تا وقتی که

Until and as Long as

Level 4

تا also means so that, and the whole sentence shows which meaning it has.

How It Works

Meaning	Pattern	Example
until a future time	تا + subjunctive	تا وقتی که تو بیایی، ما صبر می‌کنیم.
not until	تا + negative past	تا مادرم نیامد، ما نان نخوردیم.
as long as	تا وقتی که + present	تا وقتی که باران می‌بارد، در خانه می‌مانیم.
until a time or place	تا + noun	تا شب در باغ بابر ماندیم.

The word وقتی که can be left out when the meaning is until: تا بیایی، منتظر می‌مانم. With as long as, keep تا وقتی که.

Look at the whole sentence to tell the meanings of تا apart. تا بیایی، منتظر می‌مانم means until you come. تا درس بخوانم، به کتابخانه رفتم means so that I could study.

The future with خواه does not appear after تا. Say تا برگردی, not تا خواهی برگشت.

تا works with a time or a place too: تا ساعت هشت (until eight o'clock) and تا کابل (as far as Kabul).

Examples (5)

تا وقتی که تو بیایی، ما صبر می‌کنیم.
We will wait until you come.
بیایی is the subjunctive after تا وقتی که and talks about a future time.
تا شب در باغ بابر ماندیم.
We stayed in Babur's Garden until night.
Before a noun, تا alone means until.
تا وقتی که باران می‌بارد، در خانه می‌مانیم.
As long as it keeps raining, we stay at home.
A present verb after تا وقتی که means as long as.
تا وقتی که هوا خوب است، هر روز پیاده‌روی می‌کنم.
As long as the weather is good, I walk every day.
است is a present verb, so تا وقتی که means as long as.
تا مادرم نیامد، ما نان نخوردیم.
We did not eat until my mother came.
Both verbs are negative: نیامد and نخوردیم.

Common Mistakes

Using the future with خواه after تا.
تا وقتی که خواهی برگشت، اینجا منتظر می‌مانم.
تا وقتی که برگردی، اینجا منتظر می‌مانم.
After تا, a future time takes the subjunctive برگردی.

How It Connects

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

تا وقتی کهLevel 4Until and as Long as

Learn This First

The clause joins with که and uses تا for until.

Words in This Pattern

تا وقتی کهتاتا

Practice تا وقتی که in Bubblegum

Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Dari lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.