Saying No in the Present

Level 2

Write نمی‌ joined to the verb with a half-space, right in front of the stem.

How It Works

The negative present has the same three parts as the positive one, with نمی‌ in place of می‌.

PositiveNegativeMeaning
می‌رومنمی‌رومI go / I do not go
می‌خورینمی‌خوریyou eat / you do not eat
می‌داندنمی‌داندshe knows / she does not know
می‌توانیمنمی‌توانیمwe can / we cannot
می‌خواهیدنمی‌خواهیدyou want / you do not want

A compound verb puts نمی‌ on the verb part: کار نمی‌کنم (I do not work).

Two verbs have their own negative. است and هست become نیست, and دارم becomes ندارم, with no نمی‌. For a plain no as an answer, say نه first: نه، نمی‌روم.

A yes or no question gets a short answer that repeats the verb: گوشت می‌خوری؟ بلی، می‌خورم. / نه، نمی‌خورم.

Examples (5)

  1. من گوشت نمی‌خورم.

    I do not eat meat.

    نمی‌خورم is the negative of می‌خورم.

  2. او چای شیرین نمی‌نوشد.

    She does not drink sweet tea.

    The stem نوش stays the same, and only می‌ becomes نمی‌.

  3. این را نمی‌دانم.

    I do not know this.

    نمی‌دانم is the negative of می‌دانم.

  4. ما فردا نمی‌آییم.

    We are not coming tomorrow.

    The stem آ keeps its ی: نمی‌آییم.

  5. آن‌ها هر روز کار نمی‌کنند.

    They do not work every day.

    In a compound verb, نمی‌ goes on the verb part.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting نه in front of the verb.

    من چای نه می‌خورم.
    من چای نمی‌خورم.

    نه is the word for no as an answer. Inside the verb, use نمی‌ in front of the stem.

  • Writing نمی and the verb as two words.

    من به مکتب نمی روم.
    من به مکتب نمی‌روم.

    نمی‌ and the stem are one word, joined by a half-space.

How It Connects

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Saying No in the PresentLevel 2

Learn This First

Saying no in the present puts ن before the present tense.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.