Question about the command form of کردن

Question

Hi everyone. My Persian knowledge is very minimal. I had a question about the command forms of کردن . Is "don't do it" نکن or نکنید ? Are they both the same thing except the former is singular/informal while the latter is plural/formal? I guess my question is the same for بکن and بکنید . Also, is کن a word? Thanks!

Answer 1

Yes, both forms are correct, and the difference is exactly what you thought. In Persian, the verb کردن (to do) has the informal singular command کن (“do!”) and its negative نکن (“don’t do!”), which you use when speaking to one person informally. The plural or polite/formal forms are کنید (“do!”) and نکنید (“don’t do!”), used when addressing more than one person or when speaking respectfully to one person. You may also see بکن and بکنید, but in modern Persian the بـ is often dropped in everyday speech, so کن / کنید are more common.

Answer 2

The verb "kardan" means to do. "bekon" or "nakon" is the colloquial way of saying them. However, to be grammatically correct, one should use the verb ending "daal" i.e. "bekonid" or negated "nakonid".

When the "be" or "na" is used at the begining of the present stem which is "kon" we call it in grammar terms the subjunctive form, which is only applied to all Persian verbs in the following cases:

Conditional

Imperative

Doubt

Intention

Hope/wish

For example: I want to go to cinema this afternoon. This is intention, therefor, subjunctive form is applied to the present stem of the verb, to go.