The “to be “verbs are verbs that show state of being, (i.e.  Am, are, and is). In Dari the “to be” verbs are derived from the imaginary infinitive هستن   Hastan.  All different forms of the  “to be” verb have the same stem and only the ending changes, for example هستم  Hastam (I am) and  هستند Hastand (they are) have the same stem and  only the ending of the verb changes.

In Dari every verb has two stems, the past stem and the present stem.  The present stem of the “to be” verb is هست hast, and by adding the verb ending to the present stem we can form the “to be” verbs for all subjects.  Remember that the verb endings are the same for all verbs in the present tense.

In Dari the ending of a verb shows who the verb is used for or who the doer of the action is, there for we can use the “to be” verbs without using the subject, for example, هستیم hastem means “we are” in this verb the subject “we” is implied or embedded.  The fowling are the “to be” verbs, the verb endings are highlighted.

Transliteration                   Dari            meaning

Hastam                                هستم                (I) am

Hastem                                هستیم              (we) are

Hastand                               هستند              (they) are

Hasteed                               هستید               (you plural) are

Hasti                                      هستی               (you singular) are

Ast                                         است                 (he/she/it) is

Please watch the video for proper pronunciation, further explanation, and example sentences.