This page has audio!
Present Perfect in Colloquial Persian
Conjugation of the present perfect is slightly different in spoken Persian. Its importance is mostly due to the fact that in most cases, one can only tell it apart from the past simple tense by detecting the stressed syllable. Let’s see an example for the verb “رفتن” (“to go”) being conjugated in the past perfect.
Verb Infinitive:
رفتن
Past Stem:
رفت
رفته‌ام
رفته‌ای
رفته است
رفته‌ایم
رفته‌اید
رفته‌اند
رفته‌م
رفتی
رفته‌
رفتیم
رفتین
رفته‌ن
I have gone
You have gone
He/She has gone
We have gone
You (pl.) have gone
They have gone
It can easily be seen that except the third person singular, they all sound exactly like the past simple verbs (the past simple for “رفتن” is “رفت”), the only difference being in where the stress falls. In the past simple, the stress is on the last syllable of the stem of the verb. In the present perfect, however, the stress is on the last syllable of the verb.
من مُردم. من تا حالا سه بار مُرده‌ام.
من مُردم. من تا حالا سه بار مُردم.
تو مُردی. تو تا حالا سه بار مُرده‌ای.
تو مُردی. تو تا حالا سه بار مُردی.
او مُرد. او تا حالا سه بار مُرده.
اون مُرد. اون تا حالا سه بار مُرده.
ما مُردیم. ما تا حالا سه بار مُرده‌ایم.
ما مُردیم. ما تا حالا سه بار مُردیم.
شما مُردید. شما تا حالا سه بار مُرده‌اید.
شما مُردین. شما تا حالا سه بار مُردین.
آنها مُردند. آنها تا حالا سه بار مُرده‌اند.
اونا مُردن. اونا تا حالا سه بار مُردن.
I died. I’ve died three times till now.
 
You died. You’ve died three times till now.
 
She died. She’s died three times till now.
 
We died. We’ve died three times till now.
 
You died. You’ve died three times till now.
 
They died. They’ve died three times till now.
 
Recall from the lesson on “negation” that the stress is on the prefix “نـ” in all negative verbs. How is the negative present perfect going to be distinguished then from the negative past simple in colloquial Persian? The answer is that it is not! Only context might help you understand which one is intended.
من دروغ نگفتم. من تا حالا دروغ نگفته‌ام.
من دروغ نگفتم. من تا حالا دروغ نگفته‌م.
I didn’t lie. I have [never] lied till now.