Negation in Persian Grammar: Affirmative to Negative

Negation in Persian is a crucial grammatical concept that allows speakers to express the opposite of a statement. This article will delve into the various methods used to negate affirmative sentences in Persian.

Video of negation in Persian grammar

Using the Particle “نمی” (Nemī)

The most common way to negate a sentence in Persian is by using the particle “نمی” (Nemī). It is typically placed before the main verb.

• Example:
  • Affirmative: من کتاب می‌خوانم. (Man ketāb mīxānām.) – I read a book.
  • Negative: من کتاب نمی‌خوانم. (Man ketāb nemīxānām.) – I don’t read a book.

Negating Verbs with “نمی” and a Prefix

For certain verbs, especially those starting with vowels, the particle “نمی” is combined with a prefix to create a more natural-sounding negation.

• Example:
  • Affirmative: او می‌آید. (Ou mīāyad.) – He/she comes.
  • Negative: او نمی‌آید. (Ou nemīāyad.) – He/she doesn’t come.

Negating verbs in simple past tense

To negative a sentence in simple past tense or زمان گذشته ساده, simply add the particle “Na” to the beginning of the main verb.

• Affirmative: او به مدرسه رفت (Ou be mad-rese raft) – He/she went to school.
• Negative: او به مدرسه نرفت (Ou be mad-rese naraft) – He/she didn’t go to school.
• Affirmative: ما در جنگل یک روباه دیدیم (Ma: dar jan-gal yek ru:ba:h didi:m) – We saw a fox in the jungle.
• Negative: ما در جنگل هیچ روباهی ندیدیم (Ma: dar jan-gal hi:ch ru:ba: hi na-di-di:m) – We didn’t see any fox in the jungle.

In the above example, pay attention to the function of the determiner “هیچ”, which is equivalent to “any” in the English language in negative sentences.

Negating verbs in future tense

To negate a verb in simple future tense or زمان آینده the particle “Na” is added to the beginning of the modal auxiliary verb, خواستن, which is also conjugated with the appropriate inflection corresponding to the subject of the sentence.

• Affirmative: آنها فردا غذای ایرانی خواهند پخت (a:n-ha: far-da: gha-za:-ye i:ra:ni: kha:hand pokht) – They will cook Iranian food tomorrow.
• Negative: آنها فردا غذای ایرانی نخواهند پخت (a:n-ha: far-da: gha-za:-ye i:ra:ni: na-kha:hand pokht) – They will not / won’t cook Iranian food tomorrow.

Negating Adjectives and Nouns

To negate adjectives and nouns, the particle “نمی” is used in conjunction with the word “باشد” (bāshad), which means “is or to be.”

• Example:
  • Affirmative: این کتاب خوب است. (In ketāb xūb ast.) – This book is good.
  • Negative: این کتاب خوب نیست OR این کتاب خوب نمی باشد (In ketāb xūb nist / nemi ba: shad.) – This book is not good.
  • Positive: امیدوار (o-mid-va:r) hopeful
  • Negative: نا امید (na: o-mid) hopeless
  • Positive: دانا (da:na:) knowledgeable, prudent
  • Negative: نادان (na:-da:n) ignorant
  • Positive: با ادب (ba: a-dab) polite
  • Negative: بی ادب (bi: a-dab) impolite, rude
  • Positive: توانا (ta-va:na:) – powerful
  • Negative: ناتوان (na:ta-va:n) – powerless, weak

Negating Existential Sentences

Existential sentences, which express existence or non-existence, often use the verb “هست” (hast) or “نیست” (nist). To negate such sentences, simply use “نیست” (nist).

• Example:
  • Affirmative: در این فروشگاه پنیر هست (dar in foru:sh-ga:h pa-nir hast) – There is cheese in this store/shop.
  • Negative: در این فروشگاه پنیر نیست – (dar in foru:sh-ga:h pa-nir nist) – There’s no cheese in this store/shop.
  • Affirmative: در این کیف، کمی پول وجود دارد (dar in ki:f ka-mi pu:l vo-ju:d da:rad) – There is some money in this wallet.
  • Negative: در این کیف هیچ پولی وجود ندارد (dar in ki:f hi:ch pu:li vo-ju:d na-da:rad) – There is no money in this wallet / There isn’t any money in this wallet.

As you can see, in the above example, وجود داشتن یا وجود نداشتن signifies the existence or lack of existence of something respectively.

Negating Imperative Sentences

To negate imperative sentences (commands or requests), the particle “نَ” is placed before the verb.

• Example:
  • Affirmative: برو. (Borū.) – Go.
  • Negative: نرو. (Narū.) – Don’t go.
  • Affirmative: شما باید این دارو را بخورید (Sho ma: ba:yad in da:ru: ra: be-kho-rid) – You should take this medicine.
  • Negative: شما نباید این دارو را بخورید (Sho-ma: na-ba:yad in da:ru: ra: be-kho-rid) – You must not take this medicine.

In the above example, باید or should changes to نباید or should not / must not.

Negation in Compound Sentences

In compound sentences, negation can be applied to individual clauses or to the entire sentence.

• Example:
  • Affirmative: من کتاب می‌خوانم و او تلویزیون نگاه می‌کند. (Man ketāb mīxānām va ou telavizyun negāh mikonad.) – I read a book and he watches TV.
  • Negating the entire sentence: ما نه کتاب می‌خوانیم و نه تلویزیون نگاه می‌کنیم. (Mā na ketāb mīxānim va na telavizyun negāh mikonim.) – We neither read a book nor watch TV.

By mastering these negation techniques, you can effectively express negative ideas in Persian and communicate more accurately.