possession and associated resources, but English have is unusually broad. Check the whole Persian predicate: جلسه داشتن is “have a meeting,” but صبحانه خوردن is “have breakfast.”

Present time can include the future

A present form plus a future-time expression can describe a scheduled possession or arrangement. Persian does not require a future auxiliary simply because English uses will have.

فردا صبح سه جلسه‌ی پشت سر هم دارم.

fardâ sobh se jalase-ye posht-e sar-e ham dâram.

I have three meetings in a row tomorrow morning. (neutral standard; scheduled future)

This is an ordinary present form whose time is fixed by فردا صبح. The same principle applies to many present predicates; English tense boundaries do not map word for word onto Persian.

Having as a progressive auxiliary

In the progressive, an inflected داشتن precedes a separate می‌-present verb: دارم می‌خوانم “I am reading right now.” The two verbs agree with the same subject. Here دارم does not mean possession, and the main lexical verb keeps می‌.

الان دارم گزارش را برای مدیر می‌فرستم.

alân dâram gozâresh râ barâ-ye modir mi-ferestam.

I'm sending the report to the manager right now. (careful spoken standard; progressive preview)

This construction is taught fully on Present Progressive with داشتن. For now, keep the structural contrast clear: possessive گزارش دارم contains one verb, while progressive دارم گزارش می‌نویسم contains an auxiliary and a lexical verb.

Colloquial Tehran forms

Everyday Tehran speech keeps دارم، داری، داریم close to the standard but commonly reduces دارد، دارید، دارند to داره، دارین، دارن. Negative forms parallel them: نداره، ندارین، ندارن (informal: Tehran).

امشب وقت داری با هم قهوه بخوریم؟

emshab vaqt dâri bâ ham qahve bekhorim?

Do you have time to have coffee together tonight? (informal: Tehran)

نه، امشب مهمون دارم؛ فردا چطوره؟

na, emshab mehmun dâram; fardâ chetore?

No, I have guests tonight; how about tomorrow? (informal: Tehran)

Do not splice the standard third-singular ending onto a colloquial base or write colloquial دارن as formal prose. Both systems are grammatical in their own registers.

Common Mistakes

1. Using the infinitive as a finite verb

❌ من امروز کلاس داشتن.

Incorrect — داشتن is the infinitive and does not agree with من.

✅ من امروز بعدازظهر کلاس رانندگی دارم.

man emruz ba'd-az-zohr kelâs-e rânandegi dâram.

I have a driving lesson this afternoon.

2. Adding می‌ to plain possession

❌ او یک آپارتمان کوچک می‌دارد.

Incorrect in neutral modern Persian — ordinary possessive داشتن has no می‌.

✅ او نزدیک دانشگاه یک آپارتمان کوچک دارد.

u nazdik-e dâneshgâh yek âpârtemân-e kuchek dârad.

He or she has a small apartment near the university.

3. Negating possession with نمی‌

❌ برای پرداخت نقدی پول نمی‌دارم.

Incorrect for ordinary possession — use نـ + دار, not نمی‌دار.

✅ برای پرداخت نقدی پول کافی ندارم.

barâ-ye pardâkht-e naqdi pul-e kâfi nadâram.

I don't have enough money to pay in cash.

4. Agreeing with the possessed noun

❌ این ساختمان سه ورودی دارند.

Incorrect — singular possessor این ساختمان controls the verb, not plural سه ورودی.

✅ این ساختمان سه ورودی جداگانه دارد.

in sâkhtemân se vorudi-ye jodâgâne dârad.

This building has three separate entrances.

Key Takeaways

Present داشتن uses irregular stem دار and the ordinary person endings.
Plain possession uses دارم, not می‌دارم; its negative is ندارم, not نمی‌دارم.
The verb covers ownership, relationships, features, time, and resources, but not every English idiom with have.
Progressive دارم می‌خوانم has two verbs and does not express possession.
Standard دارد، دارید، دارند correspond to Tehran داره، دارین، دارن.

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