Negative Present with نمی‌ | Farsi Grammar

The negative present indicative normally replaces positive می‌ with نمی‌: می‌خوانم → نمی‌خوانم, می‌رود → نمی‌رود. Structurally, the form is نمی‌ + present stem + personal ending. Standard spelling keeps نمی‌ together as one prefix and places a zero-width non-joiner before the stem.

Persian negative sentences also differ from English in a second important way. Negative expressions such as هیچ‌کس “nobody/anybody” and هیچ‌وقت “never/ever” normally occur with a negative verb. This is negative concord, not the illogical “double negative” that English school rules warn against.

The negative construction

Person	Positive	Negative	Reading
I	می‌خوانم	نمی‌خوانم	nemi-khânam
you singular	می‌خوانی	نمی‌خوانی	nemi-khâni
he/she/it	می‌خواند	نمی‌خواند	nemi-khânad
we	می‌خوانیم	نمی‌خوانیم	nemi-khânim
you plural/polite	می‌خوانید	نمی‌خوانید	nemi-khânid
they	می‌خوانند	نمی‌خوانند	nemi-khânand

The نـ and می‌ are not two freely movable words. Together they form the negative imperfective prefix نمی‌, placed before the present stem. The stem and agreement ending remain the same as in the affirmative.

صبح‌ها قهوه نمی‌نوشم؛ چای سبز می‌خورم.

sobh-hâ qahve nemi-nusham; chây-e sabz mi-khoram.

I don't drink coffee in the mornings; I drink green tea. (neutral standard; habitual contrast)

این اتوبوس روز‌های تعطیل از این مسیر نمی‌گذرد.

in otobus ruz-hâ-ye ta'til az in masir nemi-gozarad.

This bus doesn't take this route on holidays. (neutral standard; third singular)

💡

Negation does not add an extra word after a completed positive verb. Replace the initial می‌ with نمی‌ and keep the present stem plus ending intact.

Stress and spelling

In an affirmative present such as می‌خوانم, the prefix می‌ normally carries the main verbal stress. In the negative نمی‌خوانم, the negative portion takes precedence: the main stress falls at the beginning of نمی‌, while می‌ no longer has independent stress. This hierarchy is audible even though ordinary Persian writing marks neither stress nor short vowels.

The required standard spellings are نمی‌روم، نمی‌دانید، نمی‌شوند. Writing نمی روم with a space or نمیروم with no ZWNJ erases the morphological boundary in edited Persian. Romanization makes that boundary visible with a hyphen: nemi-ravam.

چرا صدایتان را واضح نمی‌شنوم؟

cherâ sedâ-yetân râ vâzeh nemi-shenavam?

Why can't I hear you clearly? (polite standard; نمی‌ + شنو + م)

نگران نباشید؛ جلسه بدون شما شروع نمی‌شود.

negarân nabâshid; jalase bedun-e shomâ shoru' nemi-shavad.

Don't worry; the meeting won't start without you. (polite standard; future reading from context)

The second example is formally present but naturally translates with English won't because the sentence concerns a future start. Negation does not change this flexibility of the Persian present tense.

Scope: what the negative denies

By default, نمی‌ negates the verbal predicate. Context and contrast determine which part of that predicate is being denied. Compare the neutral امروز کار نمی‌کنم “I'm not working today” with corrective stress in امروز در خانه کار نمی‌کنم “It is not at home that I work today.” Persian can move or stress a constituent for focus, but نمی‌ remains attached to the verb.

من گوشت نمی‌خورم، اما ماهی می‌خورم.

man gusht nemi-khoram, ammâ mâhi mi-khoram.

I don't eat meat, but I do eat fish. (careful spoken standard; narrow contrast on the object)

امروز به دفتر نمی‌روم؛ از خانه کار می‌کنم.

emruz be daftar nemi-ravam; az khâne kâr mi-konam.

I'm not going to the office today; I'm working from home. (neutral standard; clause negation)

English often inserts auxiliary do in negatives: I do not work. Persian needs no separate equivalent. The prefix and personal ending already build a finite negative verb.

Negative indefinites and concord

Words beginning with هیچ‌ create or reinforce a negative domain: هیچ‌کس “no one/anyone,” هیچ‌چیز “nothing/anything,” هیچ‌وقت “never/ever,” هیچ‌جا “nowhere/anywhere.” In a declarative negative clause, they normally pair with a negative verb.

هیچ‌کس جواب این پرسش را نمی‌داند.

hich-kas javâb-e in porsesh râ nemi-dânad.

Nobody knows the answer to this question. (neutral standard; negative concord)

در این محله هیچ‌جا نان تازه نمی‌فروشند.

dar in mahalle hich-jâ nân-e tâze nemi-forushand.

They don't sell fresh bread anywhere in this neighborhood. (careful standard; impersonal third plural)

من از این برنامه هیچ‌چیز نمی‌فهمم.

man az in barnâme hich-chiz nemi-fahmam.

I don't understand anything about this program. (careful spoken standard)

Do not “correct” this pattern by making the verb positive. English treats nobody doesn't know as two negatives with a special interpretation, but Persian هیچ‌کس نمی‌داند is the ordinary single semantic negation. The agreement ending still follows the grammatical subject: singular هیچ‌کس takes ـد.

💡

Persian can mark one semantic negation in more than one place. هیچ‌کس ... نمی‌داند is structurally expected; the negative word and negative verb cooperate rather than canceling each other.

Compound verbs and preverbs

In a compound predicate, attach نمی‌ to the light verb: کار نمی‌کنم, تصمیم نمی‌گیریم, توضیح نمی‌دهد. The noun or adjective remains separate. With a verbal prefix, نمی‌ follows it: برنمی‌گردد “does not return,” درنمی‌آورم “I do not take out.”

مدیر بدون اطلاعات کامل تصمیم نمی‌گیرد.

modir bedun-e ettelâ'ât-e kâmel tasmim nemi-girad.

The manager doesn't make a decision without complete information. (neutral standard; compound verb)

این آسانسور مستقیم به طبقه‌ی همکف برنمی‌گردد.

in âsânsor mostaqim be tabaqe-ye hamkaf bar-nemi-gardad.

This elevator doesn't return directly to the ground floor. (neutral standard; بر + نمی‌ + گرد + د)

This placement follows the same architecture as affirmative برمی‌گردد: the lexical preverb stays outermost, and the imperfective or negative-imperfective marker stands immediately before the stem.

Core exceptions: ندارم and نیستم

Plain possessive داشتن does not use می‌ in its ordinary present, so its negative is ندارم، نداری، ندارد..., not نمی‌دارم. Copular predication has the separate negative series نیستم، نیستی، نیست.... These are lexical and constructional exceptions, not alternative spellings of نمی‌.

امروز پول نقد ندارم، ولی کارت بانکی همراهم هست.

emruz pul-e naqd nadâram, vali kârt-e bânki hamrâh-am hast.

I don't have cash today, but I have my bank card with me. (careful spoken standard)

این میز خالی نیست؛ برای مهمان‌هاست.

in miz khâli nist; barâ-ye mehmân-hâ-st.

This table isn't free; it's for the guests. (careful spoken standard; negative copula)

Compare these exceptions with the productive negative on the Present Indicative with می‌ page.

Colloquial Tehran forms

Tehran speech often reduces stems and plural endings: standard نمی‌روم، نمی‌گویند، نمی‌کنند correspond to نمیرم، نمیگن، نمی‌کنن (informal: Tehran). Colloquial spelling is not fully standardized; this guide displays common dialogue spellings only in explicitly informal examples.

امشب بیرون نمیای؟

emshab birun nemiyây?

Aren't you coming out tonight? (informal: Tehran)

نه، فردا زود بیدار می‌شم و دیر نمی‌خوابم.

na, fardâ zud bidâr mi-sham va dir nemi-khâbam.

No, I'm getting up early tomorrow, so I'm not going to bed late. (informal: Tehran)

Common Mistakes

1. Splitting the negative prefix around the stem

❌ من امروز کار می‌نکنم.

Incorrect — the negative present uses the single prefix نمی‌ before the stem: نمی‌کنم.

✅ من امروز مرخصی دارم و کار نمی‌کنم.

man emruz morakhkhasi dâram va kâr nemi-konam.

I'm off today and I'm not working.

2. Separating نمی‌ from the stem

❌ ما این مسیر را نمی شناسیم.

Incorrect standard spelling — نمی‌ takes a ZWNJ, not a space.

✅ ما این بخش از شهر را خوب نمی‌شناسیم.

mâ in bakhsh az shahr râ khub nemi-shenâsim.

We don't know this part of the city well.

3. Using a positive verb after هیچ‌کس

❌ هیچ‌کس این رمز را می‌داند.

Incorrect for the intended ‘nobody’ reading — negative هیچ‌کس requires a negative verb here.

✅ هیچ‌کس رمز تازه‌ی سامانه را نمی‌داند.

hich-kas ramz-e tâze-ye sâmâne râ nemi-dânad.

Nobody knows the system's new password.

4. Negating possession with نمی‌دارم

❌ برای این کار وقت نمی‌دارم.

Incorrect in ordinary Iranian Persian — plain possession uses ندارم.

✅ امروز برای یک جلسه‌ی دیگر وقت ندارم.

emruz barâ-ye yek jalase-ye digar vaqt nadâram.

I don't have time for another meeting today.

Key Takeaways

Replace می‌ with the single bound prefix نمی‌ before the present stem.
The form negates habitual, general, ongoing, and future-context readings alike.
Negative indefinites normally require a negative verb: هیچ‌کس نمی‌داند.
Put نمی‌ on the light verb in compound predicates and after a lexical preverb.
Plain possession uses ندارم, and the negative copula uses نیستم.

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