# Persian: Conditional tense



## romillyh

How does one form the conditional tense in Persian? I’d like especially to have advice on the following type of sentence in its future and past forms:


*Future*
_I would go if I had the time_ (but I won’t have the time, so this is different from “I will go if I have the time”)
_We would be happy if you came/could come_ (we don’t know if you can come)


*Past*
_I would have gone if I had had the time_
_They would have been pleased if you had come_


many thanks, Romilly


----------



## darush

Hello,

_I would go if I had the time:_ اگر وقت داشتم می رفتم 
_I will go if I have the time: _اگر وقت *داشته باشم*/*پیدا کنم *خواهم رفت or simpler اگر وقت داشته باشم می روم 
_We would be happy if you came/could come: _اگر (بتوانی) بیایی خوشحال *خواهیم شد*/*می شویم 

*_I would have gone if I had had the time: _اگر وقت داشتم می رفتم 
more emphasized--> اگر وقت داشتم رفته بودم means: حالا اینجا نبودم 
_They would have been pleased if you had come: _اگر می رفتی خوشحال می شدند or اگر رفته بودی خوشحال می شدند 

may be useful:http://www.zabanamoozan.com/learning/conditional.htm


----------



## romillyh

Thanks, darush, and also for that link – I've just been exploring the site. Wish there was more of it!

Regards to the birds, romillyh


----------



## darush

Regards to the birds!


----------



## searcher123

romillyh said:


> (...)Regards to the birds, romillyh


And what does "Regards to the birds" mean, please?


----------



## Qureshpor

darush said:


> Hello,
> 
> _I would go if I had the time:_ اگر وقت داشتم می رفتم
> _I will go if I have the time: _اگر وقت *داشته باشم*/*پیدا کنم *خواهم رفت or simpler اگر وقت داشته باشم می روم
> _We would be happy if you came/could come: _اگر (بتوانی) بیایی خوشحال *خواهیم شد*/*می شویم
> 
> *_I would have gone if I had had the time: _اگر وقت داشتم می رفتم
> more emphasized--> اگر وقت داشتم رفته بودم means: حالا اینجا نبودم
> _They would have been pleased if you had come: _اگر می رفتی خوشحال می شدند or اگر رفته بودی خوشحال می شدند
> 
> may be useful:http://www.zabanamoozan.com/learning/conditional.htm


Darush, is n't there another conditional tense to depict the future? It employs the past construction because, the logic is that event is considered so certain to take place that one assumes it has already happened!

We would be happy if you came/could come

agar *aamadii* xush-Haal mii-shaviim


----------



## romillyh

@ Searcher123

Re: "Regards to the birds". Darush and I are both fond of birds, and I was sending regards to a beautiful lady owl who visits his yard at night in hope of picking up one of his chickens.

So there you go! Any owls down your way?

aaah . . . chat is ممنوع.


----------



## darush

*About Future Tense:*

Farsi future tense formula: subject+_Xaah_(present stem of _Xaastan_)+person suffix+past stem of the verbمن خواهم رفت ​The subject can be omitted: خواهم رفت 
The formula is more or less litrary, we don't use it in our daily conversations.
_(Note: People of Kashan use the right structure of future tense; their dialect allows them to rhyme 'yek' and '*felek*', too.)
_The easier and widely accepted way is using present tense instead of future tense: من می روم 


> is n't there another conditional tense to depict the future? It employs the past construction because, the logic is that event is considered so certain to take place that one assumes it has already happened!



As you see, translations of first examples of future and past tenses are the same, past construction may indicates the impossibility(I think, there are no strict rules or a logical reason for, this is the way we speak).



> We would be happy if you came/could come
> agar *aamadii* xush-Haal mii-shaviim


We wouldn't say it, but these are possible:

1.A person to his colleague: _*agar*_ _fardaa pish az man_ _*aamadi*_ _computer e man raa ham rowshan(turn on) kon._
2.A(and his friends) to B: _*agar *fardaa sobh, taa saa'ate 5(5:00 AM)_ _*aamadi  *baa ham_ _*miravim*,_ _agar na, montazerat nemishavim_(we will go without you).

 I can't tell you the differnce of your suggested phrase and my second example, both seem to be conditional and both have *past...present*(future in fact)verbs, one is weird and another is OK.

SaaHib QP, Your questions are always chalanging.

*A gramarian contributer in this forum is really needed!*


----------



## romillyh

That’s all helpful and interesting . . . viz:

<< there are no strict rules or a logical reason for, this is way of our speaking. >>

Exactly, just as in other languages, not least English! To learn a language beyond the absolute basics you have to be 90% طوطی !    I always remind myself that a child takes many years to learn its own language properly.

_Kashan, oh I want to go there._ Lots of wonderful pics here:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=223589

For some reason I never stopped there. What a mistake!!!

Darush – only Kashanis can say "yek" properly, so it rhymes with felek? C’mon – ur pulling our legs!!


----------



## darush

> ...To learn a language beyond the absolute basics you have to be 90% طوطی !...


Regards to the birds!



> For some reason I never stopped there. What a mistake!!!


me too, I hope you visit Kashan soon.



> only Kashanis can say "yek" properly, so it rhymes with felek?


they say "felek" so it rhymes with "yek".
here is a discussion on pronunciation of "yek":http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2570427


----------



## romillyh

felek/yek discussion . . . I _know_ darush! I read it with great puzzlement. To my limited knowledge there are no yaks in Iran unless maybe in zoos. In my day there probably weren't even zoos . . now lion cubs are found roaming on the Karaj highway!!!

You get yourself some sleep. At least it's Friday tomorrow.

R


----------



## darush

unfortunately we have no Yaks in our zoos.
no, but we had an astronaut monkey few days ago!


----------



## Qureshpor

darush said:


> *About Future Tense:*
> 
> Farsi future tense formula: subject+_Xaah_(present stem of _Xaastan_)+person suffix+past stem of the verbمن خواهم رفت ​The subject can be omitted: خواهم رفت
> The formula is more or less litrary, we don't use it in our daily conversations.
> _(Note: People of Kashan use the right structure of future tense; their dialect allows them to rhyme 'yek' and '*felek*', too.)
> _The easier and widely accepted way is using present tense instead of future tense: من می روم
> 
> 
> As you see, translations of first examples of future and past tenses are the same, past construction may indicates the impossibility(I think, there are no strict rules or a logical reason for, this is way of our speaking).
> 
> 
> We wouldn't say it, but these are possible:
> 
> 1.A person to his colleague: _*agar*_ _fardaa pish az man_ _*aamadi*_ _computer e man raa ham rowshan(turn on) kon._
> 2.A(and his friends) to B: _*agar *fardaa sobh, taa saa'ate 5(5:00 AM)_ _*aamadi  *baa ham_ _*miravim*,_ _agar na, montazerat nemishavim_(we will go without you).
> 
> I can't tell you the differnce of your suggested phrase and my second example, both seem to be conditional and both have *past...present*(future in fact)verbs, one is weird and another is OK.
> 
> SaaHib QP, Your questions are always challenging.
> 
> *A gramarian contributer in this forum is really needed!*


aaqaa-ye-darush, please allow me to provide you with some examples in Persian where a past tense formation gives a future meaning.

har chiiz kih uu guft va shumaa fahmiidiid, binaviisiid.

Everything/Whatever he says and you listen, write (it down).

maa biraftiim! tu daanii-o-dilxor-i-maa (Hafiz)

The above are not conditional examples.

Here is an example of the conditional from "chahaar maqaalah".

agar vaqte iin qassaab bi-murd, pesh az uu raa gor kunand,maraa xabar kun.

If (by any chance) this butcher dies, let me know before he is buried (literally, before they bury him).

agar raftii burdii, agar xuftii murdii (Sa3dii)


----------



## darush

QURESHPOR said:


> aaqaa-ye-darush, please allow me to provide you with some examples in Persian where a past tense formation gives a future meaning.
> 
> har chiiz kih uu guft va shumaa fahmiidiid, binaviisiid.
> 
> Everything/Whatever he says and you listen, write (it down).
> 
> maa biraftiim! tu daanii-o-dilxor-i-maa (Hafiz)
> 
> The above are not conditional examples.
> 
> Here is an example of the conditional from "chahaar maqaalah".
> 
> agar vaqte iin qassaab bi-murd, pesh az uu raa gor kunand,maraa xabar kun.
> 
> If (by any chance) this butcher dies, let me know before he is buried (literally, before they bury him).
> 
> agar raftii burdii, agar xuftii murdii (Sa3dii)



Thank you SaaHib QP, good examples.


----------



## Qureshpor

darush said:


> Thank you SaaHib QP, good examples.


You are welcome, aaqaa-ye-darush. You will find examples of agar + past tense to depict a certain future in Persian grammar books published even in recent years. So it is not something only found in the older Classical language.


----------



## Qureshpor

darush said:


> Thank you SaaHib QP, good examples.


Here is an example from a post by sahba, a Persian speaker.

ببخشید نمی دونم مطمئن نیستم ولی وقتی مطمئن شدم حتما جواب رو بهتون میگم!ا


----------

