Negating the Present Indicative
To talk about things you don't do, or actions not happening right now, negate the verb. Add the negative prefix ن before the present tense prefix می, creating نمی.
نمی + present stem + personal ending
Here is how you conjugate the verb "to eat" (present stem: خور) in the negative:
| Pronoun | Conjugated Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| من | نمیخورم | I do not eat / am not eating |
| تو | نمیخوری | You do not eat / are not eating |
| او | نمیخورد | He/She does not eat / is not eating |
| ما | نمیخوریم | We do not eat / are not eating |
| شما | نمیخورید | You do not eat / are not eating |
| آنها | نمیخورند | They do not eat / are not eating |
Here is the negative present indicative in action:
| I do not wear heavy shoes. | من کفش سنگین نمیپوشم.man kafsh sangin nemipusham |
| She does not go to the company early. | او زود به شرکت نمیرود.u zud be sherkat nemi-ravad. |
| My grandfather does not eat meat. | پدربزرگ من گوشت نمیخورد.pedarbozorg man gusht nemikhorad. |
| They do not eat meat every day. | آنها هر روز گوشت نمیخورند.ânhâ har ruz gusht nemikhorand. |
Answering "No" and Using "Never"
You can drop the rest of the sentence and use the conjugated negative verb on its own to answer a yes/no question.
| Do you wear a skirt at the party? No, I don't. | آیا در مهمانی دامن میپوشی؟ نه، نمیپوشم.âyâ dar mehmâni dâman mipooshi? na, nemipoosham. |
To say you "never" do something, use the word هرگز (never). Persian requires double negatives, so you must pair هرگز with the negative form of the verb.
| never | هرگزhargez |
| I never sleep late. | من هرگز دیر نمیخوابم.man hargez dir nemikhâbam. |
| We never tell lies to the doctor. | ما هرگز به دکتر دروغ نمیگوییم.mâ hargez be doktor dorugh nemigu'im. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io