Compounds with دادن | Farsi Grammar

In compounds such as اجازه دادن “permit,” پیشنهاد دادن “suggest,” and توضیح دادن “explain,” دادن does not simply translate English give. The nonverbal element and دادن together make one conventional predicate. That whole predicate determines who acts, what receives را, which participant takes به, and whether a following event appears as a finite clause.

This page treats six especially useful compounds as complete usage units. Their tense forms follow the ordinary patterns described in دادن: to Give; the important task here is learning each compound’s valency, clitic options, and register.

A construction map

Compound	Core meaning	Typical frame	Register
اجازه دادن	permit, allow	به کسی اجازه دادن + جمله‌ی التزامی	neutral
پیشنهاد دادن	make a suggestion or offer	چیزی را به کسی پیشنهاد دادن	neutral
خبر دادن	inform, let know	به کسی خبر دادن + که...	neutral; common in speech
ادامه دادن	continue an activity	کاری را ادامه دادن or به کاری ادامه دادن	neutral
تغییر دادن	change something	چیزی را تغییر دادن	neutral; often formal-neutral
توضیح دادن	explain	چیزی را به کسی توضیح دادن	neutral

The table reveals the predictive principle: the noun-like element contributes the event type, while دادن commonly presents an intentional participant as subject. It does not, however, give every compound the same complement pattern. A suggestion can be the direct object; the person hearing it is introduced by به. The pattern belongs to the entire compound and must be learned with it.

اجازه دادن: recipient plus permitted event

The authority or person granting permission is the subject. The person receiving permission usually appears with به. When the permission concerns an action, modern Persian normally uses a finite present-subjunctive clause, not an infinitive. The fuller specialist pattern is covered under Permission with اجازه دادن and داشتن.

مدیر به ما اجازه داد زودتر برویم.

modir be mâ ejâze dâd zudtar beravim.

The manager allowed us to leave earlier. (neutral)

اینجا اجازه نمی‌دهند داخل ساختمان عکس بگیرید.

injâ ejâze nemi-dahand dâkhel-e sâkhtemân aks begirid.

They do not allow you to take photos inside the building here. (neutral; generic third-plural subject)

In the informal clitic form بهم اجازه داد “allowed me,” the clitic is attached to به, not treated as a direct object. Standard writing can instead use به من or به او.

پدرم بهم اجازه داد ماشینش رو ببرم.

pedar-am beh-em ejâze dâd mâshin-ash ro bebaram.

My father let me take his car. (informal Tehran speech)

پیشنهاد دادن: the proposal and its audience

With پیشنهاد دادن, a proposed thing or plan may be marked by را, while the addressee takes به. If the content is a whole action, speakers often use پیشنهاد داد که... followed by an appropriate finite verb. In conversation, پیشنهاد کردم... is also very common when the speaker is the proposer.

لیلا این رستوران را به مهمان‌ها پیشنهاد داد.

Leylâ in restorân râ be mehmân-hâ pishnehâd dâd.

Leila recommended this restaurant to the guests. (neutral standard)

پیشنهاد دادم که جلسه را آنلاین برگزار کنیم.

pishnehâd dâdam ke jalase râ ânlâyn bargozâr konim.

I suggested that we hold the meeting online. (neutral)

پیشنهاد دادن can mean either “suggest an idea” or “offer something for consideration.” Context and the proposed object make the reading clear; it is not automatically an offer to give the item away.

خبر دادن: directing information to someone

به کسی خبر دادن means “inform someone” or “let someone know.” The information may remain implicit or follow in a که clause. Spoken Persian strongly favors recipient clitics such as بهش and بهم.

وقتی رسیدی، به من خبر بده.

vaqti residi, be man khabar bede.

Let me know when you arrive. (neutral conversation)

بهش خبر دادم که پرواز یک ساعت تأخیر دارد.

beh-esh khabar dâdam ke parvâz yek sâ'at ta'khir dârad.

I told her that the flight was delayed by an hour. (informal-neutral)

The equally common خبر کردن has overlapping meanings, but it is a different lexical compound. Learn خبر بده and خبر کن as conventional alternatives rather than freely replacing every instance of دادن with کردن.

ادامه دادن: two frequent frames

Transitive کاری را ادامه دادن presents the continuing person as subject and the ongoing activity as object. به کاری ادامه دادن packages the activity in a prepositional phrase. Both are standard and productive with established activities; the choice is constructional, not a difference between formal and informal Persian.

بعد از یک استراحت کوتاه، کارمان را ادامه دادیم.

ba'd az yek esterâhat-e kutâh, kâr-emân râ edâme dâdim.

After a short break, we continued our work. (neutral)

با وجود سروصدا، به درس خواندن ادامه داد.

bâ vojud-e sar-o-sedâ, be dars khândan edâme dâd.

Despite the noise, she kept studying. (neutral standard)

When the event itself continues without an agent directing it, Persian often chooses ادامه داشتن or ادامه پیدا کردن: باران ادامه داشت “the rain continued.” That is a valency contrast, not merely a tense choice.

تغییر دادن: an agent changes an object

تغییر دادن is transitive. The changer is the subject and the changed entity is normally a definite را object. Compare intransitive تغییر کردن or colloquial عوض شدن, where the changing entity itself is the subject.

شرکت ساعت کاری را از ماه آینده تغییر می‌دهد.

sherkat sâ'at-e kâri râ az mâh-e âyande taghyir mi-dahad.

The company will change the working hours starting next month. (formal-neutral)

من رنگ پس‌زمینه را تغییر دادم، ولی اندازه‌ی متن تغییر نکرد.

man rang-e pas-zamine râ taghyir dâdam, vali andâze-ye matn taghyir nakard.

I changed the background color, but the text size did not change. (neutral; transitive versus intransitive)

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Ask whether the subject is the deliberate changer or the changing entity. A deliberate changer favors تغییر دادن; the changing entity as subject favors تغییر کردن or عوض شدن.

توضیح دادن: content, recipient, or both

The thing explained is the theme. A definite theme can take را; the person receiving the explanation normally takes به. This is where English transfer is especially dangerous: English permits explain me the rule in some learners’ mental model, but Persian does not mark the recipient as a direct object.

لطفا این بخش را دوباره به من توضیح بدهید.

lotfan in bakhsh râ dobâre be man towzih bedahid.

Please explain this section to me again. (neutral polite)

پزشک توضیح داد که این درد موقتی است.

pezeshk towzih dâd ke in dard movaqqati ast.

The doctor explained that this pain was temporary. (neutral standard)

In speech, a theme clitic can attach to the nonverbal element: توضیحش دادم “I explained it.” The clitic is syntactically the object of the whole predicate, even though it is pronounced on توضیح. The same pattern appears in ادامه‌اش دادیم and تغییرش دادند.

موضوع پیچیده بود، ولی توضیحش دادم.

mowzu' pichide bud, vali towzih-ash dâdam.

The topic was complicated, but I explained it. (informal-neutral; object clitic inside the compound)

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A clitic on the nonverbal element may represent the compound’s object, not a possessor. In توضیحش دادم, ـش means “it,” not “its explanation.” Context and the predicate’s valency resolve the reading.

Recipient clitics and information structure

Persian often keeps an established, short recipient close to the predicate as بهم، بهت، بهش، بهمون، بهتون، بهشون in colloquial speech. A new, contrasted, or formally identified recipient is more naturally expressed as a full به phrase. Standard edited prose generally prefers به او، به ایشان، به آنان where colloquial spellings would be out of register.

این پیشنهاد را به خود مدیر دادم، نه به دستیارش.

in pishnehâd râ be khod-e modir dâdam, na be dast-yâr-ash.

I made this proposal to the manager himself, not to his assistant. (contrastive; full recipient phrases)

اجازه‌اش رو دادن؟ — آره، دیروز بهم خبر دادن.

ejâze-ash ro dâdan? — âre, diruz beh-em khabar dâdan.

Did they give their approval? — Yeah, they let me know yesterday. (informal Tehran dialogue)

Common Mistakes

1. Translating “allow me” with a direct object

❌ مدیر من را اجازه داد زودتر بروم.

Incorrect — the recipient of اجازه دادن is introduced by به, not را.

✅ مدیر به من اجازه داد زودتر بروم.

modir be man ejâze dâd zudtar beravam.

The manager allowed me to leave earlier.

2. Using an infinitive for the permitted action

❌ به ما اجازه داد وارد شدن.

Incorrect — the permitted event needs a finite subjunctive verb.

✅ به ما اجازه داد وارد شویم.

be mâ ejâze dâd vâred shavim.

She allowed us to enter.

3. Treating the recipient of توضیح دادن as an object

❌ استاد من را مسئله توضیح داد.

Incorrect — the content is explained to a recipient; English word order does not supply the Persian markers.

✅ استاد مسئله را به من توضیح داد.

ostâd mas'ale râ be man towzih dâd.

The professor explained the problem to me.

4. Using transitive دادن when no causer is the subject

❌ ساعت جلسه تغییر داد.

Incorrect — the meeting time is the changing entity, not an agent acting on an object.

✅ ساعت جلسه تغییر کرد؛ مسئول دفتر آن را تغییر داد.

sâ'at-e jalase taghyir kard; mas'ul-e daftar ân râ taghyir dâd.

The meeting time changed; the office manager changed it.

5. Combining a passive ending with the wrong compound frame

❌ جلسه را ادامه شد.

Incorrect — ادامه شدن does not form the intended intransitive continuation or an ordinary passive of ادامه دادن.

✅ جلسه ادامه پیدا کرد، اما ما بحث را متوقف کردیم.

jalase edâme peydâ kard, ammâ mâ bahs râ motavaqqef kardim.

The meeting continued, but we stopped the discussion.

Key Takeaways

Learn a دادن compound with its complete role pattern, not as noun plus the freely translated verb “give.”
Recipients of اجازه دادن، پیشنهاد دادن، خبر دادن، توضیح دادن commonly take به; definite themes may take را.
اجازه دادن selects a finite subjunctive for the permitted event. پیشنهاد دادن and خبر دادن can introduce content with که.
ادامه دادن and تغییر دادن are transitive; compare intransitive ادامه داشتن/ادامه پیدا کردن and تغییر کردن/عوض شدن.
Recipient clitics attach to به; object clitics may attach inside the compound, as in توضیحش دادم.

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