Persian can attach a pronominal clitic to a numeral or quantifier that heads a partitive group: هر دویمان “both of us,” بعضیشان “some of them,” یکیتان “one of you.” The omitted noun is understood as people or things in a salient set, while the clitic identifies that set.
These forms are not possessives in meaning. In هر دویمان رفتیم, ـمان supplies the group “us,” and هر دو selects both members. English uses a separate of us phrase; Persian packages the same relation on the quantificational head.
Construction map
| Host | Form | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| هر دو | هر دویمان | both of us | neutral standard |
| یکی | یکیتان | one of you | neutral standard |
| بعضی | بعضیشان | some of them | neutral/formal |
| هر سه | هر سهمان | all three of us | neutral standard |
| چند تا | چندتایشان | several of them | neutral, more conversational |
The spelling follows the host. Final ی takes a ZWNJ before the clitic in بعضیشان and یکیمان. After final ا, a written ی supplies the glide in دوتایشان and چندتایمان. The special conventional form هر دویمان uses دویـ before the clitic.
هر دویمان برای مصاحبه آماده بودیم.
har do-yemân barâ-ye mosâhebe âmâde budim.
Both of us were ready for the interview. (neutral standard)
بعضیشان هنوز پاسخ ندادهاند.
ba'zi-shân hanuz pâsokh nadâde-and.
Some of them still haven't replied. (formal-neutral)
The clitic identifies the whole set
In ordinary possession, کتابشان means “their book.” In a pronominal partitive, the host is already a selector: بعضیشان means “some members of their group.” The clitic therefore corresponds to English of them, not their.
یکیتان باید تا پایان جلسه یادداشت بردارد.
yeki-tân bâyad tâ pâyân-e jalase yâddâsht bardârad.
One of you must take notes until the end of the meeting. (formal instruction)
چندتایشان را برای مرحلهی بعد انتخاب کردیم.
chand-tâ-yeshân râ barâ-ye marhale-ye ba'd entekhâb kardim.
We selected several of them for the next stage. (neutral; more common in speech)
The last form is also a definite direct object, so the whole partitive takes را. The internal clitic does not replace object marking: it identifies the source set, while را marks the selected members as the direct object.
Numeral hosts
With هر دو, standard Persian commonly uses هر دویمان، هر دوتان، هر دویشان. With numerals above two, a direct clitic is common after the numeral, especially in inclusive expressions: هر سهمان “all three of us,” هر چهارتان “all four of you.” تا can make the unit reading explicit and conversational: سهتایشان “three of them.”
هر سهمان در یک محله بزرگ شدیم.
har se-mân dar yek mahalle bozorg shodim.
All three of us grew up in the same neighborhood. (neutral standard)
هر چهارتان باید فرم را امضا کنید.
har chahâr-etân bâyad form râ emzâ konid.
All four of you must sign the form. (formal/polite instruction)
سهتاشون زودتر رفتن.
se-tâ-shun zudtar raftan.
Three of them left earlier. (informal, regional: Tehran)
A careful spoken version is سهتایشان زودتر رفتند; formal prose often prefers the expanded سه نفر از آنها زودتر رفتند. The colloquial example combines ـشون with third-person plural رفتن, both clearly labeled informal.
Agreement follows the selected members
When the partitive is the subject, the verb normally agrees with the people selected, including their person hierarchy. هر دویمان رفتیم has first-person plural agreement because the selected pair includes the speaker; هر دوتان رفتید has second-person plural agreement; هر دویشان رفتند has third-person plural agreement.
هر دوتان با پیشنهاد موافق بودید.
har do-tân bâ pishnehâd movâfeq budid.
Both of you agreed with the proposal. (polite/plural standard)
هر دویشان به موقع رسیدند.
har do-yeshân be mowqe' residand.
Both of them arrived on time. (neutral standard)
With inanimate selected items, formal Persian may use singular agreement according to the usual inanimate-plural pattern: بعضیشان خراب بود “some of them were broken,” when the referents are machines or files. Human plural referents normally take plural agreement.
Compact form versus از phrase
Every compact partitive has an expanded alternative: بعضی از آنها، یکی از شما، هر دوی ما. The expanded form is preferable when the source group is contrastive, heavy, or named by a full noun phrase. The compact form is smooth when the group is already accessible.
بعضی از دانشجوهای سال اول هنوز ثبتنام نکردهاند.
ba'zi az dâneshju-hâ-ye sâl-e avval hanuz sabt-nâm nakarde-and.
Some of the first-year students have not registered yet. (formal-neutral; expanded heavy group)
از بین ما چه کسی میتواند بماند؟
az beyn-e mâ che kasi mi-tavânad bemânad?
Which of us can stay? (careful spoken standard)
هر دویمان میتوانیم بمانیم.
har do-yemân mi-tavânim bemânim.
Both of us can stay. (careful spoken standard)
The partitives with از page treats expanded noun phrases and definiteness in detail.
Common Mistakes
1. Using singular agreement with an inclusive human partitive
❌ هر دویمان آماده بود.
Incorrect — both selected people include the speaker, so the verb is first-person plural.
✅ هر دویمان آماده بودیم.
har do-yemân âmâde budim.
Both of us were ready.
2. Treating the clitic as a separate word
❌ بعضی شان رفتند.
Incorrect — ـشان is an enclitic and attaches to بعضی with a ZWNJ.
✅ بعضیشان رفتند.
ba'zi-shân raftand.
Some of them left.
3. Omitting را from a definite selected object
❌ چندتایشان انتخاب کردیم.
Incorrect — the selected members are a definite direct object.
✅ چندتایشان را انتخاب کردیم.
chand-tâ-yeshân râ entekhâb kardim.
We selected several of them.
4. Using a compact clitic for a heavy named group
❌ بعضیشان دانشجوهای سال اول ثبتنام نکردند.
with دانشجوهای سال اول intended as the source group
Incorrect attachment — the intended source group must follow از, not trail after the clitic.
✅ بعضی از دانشجوهای سال اول ثبتنام نکردند.
ba'zi az dâneshju-hâ-ye sâl-e avval sabt-nâm nakardand.
Some of the first-year students did not register.
Key Takeaways
- A quantifier or numeral can host a clitic meaning “of us/you/them.”
- The clitic's role comes from the selecting host: compare بعضیشان with possessive کتابشان.
- Human-subject agreement follows the selected group and its person: هر دویمان رفتیم.
- A definite partitive object still takes را.
- Use از + full group when the source set is heavy, named, or contrastive.
Now practice Farsi
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- The Six Pronominal EncliticsA2 — Learn the forms, pronunciation, hosts, and multiple grammatical functions of Persian's six attached pronouns.
- Partitives with ازB1 — Build Persian partitives such as بعضی از and یکی از, choose a delimited whole, and control agreement, را, and pronominal clitics.
- Counting Words تا and نفرB1 — Use optional general counter تا and human counter نفر while keeping counted Persian nouns singular and register-appropriate.
- Few and Little: کم، اندک، معدودB1 — Express small quantity with کم, اندک, and معدود while controlling count syntax, scalar implication, and formal register.
- Indefinite کسی، چیزی، جاییB2 — Use کسی، چیزی، and جایی for indefinite people, things, and places across affirmative, interrogative, conditional, and negative contexts.