All verb categories (e.g., tenses and moods) in Persian are divided into those based on the present tense root and those based on the past tense root of the verb. The conjugational endings that reflect the person who is doing the action described by the verb are the same for the present and the past. The prefix /mee/می is shared by several present and past forms. So, the part of the verb that distinguishes the verb's present form from its past form is the root. All Persian verbs have only two roots: one for the present and the other for the past.

How to Find Verb Roots

When you look up a verb in the dictionary, what you will see is the verb's past tense root with ن /an/attached to the end of the verb. That /an/at the end is the gerund (-ing form of the verb) marker. Usually Persian dictionaries give verbs in gerund form. So, when you learn a new verb, you are already learning its past tense root.

For example, To go

Here, is the past tense root and the ن /an/at the end is the gerund marker.

The present tense root is, obviously, different from the past tense root. A good dictionary will show the present tense root in parentheses right after the gerund form of the verb. For example, To go

The first two tables below show the verb categories that are based on the present tense root and the past tense root, respectively. The third table is a comparison of the verb forms that exist in both present and past (e.g., habitual, progressive).