Update Date: August 29, 2024
Are you curious about how to express active and passive voice in Persian? If so, you’ve come to the right place! GetBookOnline.com has put together a comprehensive article that breaks down the active and passive voice in the Persian language, making it easy for anyone to understand and apply. Whether you’re just starting to learn Farsi or you’re looking to polish your skills, this guide is perfect for you.
Learning Persian can open doors to new cultures and experiences, and understanding how to use active and passive voice is an important part of mastering the language. Active voice is when the subject of the sentence performs the action, while in passive voice, the action is performed on the subject. Knowing the difference and how to use each one will help you speak and write Persian more naturally and effectively.
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So, keep reading this post to dive into the details of active and passive voice in Persian, and discover how you can start speaking Farsi like a pro!
The Usage of Passive Voice in Persian
Passive voice in Persian serves as a multifaceted tool, offering diverse functions to express ideas effectively within different contexts. Here’s a detailed explanation of each part:
- Emphasizing the Object;
- Formal or Polite Tone;
- Concealing the Agent;
- Reporting Events or News;
- Avoiding Responsibility.
Emphasizing the Object
Passive voice is pivotal in Persian for shifting emphasis from the subject to the object of a sentence. When the object holds more significance, initiating the sentence with it elevates its importance. This structural adjustment highlights the object’s relevance or prominence in the discourse, ensuring it receives due attention from the audience.
Formal or Polite Tone
In Persian communication, passive voice is a hallmark of formality and politeness, commonly observed in written discourse and official exchanges. By employing passive constructions, speakers adopt a courteous and impersonal tone, ideal for maintaining decorum and respectfulness, especially when addressing superiors, authorities, or in professional settings.
Concealing the Agent
When the agent (doer of the action) is either unknown, irrelevant, or intentionally omitted, passive voice becomes invaluable. By focusing solely on the action itself and omitting the agent, speakers can maintain confidentiality, preserve anonymity, or shift attention away from individuals. This discretion is particularly useful in legal documents, investigative reports, or sensitive discussions.
Reporting Events or News
Passive voice finds extensive use in Persian journalism, news reporting, and storytelling, facilitating the objective narration of events without specifying individuals or entities responsible for actions. This impartiality lends credibility to the narrative, enabling audiences to focus on the events’ significance rather than the personalities involved.
Avoiding Responsibility
In Persian discourse, passive voice serves as a strategic tool to deflect accountability or soften the impact of negative statements. By obscuring the subject responsible for an action, speakers can mitigate blame, diffuse tension, or navigate delicate situations with diplomacy and tact.
The Structure of Passive Voice in Persian Language
In Persian, the structure of sentences in both active and passive voices follows a specific pattern. Understanding how to switch from active to passive voice is essential for mastering the language. Let’s break it down with clear explanations and examples.
Active Voice Structure
In an active voice sentence, the subject (فاعل) performs the action on the object (مفعول). The basic structure is:
Subject + Object + Verb
For example:
- نویسنده کتاب جدیدی را نوشت.
- “The author wrote a new book.”
Here, “نویسنده” (author) is the subject, “کتاب جدیدی را” (a new book) is the object, and “نوشت” (wrote) is the verb.
Passive Voice Structure
In the passive voice, the focus shifts from the subject performing the action to the object receiving the action. The subject is usually omitted or de-emphasized, and the object takes the subject’s place. The basic structure becomes:
Object + Past Participle + شد + Subject Pronoun
To transform an active sentence into passive voice, follow these steps:
- Remove the subject:
- Active: نویسنده کتاب جدیدی را نوشت.
- Passive: Remove “نویسنده”
- Move the object to the beginning of the sentence and remove the object marker “را”:
- Passive: “کتاب جدیدی”
- Change the verb to its past participle form by adding “ه” to the past stem:
- Passive: “کتاب جدیدی نوشته” (“written”)
- Add the appropriate form of the verb “شدن” (to become) according to the tense of the original sentence:
- Passive: “کتاب جدیدی نوشته شد.”
- Ensure the verb agrees with the new subject (which was originally the object):
- Passive: “کتاب جدیدی نوشته شد.”
- “A new book was written.”
Example Transformation
- Active Voice: نویسنده کتاب جدیدی را نوشت.
- (“The author wrote a new book.”)
- Passive Voice: کتاب جدیدی نوشته شد.
- (“A new book was written.”)
In the passive voice, the focus is on “کتاب جدیدی” (a new book), while the action “نوشته شد” (was written) is emphasized, and the subject “نویسنده” (author) is omitted.
Key Points
- The object in the active sentence becomes the subject in the passive sentence.
- The verb changes to a past participle and is followed by a form of “شدن” that matches the original verb’s tense.
- The new subject must match the verb’s ending (شناسه).
This structure allows you to easily convert sentences from active to passive in Persian, providing more flexibility in how you express ideas.
Active and Passive Voice Examples
In the following part you can see some examples:
1. Example 1
Active Voice:
- Persian: او نامه را فرستاد.
- Phonetic: ou nāme rā ferestād.
- English: He sent the letter.
Passive Voice:
- Persian: نامه فرستاده شد.
- Phonetic: nāme ferestāde shod.
- English: The letter was sent.
2. Example 2
Active Voice:
- Persian: آن‌ها درختان را کاشتند.
- Phonetic: ānhā derakhtān rā kāshtand.
- English: They planted the trees.
Passive Voice:
- Persian: درختان کاشته شدند.
- Phonetic: derakhtān kāshte shodand.
- English: The trees were planted.
3. Example 3
Active Voice:
- Persian: معلم درس را توضیح داد.
- Phonetic: moalem dars rā tozih dād.
- English: The teacher explained the lesson.
Passive Voice:
- Persian: درس توضیح داده شد.
- Phonetic: dars tozih dāde shod.
- English: The lesson was explained.
4. Example 4
Active Voice:
- Persian: پدر خانه را تمیز کرد.
- Phonetic: pedar khāne rā tamiz kard.
- English: The father cleaned the house.
Passive Voice:
- Persian: خانه تمیز شد.
- Phonetic: khāne tamiz shod.
- English: The house was cleaned.
5. Example 5
Active Voice:
- Persian: او پروژه را تکمیل کرد.
- Phonetic: ou prozhe rā takmil kard.
- English: He completed the project.
Passive Voice:
- Persian: پروژه تکمیل شد.
- Phonetic: prozhe takmil shod.
- English: The project was completed.
These examples should help you get a better understanding of how to form both active and passive voice sentences in Persian, along with their English meanings and pronunciations.
Mastering the Art of Passive Voice in Persian: Your Ultimate Guide
Congratulations on completing our comprehensive guide to passive voice in Persian! We’ve explored the intricacies of this grammatical structure, its various uses, and how to construct passive sentences effectively. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, understanding passive voice is essential for mastering Persian language proficiency.
However, if you still have questions or need further clarification on any aspect of passive voice or Persian language learning, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Our team of experienced Persian language teachers is here to provide personalized assistance and guidance tailored to your learning needs. Whether you need help with grammar, conversation practice, or cultural insights, we’re dedicated to supporting you on your language learning journey.
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So, if you’re ready to take your Persian language skills to the next level, enroll in our courses! Visit our website or contact us directly to learn more about our programs and start your journey towards fluency in Persian. Don’t let language barriers hold you back – with our expert guidance and resources, you’ll be speaking Persian with ease in no time. We look forward to helping you achieve your language learning goals! In our YouTube channel you can find various Persian videos on different topics. Stay with us.