In order to be able to use a verb in various structures and verb tenses, it is important to know all the various forms that a verb can take. In Dari a verb has three different forms, the infinitive form, the past stem or the past from, and the present stem or form.

The infinitive

The infinitive form of the verb in Dari does not indicate the time of the action it only shows an action. For example the infinitive دیدن  Deedan means “ to see” and does not show when the action is happening.  One important thing to remember about the infinitive form of the verb in Dari is that it always ends with the diacritic mark and the letter ـَن   (an).

Past Form of a Verb

Once you learn the infinitive form of a verb the next thing you can do is to derive the past form of the verb.  In Dari, the past tense is taught first because it is easy to derive the past stem of a verb from the infinitive form.  By omitting the last diacritic mark and the letter ـَن   (an)  you can get the past form of the verb. For example the past form of the verb دیدن will be دید  .

Present Form of a Verb

The present form of a verb is usually irregular and should be learned along with the infinitive form of a verb. You will see that the present form of a verb usually looks and sounds quite different than the infinitive therefore it is advised that when you learn Dari verbs, learn the infinitive and the present forms together at the same time.  By knowing the three forms of a verb you will be able to use it in any grammatical structure in Dari language.

Examples