The Simple Past Tense

The Simple Past (preterite) describes a single, completed action in the past.

In Persian, forming the Simple Past (گزشته ساده) is, well, simple. First, remove the ن- from the end of the infinitive to create the past stem. For instance: After that, simply add the same personal endings as for the present tense, however there is no need for an equivalent of می. Note that the personal endings do not carry the stress. For example: To make the verb negative in the Simple Past, add the prefix ن (pronounced na) to the start of the stem. Note that a -ی- glide may be necessary where the stem begins with a vowel. Be aware that for certain stems beginning with vowels, the addition of ی has different rules. For instance: In these cases, the vowel ا is integrated into the ی. The vowel آ, on the other hand, is a sound in its own right, and so is not integrated. In this case, a ی already forms part of the first sound, so an extra one would be obsolete. No change is necessary.