- What type of infinitive endings are there in Persian?
- What is an apocopated infinitive?
- How is a negative infinitive formed?
- How is a passive infinitive formed?
- How can an infinitive function as a noun?
The infinitive is the basic form of a verb. For example: to do, to go. In Persian, infinitives end in -tan or -dan. Originally, all infinitives ended in -tan but the ending has evolved into -dan after vowels and the consonants n and r:
Original Ending | |
---|---|
داشتن dâshtan to have |
بستن bastan to close |
رفتن raftan to go |
گفتن goftan to say |
Ending After Vowels | |
---|---|
آمدن âmadan to come |
دادن dâdan to give |
دیدن didan to see |
شدن shodan to become |
بودن budan to be |
Ending After n and r | |
---|---|
خواند khwândan to read; to sing |
کندن kandan to dig |
بردن bordan to take; to win |
خوردن khordan to eat |
Apocopated infinitive
Infinitives have a short form, which is technically called apocopated infinitive. It is formed by removing -an from the full form and is used, for example, in the formation of simple future tense:
Apocopated infinitive | Full infinitive |
---|---|
خواهم رفت khwâham raft I will go |
خواهم رفتن khwâham raftan |
خواهی رفت khwâhi raft You will go |
خواهی رفتن khwâhi raftan |
خواهد رفت khwâhad raft He/She/It will go |
خواهد رفتن khwâhad raftan |
Negative infinitives
The negative form of an infinitive is made by prefixing na-:
Positive | Negative |
---|---|
بودن budan to be |
نبودن nabudan not to be |
رفتن raftan to go |
نرفتن naraftan not to go |
آمدن âmadan to come |
نیامدن nayâmadan not to come |
Passive infinitives
The passive voice is formed from past active participle and the auxiliary verb شدن (shodan). Passive infinitives are mainly formed from transitive verbs.
Active infinitive | Passive infinitive |
---|---|
خواندن khwândan to read |
خوانده شدن khwânde shodan to be read |
خوردن khordan to eat |
خورده شدن khorde shodan to be eaten |
Regarding compound verbs made with کردن (kardan), their passive infinitive is formed by replacing کردن (kardan) with شدن (shodan).
Infinitive | Past passive participle |
---|---|
باز کردن bâz kardan to open |
باز شدن bâz shodan to be opened, to become open |
پاک کردن pâk kardan to clean |
پاک شدن pâk shodan to be cleaned, to become clean |
Infinitive as a Noun
In Persian, infinitives can act as a noun and accept various prefixes and suffixes. For example, when an infinitive accepts suffix -i, it transforms into an adjective which means "worthy of", "-able", …
Infinitive | Derivation |
---|---|
دیدن didan to see |
دیدنی didani worth seeing |
دوست داشتن dust dâshtan to love |
دوستداشتنی dustdâshtani loveable |
باور کردن bâvar kardan to believe |
باورکردنی bâvarkardani believable |
باور نکردن bâvar nakardan not to believe |
باورنکردنی bâvarnakardani unbelievable |
Infinitives can also function as what it is known in English as gerund or -ing form.