Core Compounds with دادن | Farsi Grammar

Persian دادن means “give” as an independent verb, but it also serves as the inflecting member of many compound predicates: نشان دادن “show,” جواب دادن “answer,” توضیح دادن “explain,” اجازه دادن “allow,” and تغییر دادن “change something.” In each case, the full combination—not دادن alone—determines the event and its participants.

A useful tendency connects these compounds: many present an agent who transfers information, enables an action, or causes another participant to change. It is only a tendency, not a word-building rule. English give cannot tell you which Persian noun naturally selects دادن, so the combinations and their complement frames still have to be learned.

What دادن contributes

Semantic family	Predicate	Meaning and frame	Register
communication	جواب دادن	به کسی / به پرسشی جواب دادن — answer	neutral
communication	توضیح دادن	چیزی را به کسی توضیح دادن — explain	neutral
display	نشان دادن	چیزی را به کسی نشان دادن — show	neutral
transfer of knowledge	یاد دادن	چیزی را به کسی یاد دادن — teach	neutral
permission	اجازه دادن	به کسی اجازه دادن کاری بکند — allow	neutral
causation	تغییر دادن	چیزی را تغییر دادن — change something	neutral/formal
causation	شکست دادن	کسی را شکست دادن — defeat	neutral
continuation	ادامه دادن	کاری را ادامه دادن — continue	neutral

Only دادن changes form. It has past stem دادـ and present stem دهـ: توضیح دادم، توضیح می‌دهم، توضیح نداده‌ام، توضیح بدهم. The nonverbal element remains stable and is written as a separate word.

مسئول پذیرش مسیر نزدیک‌تر را روی نقشه نشان داد.

mas'ul-e paziresh masir-e nazdik-tar râ ru-ye naqshe neshân dâd.

The receptionist showed the shorter route on the map. (neutral standard; نشان دادن)

اگر سؤال را واضح‌تر بپرسید، دقیق‌تر جواب می‌دهم.

agar so'âl râ vâzeh-tar be-porsid, daqiq-tar javâb mi-daham.

If you ask the question more clearly, I’ll answer more precisely. (neutral standard; جواب دادن)

لطفا دلیل این تغییر را به گروه توضیح بدهید.

lotfan dalil-e in taghyir râ be goruh towzih be-dahid.

Please explain the reason for this change to the group. (polite standard; توضیح دادن)

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Store a دادن compound with its participants: not merely نشان دادن, but چیزی را به کسی نشان دادن. The frame prevents both missing را and an unmarked recipient.

Causation: an agent makes a change happen

In causative compounds, دادن helps introduce an external causer. Compare برنامه تغییر کرد “the plan changed” with مدیر برنامه را تغییر داد “the manager changed the plan.” The first clause presents a change in the subject; the second adds an agent and makes the changing entity a direct object.

شرایط ناگهان تغییر کرد، اما ما برنامه را تغییر ندادیم.

sharâyet nâgahân taghyir kard, ammâ mâ barnâme râ taghyir na-dâdim.

The circumstances suddenly changed, but we did not change the plan. (neutral; intransitive کردن versus causative دادن)

باد شدید صندلی را کمی حرکت داد.

bâd-e shadid sandali râ kami harekat dâd.

The strong wind moved the chair slightly. (neutral; caused motion)

The contrast is not a universal کردن = intransitive, دادن = transitive formula. باز کردن is transitive, کار کردن is intransitive, and اعلام کردن is transitive. Learn the alternation only where Persian actually lexicalizes it. The whole-predicate principle is introduced on Compound Verbs as Single Lexical Predicates.

Transfer and communicative frames

Compounds such as نشان دادن، یاد دادن، توضیح دادن can involve three participants: an agent, some content, and a recipient. The content is typically a direct object and takes را when specific. The recipient usually appears with به.

مینا عکس قدیمی را به مادربزرگش نشان داد.

minâ aks-e qadimi râ be mâdarbozorg-ash neshân dâd.

Mina showed the old photograph to her grandmother. (neutral standard)

همکارم روش ثبت هزینه را به من یاد داد.

hamkâr-am ravesh-e sabt-e hazine râ be man yâd dâd.

My colleague taught me how to record the expense. (neutral workplace speech)

پزشک عوارض دارو را به بیمار توضیح داد.

pezeshk avârez-e dâru râ be bimâr towzih dâd.

The doctor explained the medicine’s side effects to the patient. (formal-neutral)

English permits two adjacent objects in teach me the method or show her the photo. Persian normally distinguishes them: the content is unmarked or را-marked according to specificity, while the learner/viewer takes به. جواب دادن has a different frame: both the person answered and the question can appear with به, because جواب itself is the fixed nonverbal element.

به مشتری جواب دادم، ولی به پرسش آخرش پاسخ ندادم.

be moshtari javâb dâdam, vali be porsesh-e âkhar-ash pâsokh na-dâdam.

I answered the customer, but I did not respond to their last question. (neutral standard)

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The meaning “transfer” does not create one universal syntax. Record نشان دادنِ چیزی به کسی, جواب دادن به کسی/چیزی, and اجازه دادن به کسی separately.

Permission and a dependent action

اجازه دادن introduces the permitted person with به and the permitted action with a subjunctive clause. The subject of that clause is normally the recipient of permission.

مدیر به ما اجازه داد جلسه را زودتر ترک کنیم.

modir be mâ ejâze dâd jalse râ zud-tar tark konim.

The manager allowed us to leave the meeting early. (neutral standard)

به بچه‌ها اجازه ندهید کنار خیابان بازی کنند.

be bachche-hâ ejâze na-dahid kenâr-e khiyâbân bâzi konand.

Do not let the children play beside the street. (polite/plural instruction)

The second verb is not an English infinitive mechanically translated into Persian. It is a finite subjunctive agreeing with the person who performs the permitted action: ترک کنیم، بازی کنند.

Clitics in دادن compounds

Spoken Persian commonly replaces به من، به تو، به او with بهم، بهت، بهش. This clitic belongs to the preposition به, not to the light verb. It is natural in conversation and avoided in the most formal prose.

فایل رو بهش نشون دادم، ولی هنوز جواب نداده.

fâyl ro be-hash neshun dâdam, vali hanuz javâb na-dâde.

I showed them the file, but they still haven’t answered. (informal, regional: Tehran)

An object clitic can also appear on the nonverbal element: توضیحش دادم “I explained it.” Because nouns such as توضیح can also carry ordinary possessive clitics, an isolated form may be structurally ambiguous. When two third-person participants compete, expand the roles: موضوع را به او توضیح دادم.

موضوع را کامل بهش توضیح دادم تا اشتباه نکند.

mozhu' râ kâmel be-hash towzih dâdam tâ eshtebâh nakonad.

I explained the matter to them fully so they would not make a mistake. (neutral spoken Persian; recipient clitic)

دادن and کردن are not interchangeable

The same nominal element can select different light verbs with a change in valency or meaning. تغییر کردن presents something as changing; تغییر دادن presents an agent changing it. کار کردن means “work,” while کار دادن means “give someone work” or “put something to work” in an appropriate context. Other combinations simply prefer one conventional partner: جواب دادن and توضیح دادن are the basic neutral predicates.

این دستگاه خوب کار می‌کند، اما دکمه‌ی قرمز را فشار ندهید.

in dastgâh khub kâr mi-konad, ammâ dokme-ye qermez râ feshâr na-dahid.

This machine works well, but do not press the red button. (neutral technical instruction; two stored compounds)

A short exchange

— به سارا خبر دادی که جلسه عقب افتاده؟ — بله، توضیح هم دادم که چرا دیر شد.

— be sârâ khabar dâdi ke jalse aqab oftâde? — bale, towzih ham dâdam ke cherâ dir shod.

— Did you tell Sara that the meeting was delayed? — Yes, and I also explained why it was late. (careful spoken standard)

Common Mistakes

1. Translating only the noun and guessing کردن

❌ لطفا جواب سؤال را بکنید.

Incorrect lexical pairing — answering uses جواب دادن.

✅ لطفا تا فردا به سؤال من جواب بدهید.

lotfan tâ fardâ be so'âl-e man javâb be-dahid.

Please answer my question by tomorrow.

2. Leaving the recipient unmarked

❌ این روش را دانشجوی تازه یاد دادم.

Incorrect for ‘taught the new student’ — the learner requires به.

✅ این روش را به دانشجوی تازه یاد دادم.

in ravesh râ be dâneshju-ye tâze yâd dâdam.

I taught this method to the new student.

3. Putting tense marking on the nominal element

❌ مسئول مسیر را می‌نشان دهد.

Incorrect — نشان stays fixed; می‌ attaches to the present form of دادن.

✅ مسئول مسیر را روی نقشه نشان می‌دهد.

mas'ul masir râ ru-ye naqshe neshân mi-dahad.

The attendant shows the route on the map.

4. Treating a causative object as an intransitive subject

❌ مدیر برنامه را تغییر شد.

Incorrect — شدن cannot head a transitive causative with مدیر as agent and برنامه as object.

✅ مدیر برنامه‌ی سفر را به‌کلی تغییر داد.

modir barnâme-ye safar râ be-kolli taghyir dâd.

The manager completely changed the travel plan.

5. Joining the two members

❌ موضوع را توضیح‌دادم.

Incorrect standard spacing — the nonverbal element and light verb remain separate words.

✅ موضوع را کوتاه توضیح دادم و جلسه تمام شد.

mozhu' râ kutâh towzih dâdam va jalse tamâm shod.

I explained the matter briefly, and the meeting ended.

Key Takeaways

دادن compounds often encode communication, transfer, enabling, or causation, but each pairing is lexical.
Conjugate only دادن: جواب دادم، جواب می‌دهم، جواب ندهم.
Learn each participant frame, especially content را plus recipient به.
Colloquial بهم، بهت، بهش can express a recipient; expand potentially ambiguous clitics when clarity matters.
A دادن / کردن alternation may change valency or meaning; it is not a freely productive substitution.

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