The Negative "To Be"
To say that you are not something, or that something is not somewhere, we use the negative forms of the verb "to be". Unlike the affirmative "to be" which has both short and long forms, the negative forms always stand alone as independent words.
Here is the complete set of negative forms:
| Pronoun | Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| من | نیستم | I am not |
| تو | نیستی | You are not (singular/informal) |
| او / آن | نیست | He / she / it is not |
| ما | نیستیم | We are not |
| شما | نیستید | You are not (plural/formal) |
| آنها | نیستند | They are not |
Describing What Things Are Not
Just like the affirmative forms, the negative verb always goes at the very end of the sentence. Let's see how these are used to describe people and objects:
| You are not happy today. | تو امروز خوشحال نیستی.to emruz khoshhâl nisti. |
| We are not healthy. | ما سالم نیستیم.mâ sâlem nistim. |
Using Contrasts
A great way to practice the negative forms is by contrasting them with the affirmative forms using descriptive opposites and the word اما (but). Notice how the negative verb ends the first clause, and the affirmative verb ends the second clause.
| I am not sick today, but I am healthy. | من امروز بیمار نیستم اما سالم هستم.man emruz bimâr nistam ammâ sâlem hastam. |
| This new house is not small, but it is big. | این خانهی جدید کوچک نیست اما بزرگ است.in khâne-ye jadid kuchak nist ammâ bozorg ast. |
| The door is not closed; it is open. | در بسته نیست، باز است.dar baste nist, bâz ast. |
| These are not new, but they are clean. | اینها جدید نیستند اما تمیز هستند.inhâ jadid nistand ammâ tamiz hastand. |
You can also use the negative verb to state where someone or something is not located:
| You are not inside the big yard. | شما داخل حیاط بزرگ نیستید.shomâ dâkhel-e hayât-e bozorg nistid. |