The Simple Past

Level 2

He and she take no ending, so the past stem stands alone: رفت.

How It Works

The simple past answers the question: what happened? It names one finished event. A time word such as دیروز (yesterday) fits well, but the tense works without one.

Personرفتن (to go)خوردن (to eat)
منرفتمخوردم
تورفتیخوردی
اورفتخورد
مارفتیمخوردیم
شمارفتیدخوردید
آن‌هارفتندخوردند

The past stem is the same piece you saw in the infinitive, so a verb you know in the infinitive gives you its past at once: نوشتن gives نوشتم (I wrote), and خواندن gives خواندم (I read). Learn the present stem separately.

To say how things used to be every day, put می‌ in front of the past stem. For something that is finished but still matters now, Dari uses the present perfect.

Examples (5)

  1. دیروز با دوستم به پارک رفتیم.

    Yesterday we went to the park with my friend.

    رفتیم is the past stem رفت with ـیم.

  2. او نامه را نوشت.

    He wrote the letter.

    In the past, he and she take no ending: نوشت.

  3. شما دیروز کجا رفتید؟

    Where did you go yesterday?

    The ending ـید shows شما.

  4. مادرم قابلی پلو پخت.

    My mother cooked Kabuli palaw.

    پخت is the past stem of پختن.

  5. تو چای خوردی؟

    Did you have tea?

    خوردی is the past stem خورد with ـی.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding the present ending ـد to he and she in the past.

    او دیروز رفتد.
    او دیروز رفت.

    In the past, he and she have no ending. The stem رفت stands alone.

  • Using the present tense for a finished event.

    دیروز کتاب می‌خوانم.
    دیروز کتاب خواندم.

    دیروز needs the past: the stem خواند with ـم.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

The Simple PastLevel 2

Learn This First

The simple past is the past stem plus the person endings.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.