Preposition Stranding and Resumption in Relatives | Farsi Grammar

When the understood role inside a Persian relative clause is introduced by a preposition, that relation is normally expressed again inside the clause: پژوهشگری که با او صحبت کردم “the researcher I spoke with,” موضوعی که درباره‌اش نوشتیم “the topic we wrote about.” The repeated او or ـش is a resumptive pronoun: it resumes the head noun's role after که.

English freely leaves a preposition without a complement at the end of many relatives—the person I spoke with. Standard Persian does not copy that structure as کسی که صحبت کردم با. It keeps the preposition with an overt full pronoun or clitic. Colloquial Tehran speech may place that whole preposition-plus-pronoun phrase after the verb as an afterthought, but the preposition itself is still not bare.

The core patterns

Pattern inside the relative	Example fragment	Status	Register
preposition + full pronoun	که با او صحبت کردم	fully standard; maximally explicit	formal, careful standard
complex preposition + clitic	که درباره‌اش نوشتیم	standard and compact	neutral speech and writing
simple preposition + clitic	که بهش گفتم	natural spoken resumption	informal, regional: Tehran
postverbal preposition + clitic	که حرف می‌زدی باهاش	afterthought/right-edge placement	informal, regional: Tehran
bare stranded preposition	که حرف زدم با	not the Persian relative construction	unacceptable for the intended reading

این همان پژوهشگری است که دیروز با او صحبت کردم.

in hamân pazhuheshgari ast ke diruz bâ u sohbat kardam.

This is the researcher I spoke with yesterday. (formal/careful standard; full resumptive pronoun)

این همون پژوهشگریه که دیروز باهاش حرف زدم.

in hamun pazhuheshgariye ke diruz bâhâsh harf zadam.

This is the researcher I talked to yesterday. (informal, regional: Tehran; clitic resumption)

The two sentences encode the same basic relation. The full با او is appropriate in edited prose and can carry contrast; colloquial باهاش packages the accessible referent into a light form.

Why Persian uses resumption here

The head noun stands outside the relative clause, while its semantic role must be recoverable inside. A subject role can be represented by a gap and verb agreement: دانشجویی که رسید “the student who arrived.” A direct object can also often be absent: کتابی که خریدم “the book I bought.” A preposition, however, selects its own complement. Persian therefore normally supplies a resumptive form after that preposition.

کتابی که هفته‌ی پیش خریدم هنوز روی میز است.

ketâbi ke hafte-ye pish kharidam hanuz ru-ye miz ast.

The book that I bought last week is still on the table. (direct-object gap inside the relative; the whole noun phrase is the matrix subject)

کتابی که درباره‌اش نقد نوشتم دوباره چاپ شده است.

ketâbi ke darbâre-ash naqd neveshtam dubâre châp shode ast.

The book that I wrote a review about has been reprinted. (prepositional role resumed by ـش)

The second relative cannot simply delete the object of درباره‌ی. Its spelling changes before the clitic: درباره‌اش, with a ZWNJ after silent ه, not درباره‌ی‌اش.

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Use a gap test by grammatical role. Persian readily leaves a gap for a relative subject and often for a direct object; the complement of a preposition normally returns as a full pronoun or attached clitic.

Full prepositional phrasing in formal prose

Formal Persian favors an independent pronoun when clarity, contrast, or institutional style matters: با او، به آن، درباره‌ی ایشان، نسبت به آن. This is sometimes compared with English formal “pied-piping” (with whom), because the prepositional relation stays overt. Syntactically, however, Persian normally keeps the full prepositional phrase in its ordinary position inside the که clause rather than fronting an interrogative relative pronoun.

این همان نهادی است که درخواست را به آن فرستادیم.

in hamân nahâdi ast ke darkhâst râ be ân ferestâdim.

This is the institution to which we sent the application. (formal; inanimate resumptive آن)

استادی که از ایشان نقل‌قول کردم در نشست حضور داشتند.

ostâdi ke az ishân naql-qowl kardam dar neshast hozur dâshtand.

The professor whom I quoted was present at the session. (formal respectful singular with plural agreement)

موضوعی که نسبت به آن حساس‌اند باید با احتیاط مطرح شود.

mowzu'i ke nesbat be ân hassâs-and bâyad bâ ehtiyât matrah shavad.

A topic that they are sensitive about should be raised cautiously. (formal standard)

The full form also prevents an inanimate referent from being mistaken for a person. Persian ـش is gender-neutral and can retrieve either; explicit آن makes the intended inanimate reference visible.

Compact resumptive clitics

Clitics attach to a suitable prepositional host: برایش “for him/her/it,” کنارش “beside him/her/it,” درباره‌اش “about him/her/it.” They cannot float as separate miniature pronouns.

شرکتی که برایش کار می‌کنم دفتر تازه‌ای باز کرده است.

sherkati ke barâ-yash kâr mi-konam daftar-e tâze-i bâz karde ast.

The company I work for has opened a new office. (neutral standard; clitic on برای)

صندلی‌ای که کنارش نشسته بودم ناگهان شکست.

sandali-i ke kenâr-ash nesheste budam nâgahân shekast.

The chair that I had been sitting beside suddenly broke. (neutral standard; locative resumption)

دوستی که همیشه بهش اعتماد داشتم مهاجرت کرده.

dusti ke hamishe beh-esh e'temâd dâshtam mohâjerat karde.

A friend I always trusted has emigrated. (informal, regional: Tehran)

The last sentence uses spoken بهش and a zero present copula/perfect reading natural in conversation. Edited formal prose would prefer دوستی که همیشه به او اعتماد داشتم مهاجرت کرده است.

For the full clitic paradigm, see Clitics on Prepositions.

Colloquial postverbal afterthoughts

Persian's neutral order puts most prepositional complements before the verb: که باهاش حرف می‌زدی. Spontaneous Tehran speech can append a heavy or recalled PP after the verb: که حرف می‌زدی باهاش. This is best analyzed as right-edge or afterthought placement, not English-style stranding, because باهاش remains a complete phrase.

اون همون آقاییه که دیشب حرف می‌زدی باهاش؟

un hamun âqâyiye ke dishab harf mi-zadi bâhâsh?

Is that the man you were talking with last night? (informal, regional: Tehran; postverbal afterthought)

اون همون آقاییه که دیشب باهاش حرف می‌زدی؟

un hamun âqâyiye ke dishab bâhâsh harf mi-zadi?

Is that the man you were talking with last night? (informal, regional: Tehran; neutral preverbal PP placement)

Both occur in conversation, but the second is structurally less marked. Formal writing uses آیا ایشان همان آقایی هستند که دیشب با او صحبت می‌کردید؟ and avoids the right-edge afterthought.

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Postverbal باهاش in conversation is a complete resumptive PP moved to the right edge. A bare final با is not its formal or colloquial equivalent.

Complex prepositions preserve their internal form

With در مورد، به‌خاطر، نسبت به، در کنار, the resumptive pronoun attaches to or follows the element selected by that construction. Do not delete an internal preposition or ezâfe merely because the head noun has already appeared.

تصمیمی که به‌خاطرش اعتراض کردند هنوز لغو نشده است.

tasmimi ke be-khâter-ash e'terâz kardand hanuz laghv nashode ast.

The decision they protested because of has still not been revoked. (formal-neutral; causal relation resumed by ـش)

The choice of full به‌خاطر آن or compact به‌خاطرش is partly information-structural. The former can bear contrast; the latter treats the cause as accessible.

Common Mistakes

1. Copying English bare stranding at the right edge

❌ این استادی است که دو سال کار کردم با.

Incorrect — Persian cannot leave با without a pronominal complement in this relative.

✅ این استادی است که دو سال با او کار کردم.

in ostâdi ast ke do sâl bâ u kâr kardam.

This is a professor I worked with for two years. (formal-neutral)

2. Deleting the complement but leaving the preposition preverbal

❌ کسی که به اعتماد دارم دیر کرده است.

Incorrect — به requires a resumptive pronoun referring to کسی.

✅ کسی که به او اعتماد دارم هنوز نرسیده است.

kasi ke be u e'temâd dâram hanuz naraside ast.

The person I trust has not arrived yet.

3. Separating a clitic from its host

❌ مقاله‌ای که درباره اش حرف زدیم منتشر شد.

Incorrect spelling and attachment — the clitic follows درباره with a ZWNJ.

✅ مقاله‌ای که درباره‌اش گفت‌وگو کردیم منتشر شد.

maqâle-i ke darbâre-ash goft-o-gu kardim montasher shod.

The article we discussed was published.

4. Adding را after a prepositional pronoun

❌ همسایه‌ای که با او را صحبت کردم وکیل است.

Incorrect — او is already governed by با and cannot also take را.

✅ همسایه‌ای که با او صحبت کردم وکیل است.

hamsâye-i ke bâ u sohbat kardam vakil ast.

The neighbor I spoke with is a lawyer.

5. Assuming a repeated noun resumes the head automatically

موضوعی که درباره‌ی موضوع بحث کردیم is grammatical only if the second موضوع introduces a different topic; repetition does not resume the head automatically. For one shared topic, use a pronoun:

✅ موضوعی که درباره‌ی آن بحث کردیم چند لایه داشت.

mowzu'i ke darbâre-ye ân bahs kardim chand lâye dâsht.

The topic we discussed had several layers. (formal standard)

Key Takeaways

A prepositional role inside a Persian relative is normally resumed by a full pronoun or clitic.
Formal prose favors با او، به آن، درباره‌ی ایشان; compact درباره‌اش، برایش also occur in standard usage.
Simple forms such as بهش and right-edge حرف می‌زدی باهاش characterize everyday Tehran speech.
Persian does not license the English pattern of leaving a bare preposition at the clause edge.
Keep clitics attached, preserve complex-preposition structure, and never add را to a prepositional complement.

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