Language/Tajik/Grammar/Past-Tense

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Tajik → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Verbs and Tenses → Past Tense

In this lesson, you will learn how to conjugate and use verbs in the past tense in Tajik. The past tense is used to describe actions or events that have already happened. It is an essential part of speech that you will need to master to reach a basic level of proficiency in Tajik.

Like the present tense, Tajik has two types of past tense: simple past and imperfect past. In this lesson, we will focus on the simple past tense, which is used to describe completed actions or events in the past that do not continue into the present.

Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: Negation & 0 to A1 Course.

Conjugating Verbs in the Past Tense

To conjugate regular verbs in the past tense, we add the suffix "-да" to the stem of the verb. The stem is the part of the verb before the infinitive ending "-тан". If the stem ends in a vowel, we remove the vowel before adding the suffix. Here is the conjugation of the verb "даштан", which means "to have":

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
даштам	dæʃtæm	I had
дашти	dæʃti	you had (singular)
дашт	dæʃt	he/she/it had
даштим	dæʃtim	we had
даштид	dæʃtid	you had (plural)
даштанд	dæʃtænd	they had

Note that the past tense verb endings reflect the subject of the sentence. For instance, "даштам" means "I had", and "даштанд" means "they had". Here are some more examples of regular verbs conjugated in the past tense:

• "гаҳидан" (to go) -> "гаҳидам" (I went)
• "хондан" (to read) -> "хондам" (I read)
• "гӯш додан" (to listen) -> "гӯш додам" (I listened)

Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense

As with many languages, Tajik has some irregular verbs in the past tense that do not follow the regular rules of conjugation. Here are some examples:

• "будан" (to be) -> "буд" (was)
• "рӯیدан" (to run) -> "рӯйда" (ran)
• "хӯрдан" (to eat) -> "хӯрд" (ate)
• "шудан" (to become) -> "шуд" (became)

Note that the irregular past tense forms must be memorized. They do not follow any particular pattern or rule.

Negation in the Past Tense

To negate a verb in the past tense, we use the particle "на" before the verb. Here is the negation of the verb "даштан":

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
надаштам	nædæʃtæm	I did not have
надашти	nædæʃti	you did not have (singular)
надашт	nædæʃt	he/she/it did not have
надаштим	nædæʃtim	we did not have
надаштид	nædæʃtid	you did not have (plural)
надаштанд	nædæʃtænd	they did not have

Practice

Now that you have learned how to conjugate verbs in the past tense, it's time to practice forming sentences. Here are some exercises to help you get started:

1. Conjugate the following verbs in the past tense:
• "рӯз гузардан" (to pass the day)
• "фарохтан" (to buy)
• "фарвардан" (to walk)
2. Translate the following sentences into Tajik:
• "I watched TV yesterday."
• "She cooked dinner last night."
• "We talked to our friend on the phone."
3. Negate the following sentences:
• "Ман сабоҳ тӯйҳо ҳамаи моҳӣ хӯрдам." (I ate breakfast this morning.)
• "Ту шаб гузарди дар хона?" (Did you spend the night at home?)
• "Мо дар сарбози ҷамъият таҷрибаи хуб дар наврӯз дидем." (We had a good experience at the community carnival for Navruz.)

Cultural Insight

In Tajikistan, the past tense is used all the time in casual conversation. It's especially common to use it to talk about what you did yesterday or last week. Tajik culture places a strong emphasis on the past, and Tajiks take great pride in their history and heritage. Polite conversation often involves asking about a person's family and ancestors, so having a good understanding of the past tense is essential for communicating effectively in Tajik.

Table of Contents - Tajik Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Alphabet and Pronunciation

• Introduction to the Tajik Alphabet
• Vowels and Consonants

  ---

Greetings and Introductions

• Basic Greetings
• Introducing Yourself

  ---

Basic Sentence Structure

• Subject-Object-Verb Order
• Negation in Sentences

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-20
• Telling Time

  ---

Nouns and Pronouns

• Gender and Plurality of Nouns
• Personal Pronouns

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Describing Relationships

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Using Adjectives
• Using Adverbs

  ---

Food and Dining

• Common Foods
• Eating and Drinking

  ---

Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense
• Past Tense

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Asking for Directions

  ---

Prepositions and Conjunctions

• Using Prepositions
• Using Conjunctions

  ---

Shopping and Money

• Shopping Vocabulary
• Money and Currency

  ---

Tajik Customs and Traditions

• Holidays and Celebrations
• Etiquette and Social Norms

Other Lessons

• Give your Opinion
• Personal Pronouns
• Negation in Sentences
• How to Use Be
• Using Prepositions
• Future Tense
• Introduction to the Tajik Alphabet
• 0 to A1 Course
• Using Adverbs
• Gender

Sources

• Introduction to Tajik Persian 4 – Differences in Grammar - Persian ...
• Tajik grammar - Wikipedia
• TAJIK ii. TAJIK PERSIAN – Encyclopaedia Iranica

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