Simple Past Tense in Kurdish

Intransitive Verbs

Finding Past Stem

If the verb ends with -in drop -in, the rest is your past stem:

ketin – to fall – ket

hatin – to come – hat

raketin – to sleep – raket

derketin – to leave – derket

mirin – to die – mir

If the verb ends with -yîn drop -yîn, the rest is your past stem

mayîn – to stay – ma

çûyîn – to go – çû

bûyîn – to be, become – bû

If the verb ends with -ûn drop -n, the rest is your past stem

rabûn – to get up – rabû

pîr bûn – to get old – pîr bû

If the verb ends with -în drop -n, the rest is your past stem

vegerîn – to return – vegerî

xebitîn – to work – xebitî

Which pronouns to use?

Use nominative personal pronouns EZ, TU, EW, EM, Hûn, EW

şiyar bûyîn – to wake up – şiyar bû

And add personal suffixes to the past stem of the verb.

Examples:

• Ew îro zû çû malê – Today he went home early.
• Zozan bi hevalên xwe re derket derve – Zozan went outside with her friends.
• Tu çûyî ku (derê)? – Where did you go?

The negative is formed by prefixing ne-:

Examples:

• Em doh xweş raneketin. – We didn’t sleep well yesterday.
• Xwendekar îro neçûn dibistanê. – The students didn’t go to school today.
• Pisîk ji darê ket lê nemir – The cat fell from the tree but did not die.

An Important Rule!!

Indirect object is at the end, in oblique form:

• Ez çûm malê – I went home mal – home (fem.)  NOT Ez çûm li malê.
• Ew çû ofîsê. – S/he went to the office ofîs – office (fem.) NOT ew li ofîsê çû.
• Heval çûn gundî – The friends went to the village. gund – village (masc.) Not ew çûn li gundî
• Dê û bavê min çûn mala xwişka min. – My parents went to my sister’s house. NOT dê û bavê min mala xwişka min çûn.
• Ew çûn ku? – Where did they go? NOT ew ku çûn?

An Important Rule!!

The verb ”derketin” to leave takes preposition ”ji”

• Ez îro ji malê zû derketim – I left the house early today.
• Tu kengî ji ofîsê derketî? -When did you leave the office?
• Hevalên min ji dibistanê derketin. – My friends left the school.
• Ez nizanim ew çima ji odeya min derket. – I don’t know why he left my room.
• Mamosteyên we ji dersê derketin? – Did your teachers leave the lessons?
• Tu ji ku derketî?- Where did you come out from?

An Important Rule:

The verb ”mayîn” to stay takes preposition ”li”

• Ez doh li malê nemam, derketim. – I didn’t stay home yesterday, I went out.
• Hevala min îro nehat dibistanê, ew li malê ma. – My friend didn’t come to school today, she stayed home.
• Tu li malê mayî û te çi kir? – You stayed home and what did you do?
• Dayika min îro li ofîse ma, nehat malê. – My mom stayed in the office, didn’t come home.
• Tu li ku mayî? – Where did you stay?