Introduction to the Past Imperfect in Persian

In Brief

Persian commonly expresses past habits and repeated actions with می‌ + past stem + personal ending: می‌رفتم can mean “I used to go.” This form, traditionally called the past imperfect, can also present an action as ongoing background: “I was going.” At A2, learn it first as the normal form for old routines and repeated past events.

Overview

The Persian past imperfect, ماضی استمراری, lets you look at a past action as repeated, continuing, or part of the background rather than as one finished event. A tense is a verb form that locates an action or situation in time. The word imperfect here does not mean “incorrect” or “unfinished”; it means that the speaker is viewing the past from inside a habit, process, or situation, without focusing on its endpoint.

English divides these meanings among several constructions. Depending on context, می‌رفتم may be “I used to go,” “I would go,” or “I was going.” Persian does not require a different form for each English translation. Time expressions and the surrounding story usually make the intended meaning clear.

This is an A2 introduction because the form builds directly on the Persian simple past. Once you know رفتم “I went,” you can add می‌ to make می‌رفتم “I used to go / I was going.” It is especially useful for childhood memories, former routines, descriptions of an earlier period, and the background to a completed event.

How It Works

The beginner pattern

Use this formula:

می‌ + past stem + personal ending

A stem is the central part of a verb to which endings are added. The past stem is the stem used in the simple past. For most Persian verbs, remove ـن from the infinitive: رفتن “to go” → رفت; خوردن “to eat” → خورد; کردن “to do” → کرد.

Part	Form from رفتن	Function
Past stem	رفت	carries the basic verb meaning
Personal ending	ـم	marks “I”
Simple past	رفتم	I went
Past imperfect	می‌رفتم	I used to go / I was going

In careful writing, می‌ is joined to the verb with a zero-width non-joiner, often called a half-space: می‌رفتم, not می رفتم. It appears attached visually but prevents the letters from joining fully.

Full conjugation of رفتن

The personal ending shows the subject (the person or thing doing or experiencing the action), so Persian can omit subject pronouns when they are already clear.

Person	Persian	Transliteration	Usual meaning
I	(من) می‌رفتم	(man) miraftam	I used to go / was going
you, singular	(تو) می‌رفتی	(to) mirafti	you used to go / were going
he, she, it	(او) می‌رفت	(u) miraft	he/she used to go / was going
we	(ما) می‌رفتیم	(mā) miraftim	we used to go / were going
you, plural or polite	(شما) می‌رفتید	(shomā) miraftid	you used to go / were going
they	(آن‌ها) می‌رفتند	(ānhā) miraftand	they used to go / were going

These are exactly the simple-past endings: ـم، ـی، Ø، ـیم، ـید، ـند. The third-person singular has no added ending: رفت “he/she went,” می‌رفت “he/she used to go / was going.”

Compound verbs

Many common Persian verbs are compound verbs: a noun or adjective plus a short verb such as کردن “to do.” Only the verbal part changes.

Infinitive	Simple past, “I”	Past imperfect, “I”
کار کردن, to work	کار کردم	کار می‌کردم
زندگی کردن, to live	زندگی کردم	زندگی می‌کردم
ورزش کردن, to exercise	ورزش کردم	ورزش می‌کردم
صحبت کردن, to speak	صحبت کردم	صحبت می‌کردم

Do not put می‌ before the nonverbal part. The standard form is ورزش می‌کردم, not می‌ورزش کردم.

Negation

For a negative past imperfect, use نمی‌ before the past stem:

نمی‌ + past stem + personal ending

Affirmative	Negative	Meaning
می‌رفتم	نمی‌رفتم	I did not use to go / I was not going
می‌خوردی	نمی‌خوردی	you did not use to eat / were not eating
کار می‌کردند	کار نمی‌کردند	they did not use to work / were not working

The negative marker نـ comes before می‌. Written Persian therefore uses نمی‌رفتم, not می‌نرفتم.

Three core meanings

1. A former habit or routine

Words such as هر روز “every day,” همیشه “always,” معمولاً “usually,” and قبلاً “formerly” strongly support a habitual reading.

هر روز پیاده به مدرسه می‌رفتم.
“I used to walk to school every day.”

2. Repeated events in a past period

The action happened more than once, even if English does not naturally use “used to.”

تابستان‌ها به شمال سفر می‌کردیم.
“We travelled to the north in the summers.”

3. An ongoing or background action

The form can show what was in progress when another event occurred. The continuing action uses the past imperfect; the completed event normally uses the simple past.

داشتم کتاب می‌خواندم که تلفن زنگ زد.
“I was reading a book when the phone rang.”

At A2, you do not need to produce the full progressive pattern with داشتن yet. The important contrast is already visible: می‌خواندم provides the background, while زنگ زد reports the event that happened.

Past imperfect versus simple past

View of the past	Persian	English
one completed event	دیروز به بازار رفتم.	I went to the market yesterday.
repeated routine	هر جمعه به بازار می‌رفتم.	I used to go to the market every Friday.
action in progress/background	وقتی دیدمش، به بازار می‌رفت.	When I saw him/her, he/she was going to the market.

A time in the past does not automatically require the past imperfect. Ask whether you are presenting one completed occurrence (رفتم) or a repeated/ongoing scene (می‌رفتم).

Examples in Context

Persian	English	Note
من قبلاً اینجا زندگی می‌کردم.	I used to live here.	A former situation
هر روز ورزش می‌کردم.	I used to exercise every day.	Repeated routine
بچه که بودم، زیاد بازی می‌کردم.	When I was a child, I used to play a lot.	Childhood habit
آن موقع فارسی بلد نبودم.	At that time, I did not know Persian.	A past state; Persian naturally uses نبودم here
صبح‌ها چای می‌خوردیم.	We used to drink tea in the mornings.	Regular shared habit
پدرم شب‌ها روزنامه می‌خواند.	My father used to read the newspaper in the evenings.	Third-person singular
تابستان‌ها به شیراز سفر می‌کردند.	They used to travel to Shiraz in the summers.	Repeated seasonal event
آن سال در یک رستوران کار می‌کردی.	You were working at a restaurant that year.	Continuing situation over a period
وقتی وارد شدم، همه صحبت می‌کردند.	When I came in, everyone was talking.	Background plus completed event
باران می‌آمد و باد می‌وزید.	It was raining, and the wind was blowing.	Description of a scene
چرا به کلاس نمی‌آمدید؟	Why weren’t you coming to class?	Negative; polite or plural “you”
هر وقت وقت داشت، به مادرش زنگ می‌زد.	Whenever he/she had time, he/she would call his/her mother.	Repeated sequence introduced by “whenever”
در آن خانه تلویزیون نداشتیم.	We did not have a television in that house.	A past state often expressed without می‌
من غذا می‌پختم که برق رفت.	I was cooking when the power went out.	Ongoing background interrupted by an event

Common Mistakes

Using the simple past for a clear old routine

• Wrong: هر روز ورزش کردم. (intended: “I used to exercise every day.”)
• Right: هر روز ورزش می‌کردم.
• Why: هر روز describes repetition here. ورزش کردم is more likely to report a completed instance or a bounded series, depending on context.

Putting می‌ on the wrong part of a compound verb

• Wrong: می‌زندگی کردم.
• Right: زندگی می‌کردم.
• Why: In زندگی کردن, only کردن is conjugated. Keep زندگی unchanged and form می‌کردم from the verbal part.

Building the form from the present stem

• Wrong: می‌رومدم.
• Right: می‌رفتم.
• Why: The past imperfect uses the past stem رفت, not the present stem رو. Start from the simple past رفتم, then add می‌.

Reversing the negative prefixes

• Wrong: می‌نرفتم.
• Right: نمی‌رفتم.
• Why: The standard order is negative نـ + imperfective می‌ + past form.

Translating English “would” automatically

• Wrong approach: choosing می‌رفت whenever an English sentence contains would.
• Right: Use می‌رفت when would means a repeated past action: هر تابستان می‌رفت “Every summer, he/she would go.”
• Why: English would also marks conditionals and future-in-the-past. Those meanings require other Persian structures.

Adding می‌ to every past description

• Awkward for the intended basic meaning: آن موقع فارسی بلد نمی‌بودم.
• Natural: آن موقع فارسی بلد نبودم.
• Why: Common states with بودن “to be,” داشتن “to have,” and بلد بودن “to know how” often use the ordinary past form when the context already presents them as continuing states. Do not force a one-to-one English tense match.

Usage Notes

Pronouns are often unnecessary

Because می‌رفتم, می‌رفتی, and the other endings identify the person, Persian often leaves out من, تو, and other subject pronouns. قبلاً اینجا زندگی می‌کردم is complete without من. Include the pronoun for contrast, emphasis, or clarity: من کار می‌کردم، ولی او درس می‌خواند “I was working, but he/she was studying.”

Time words guide the interpretation

The same verb form can correspond to “used to” or “was -ing.” Compare:

• هر روز می‌دویدم. — “I used to run every day.”
• وقتی من را دید، می‌دویدم. — “When he/she saw me, I was running.”

English demands different constructions, but Persian lets context do much of the work. Look for frequency phrases, a time frame, or a second event.

Written and spoken forms

The standard written forms are می‌رفتم, می‌رفتید, and می‌رفتند. In everyday Iranian speech, pronunciation may be reduced, especially in endings, but formal spelling normally remains unchanged. Learn the standard written paradigm first; recognizing conversational reductions will become easier with listening exposure.

“Used to” versus “no longer”

The Persian past imperfect describes a past habit but does not, by itself, explicitly state that the habit has stopped. English used to often suggests a contrast with the present. Persian can make that contrast clear with قبلاً “before/formerly,” آن موقع “at that time,” or an explicit clause:

قبلاً قهوه می‌خوردم، ولی حالا چای می‌خورم.
“I used to drink coffee, but now I drink tea.”

Beyond the Basics: Ongoing Actions and Narrative Contrast

You do not need to master all of this at A2, but these patterns explain forms you will soon encounter.

For an action visibly in progress at a particular past moment, Persian often uses داشتن plus the past imperfect:

داشتم غذا می‌پختم. — “I was cooking.”
داشتند فوتبال بازی می‌کردند. — “They were playing football.”

Here داشتن is also conjugated in the past, while the main verb contains می‌. This construction places stronger emphasis on the activity being underway. The plain غذا می‌پختم can also mean “I was cooking,” especially when another clause supplies the context, and it can additionally mean “I used to cook.”

In storytelling, aspect matters as much as time. Aspect means how the speaker presents an action—as complete, repeated, or unfolding. Persian commonly uses the past imperfect to set the scene and the simple past to move the story forward:

هوا سرد بود و برف می‌بارید. ناگهان در باز شد.
“The weather was cold and snow was falling. Suddenly, the door opened.”

The states and ongoing weather form the background; باز شد is the new completed event. Notice also that بود “was” has no می‌. Stative verbs—verbs describing a state rather than an activity—do not always follow a mechanical “was = می‌” rule.

Repeated pairs of events may also use the past imperfect after هر وقت “whenever”:

هر وقت خسته می‌شدم، کمی استراحت می‌کردم.
“Whenever I got tired, I would rest for a while.”

At higher levels, you will refine the contrast between habitual, progressive, and counterfactual uses. For now, keep the reliable beginner rule: use می‌ + simple-past form for a repeated past action, but learn frequent past states such as بودم, داشتم, and بلد نبودم as natural patterns in context.

Practice Tips

1. Transform simple-past forms. Write six forms of رفتن, خوردن, and کردن in the simple past, then add می‌. Say each pair aloud: رفتم / می‌رفتم, خوردی / می‌خوردی.
2. Describe an old routine. Write five true sentences about childhood or a former job using prompts such as هر روز, معمولاً, شب‌ها, and تابستان‌ها. Add one present-day contrast with ولی حالا “but now.”
3. Sort completed events from background. While reading a short Persian story, underline simple-past verbs once and past-imperfect verbs twice. Ask: “Did this event advance the story, or was it the routine/background?”

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Simple Past Tense — supplies the past stems and personal endings used after می‌.
• Next step: Past Imperfect (Continuous Past) — deeper B1 study covers progressive narration, contrasts between past forms, and more nuanced uses.