A partitive selects a part from a larger whole: “one of the books,” “some of my friends,” “many of these cases.” Persian builds the central pattern as selector + از + whole. The preposition از literally contributes a source relation, but in a partitive that source is understood as a set or quantity whose members are already identifiable in the conversation.
The basic architecture
| Selector | Whole after از | Typical result |
|---|---|---|
| یکی | از کتابها | یکی از کتابها “one of the books” |
| بعضی | از دانشجوها | بعضی از دانشجوها “some of the students” |
| بسیاری | از این پروندهها | بسیاری از این پروندهها “many of these files” |
| هر یک | از اعضا | هر یک از اعضا “each of the members” |
| دو نفر | از مهمانها | دو نفر از مهمانها “two of the guests” |
The selector determines the size or distribution of the selected part. The phrase after از identifies the whole. Unlike English, Persian does not need an article before that whole. Demonstratives, possessors, plural marking, lexical collectives, and shared context establish its delimitation.
یکی از همکارهایم فردا به شیراز میرود.
yeki az hamkâr-hâ-yam fardâ be Shirâz mi-ravad.
One of my colleagues is going to Shiraz tomorrow.
بعضی از دانشجوها سؤالهایشان را با ایمیل فرستادند.
ba'zi az dâneshju-hâ so'âl-hâ-yashân râ bâ imeyl ferestâdand.
Some of the students sent their questions by email.
The entire string behaves as one noun phrase. It can be a subject, object, or complement of a preposition; از does not make it adverbial.
Why the whole is normally delimited
A true partitive presupposes a larger whole from which a subset can be selected. Persian can make that whole explicit in several ways:
- a demonstrative: از این کتابها “of these books”;
- a possessor: از دوستان من “of my friends”;
- a contextually known plural: از مهمانها “of the guests”;
- a collective expression: از مردم “of the people.”
بسیاری از این پروندهها ناقص است.
besyâri az in parvande-hâ nâqes ast.
Many of these files are incomplete. (formal; inanimate singular agreement)
چند نفر از دوستان من در همان محله زندگی میکنند.
chand nafar az dustân-e man dar hamân mahalle zendegi mi-konand.
A few of my friends live in that same neighborhood.
A bare singular after از often produces an ordinary source or material phrase, not a partitive: یکی از چوب is not “one of the pieces of wood.” To select one item, establish the set: یکی از تکههای چوب “one of the pieces of wood.” This restriction is conceptual rather than an article rule.
یکی از تکههای چوب را برای پایهی میز نگه داشتم.
yeki az tekke-hâ-ye chub râ barâ-ye pâye-ye miz negah dâshtam.
I kept one of the pieces of wood for the table leg.
Plain quantity versus partitive quantity
Compare بعضی دانشجوها “some students” with بعضی از دانشجوها “some of the students.” The first introduces an indefinite group. The second divides a contextually available group. The same contrast holds between چند کتاب “a few books” and چند تا از کتابها “a few of the books.”
چند کتاب برای سفر برداشتم.
chand ketâb barâ-ye safar bardâshtam.
I picked up a few books for the trip.
چند تا از کتابها را برای سفر برداشتم.
chand tâ az ketâb-hâ râ barâ-ye safar bardâshtam.
I picked up a few of the books for the trip.
The second object is a specific subset, so را follows the complete partitive phrase. The specificity across یک، ـی، and را page develops this discourse system. There is no hidden Persian equivalent of English the: کتابها is interpreted as the relevant set because context and the partitive construction support that reading.
Agreement comes from the selector and referent
The nearest plural after از does not automatically control the verb. یکی از دانشجوها denotes one person and takes singular agreement; بعضی از دانشجوها denotes several people and takes plural agreement. Distributive هر یک likewise treats members one by one and normally takes a singular verb.
یکی از دانشجوها هنوز پاسخ نداده است.
yeki az dâneshju-hâ hanuz pâsokh nadâde ast.
One of the students has not replied yet.
بعضی از دانشجوها هنوز پاسخ ندادهاند.
ba'zi az dâneshju-hâ hanuz pâsokh nadâde-and.
Some of the students have not replied yet.
هر یک از اعضا باید فرم جداگانهای پر کند.
har yek az a'zâ bâyad form-e jodâgâne-i por konad.
Each member must fill out a separate form. (formal)
With inanimate plurals, formal Persian commonly allows singular agreement: بسیاری از پروندهها ناقص است. With human referents, plural agreement is the safe normal choice for بعضی and بسیاری. This is the ordinary Persian animacy pattern, not special agreement imposed by از.
Partitives with pronoun clitics
When the whole is “us,” “you,” or “them,” Persian can attach a possessive-form clitic to a selector. یکیشان means “one of them,” literally something like “their one”; بعضیشان means “some of them.” These compact forms are neutral and common, though formal prose may choose an explicit phrase such as بعضی از آنها.
| Compact form | Expanded counterpart | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| یکیشان | یکی از آنها | one of them |
| بعضیشان | بعضی از آنها | some of them |
| دوتایشان | دو تا از آنها | two of them |
یکیشان کلید را روی میز جا گذاشته بود.
yeki-shân kelid râ ru-ye miz jâ gozâshte bud.
One of them had left the key on the table.
بعضیشان ترجیح دادند آنلاین شرکت کنند.
ba'zi-shân tarjih dâdand ânlâyn sherkat konand.
Some of them preferred to participate online.
Do not add both a clitic and a full از آنها complement for the same whole. They are alternative ways to express it. Pronominal uses have additional person and attachment details; the point here is how they replace the partitive whole.
Partitives in a natural exchange
همهی گزارشها را خواندی؟
hame-ye gozâresh-hâ râ khândi?
Did you read all the reports?
نه، دوتا از آنها را خواندم؛ یکیشان هنوز آماده نیست.
na, dotâ az ân-hâ râ khândam; yeki-shân hanuz âmâde nist.
No, I read two of them; one of them still isn't ready.
The first partitive is a specific object and takes را. The second is a subject and does not. Notice also singular نیست, controlled by یکیشان.
Common Mistakes
1. Omitting از in a genuine “of the” reading
❌ یکی کتابها گم شده است.
Incorrect — the selected item must be linked to the whole with از.
✅ یکی از کتابها گم شده است.
yeki az ketâb-hâ gom shode ast.
One of the books has gone missing.
2. Leaving a countable whole singular
❌ یکی از کتاب را برداشتم.
Incorrect for 'one of the books' — a countable source set must be expressed as a set.
✅ یکی از کتابها را برداشتم.
yeki az ketâb-hâ râ bardâshtam.
I picked up one of the books.
3. Making the verb agree with the plural after یکی
❌ یکی از همکارهایم تماس گرفتند.
Incorrect in neutral standard Persian — یکی selects one referent and normally takes a singular verb.
✅ یکی از همکارهایم تماس گرفت.
yeki az hamkâr-hâ-yam tamâs gereft.
One of my colleagues called.
4. Splitting the specific object with را
❌ بعضی را از این پیامها پاک کردم.
Incorrect — را follows the complete partitive object.
✅ بعضی از این پیامها را پاک کردم.
ba'zi az in payâm-hâ râ pâk kardam.
I deleted some of these messages.
5. Doubling the pronominal whole
❌ بعضیشان از آنها زود رفتند.
Incorrect when both phrases refer to the same group — the clitic and از آنها duplicate the whole.
✅ بعضیشان زود رفتند.
ba'zi-shân zud raftand.
Some of them left early.
Key Takeaways
- A central Persian partitive has the shape selector + از + identifiable whole.
- Plain چند کتاب introduces books; چند تا از کتابها selects from a known set.
- Singular یکی and هر یک take singular agreement even when the whole after از is plural.
- A specific object takes را after the complete partitive phrase.
- Compact یکیشان and بعضیشان replace an explicit از آنها complement; do not use both together.
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- همه with Plural and Collective NounsA2 — Use همهی before plural, collective, and whole-denoting nouns, or همه alone for everyone and everything in context.
- بعضی and چند for Indefinite QuantityA2 — Distinguish بعضی ‘some’ from چند ‘a few/how many,’ including noun number, partitives with از, and interrogative context.
- Much and Many: زیاد، خیلی، بسیاریB1 — Choose among زیاد, خیلی, and بسیاری by syntax, register, and whether a quantity is presented as a new amount or a subset of a known group.
- Few and Little: کم، اندک، معدودB1 — Express small quantity with کم, اندک, and معدود while controlling count syntax, scalar implication, and formal register.
- Specificity across یک، ی، and راB2 — Understand how Persian یک, indefinite ی, bare nouns, discourse, and object marker را divide indefiniteness from specificity.
- Pronominal PartitivesC1 — Build compact forms such as هر دویمان and بعضیشان, where a quantifier or numeral heads a group identified by a pronominal clitic.