Control and Subject Sharing | Farsi Grammar

Persian commonly expresses English want to go, try to call, and decide to wait with a person-marked subjunctive: می‌خواهم بروم، سعی می‌کنم زنگ بزنم، تصمیم گرفتم صبر کنم. The second verb is not an infinitive. Its ending identifies an understood subject, and that subject is normally supplied by a participant in the higher clause.

Linguists call this relation control, but the practical insight matters more than the label: ask whose intention, effort, or obligation makes the embedded action happen. Then give the embedded verb that person’s subjunctive ending. The analysis of Persian finite control is theoretically debated; learners can rely on the overt morphology without assuming that Persian secretly contains an English-style to infinitive.

The core same-subject pattern

Matrix predicate	Productive complement	Default understood subject
خواستن “want”	present subjunctive, usually without که in a short clause	the wanter
سعی کردن “try”	present subjunctive	the person making the effort
تصمیم گرفتن “decide”	present subjunctive	the decider
از کسی خواستن “ask someone”	present subjunctive	the requested person

می‌خواهم قبل از تاریکی برگردم.

mi-khâham qabl az târiki bargardam.

I want to return before dark. (neutral standard; first singular on both predicates)

تصمیم گرفتیم جلسه را آنلاین برگزار کنیم.

tasmim gereftim jalase râ ânlâyn bargozâr konim.

We decided to hold the meeting online. (neutral; first-plural subject shared)

مهتاب سعی کرد اشتباهش را توضیح بدهد.

Mahtâb sa'y kard eshtebâh-ash râ towzih be-dahad.

Mahtab tried to explain her mistake. (neutral; third-singular subject shared)

The embedded endings ـم، ـیم، ـد are audible and grammatical. English suppresses agreement after to; Persian preserves it. Short same-subject complements commonly omit که, though که can appear, especially when the complement is long or the boundary needs emphasis. Review the morphology on Present Subjunctive Formation.

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Do not translate English to. Conjugate the Persian embedded verb: I want to leave → می‌خواهم بروم, with first-singular morphology on both verbs.

خواستن permits another embedded subject

With خواستن, the desired situation need not involve the wanter. An overt embedded noun phrase can identify a different participant, and the subjunctive agrees with that participant.

لیلا می‌خواهد برادرش زودتر برگردد.

Leylâ mi-khâhad barâdar-ash zud-tar bargardad.

Leila wants her brother to return earlier. (neutral; different embedded subject)

می‌خواهیم شما هم در جلسه حضور داشته باشید.

mi-khâhim shomâ ham dar jalase hozur dâshte bâshid.

We want you to be present at the meeting too. (formal/polite; overt شما and plural agreement)

Calling every خواستن complement “subject control” would therefore be too broad. In the first core example, the matrix subject supplies the understood embedded subject. Here the embedded clause has its own overt subject.

Asking someone: the requested person acts

The frame از کسی خواستن + subjunctive means “ask someone to do something.” The از phrase names the addressee of the request, and the complement verb normally agrees with that person.

از تعمیرکار خواستم فردا صبح بیاید.

az ta'mirkâr khâstam fardâ sobh biyâyad.

I asked the repair technician to come tomorrow morning. (neutral; third-singular requested person)

مدیر از ما خواست گزارش را کوتاه‌تر کنیم.

modir az mâ khâst gozâresh râ kutâh-tar konim.

The manager asked us to make the report shorter. (neutral; ما controls first-plural کنیم)

English marks the requested person as an object—asked us—but Persian introduces it with از. Do not add را to this frame. The fuller valency belongs to the reference pages; here the point is how the participant is recovered across clauses.

Trying describes an effort by its matrix subject, and deciding normally describes that subject’s commitment. Consequently, an unexpressed embedded subject is read as the matrix subject.

سعی کردم بدون ایجاد سر و صدا در را باز کنم.

sa'y kardam bedun-e ijâd-e sar-o sedâ dar râ bâz konam.

I tried to open the door without making any noise. (neutral; first-singular effort and action)

اعضای شورا تصمیم گرفتند رأی‌گیری را به هفته‌ی بعد موکول کنند.

a'zâ-ye shurâ tasmim gereftand ra'y-giri râ be hafte-ye ba'd mokul konand.

The council members decided to postpone the vote until the following week. (formal-neutral; plural subject shared)

To describe a decision about somebody else’s action, Persian usually makes the decision content explicit or chooses a causative/request frame: تصمیم گرفتند از مریم بخواهند ارائه را شروع کند “They decided to ask Maryam to start the presentation.” This avoids pretending that Maryam herself made the decision.

Negation reveals two different decisions

Negation on the matrix predicate denies the wanting, attempt, or decision. Negation inside the complement preserves the matrix attitude but makes the intended action negative.

سعی نکردم زودتر برگردم.

sa'y nakardam zud-tar bargardam.

I did not try to return earlier. (no attempt)

سعی کردم عجولانه جواب ندهم.

sa'y kardam ajulâne javâb na-daham.

I tried not to answer hastily. (attempt made; intended action negative)

This contrast is not mere word order. The negative prefix belongs to a particular predicate and changes which event is denied.

Where infinitives really occur

Modern Persian infinitives such as رفتن، دیدن، ماندن behave extensively like verbal nouns. They are natural after prepositions and inside nominal phrases: برای دیدن، تصمیم به ماندن، قصد رفتن. They do not replace the person-marked subjunctive after ordinary finite خواستن، سعی کردن، تصمیم گرفتن.

تصمیم آن‌ها به ماندن در شهر قطعی شد.

tasmim-e ân-hâ be mândan dar shahr qat'i shod.

Their decision to remain in the city became final. (formal; ماندن inside a nominal construction)

— تصمیم گرفتی چه کار کنی؟ — می‌خوام چند روز صبر کنم.

— tasmim gerefti che kâr koni? — mi-khâm chand ruz sabr konam.

— Have you decided what to do? — I want to wait a few days. (informal, regional: Tehran; subjunctive remains person-marked)

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Use the form test: an embedded subjunctive answers “who performs this action?” through its ending. A nominal infinitive names an action and has no person ending.

Common Mistakes

1. Copying an English infinitive after خواستن

❌ می‌خواهم فردا رفتن.

Incorrect — modern Persian requires a person-marked complement, here بروم.

✅ می‌خواهم فردا پیش از شلوغی بروم.

mi-khâham fardâ pish az sholughi be-ravam.

I want to leave tomorrow before it gets crowded.

2. Using the indicative for a projected decision

❌ تصمیم گرفتم هر روز ورزش می‌کنم.

Incorrect as the complement of تصمیم گرفتن — the projected action requires subjunctive ورزش کنم.

✅ تصمیم گرفتم هر روز پیش از صبحانه ورزش کنم.

tasmim gereftam har ruz pish az sobhâne varzesh konam.

I decided to exercise every day before breakfast.

3. Making the embedded ending agree with the wrong participant

⚠️ مدیر از ما خواست فردا زودتر بیایند.

modir az mâ khâst fardâ zud-tar biyâyand.

Grammatical only if بیایند refers to some other contextually known group; it cannot make ما the understood actor because the persons do not match.

✅ مدیر از ما خواست فردا زودتر بیاییم.

modir az mâ khâst fardâ zud-tar biyâyim.

The manager asked us to come earlier tomorrow.

4. Putting infinitive syntax after که

❌ تصمیم گرفت که رفتن.

Incorrect — که cannot turn رفتن into a finite complement.

✅ تصمیم گرفت که تا پایان ماه بماند.

tasmim gereft ke tâ pâyân-e mâh be-mânad.

He or she decided to stay until the end of the month.

Key Takeaways

Persian control complements are productively person-marked subjunctives, not English-style infinitives.
With خواستن، سعی کردن، تصمیم گرفتن, an omitted embedded subject normally matches the matrix subject.
خواستن can introduce a different overt embedded subject; از کسی خواستن makes the requested person the understood actor.
Matrix and embedded negation have different scope.
Infinitives remain productive as verbal nouns in nominal and prepositional constructions.

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