Making Requests and Offers | Farsi Grammar

A Persian request combines grammatical person with social framing. در را ببندید uses the polite/plural command, but it can still sound abrupt without context. لطفا, می‌شود...؟, a reason, or اگر امکان دارد gives the addressee room to cooperate. Offers reverse the direction of benefit: کمکتان کنم؟ asks permission for the speaker to help.

The goal here is a complete exchange—request or offer, object reference, and an appropriate reply. The imperative paradigms themselves belong to Polite and Plural Imperatives.

Choose the frame before the verb

Frame	Typical force	Register
لطفا ... کنید	clear softened instruction	neutral polite; common in notices
می‌شود ... کنید؟	asks whether compliance is possible	neutral conversation
ممکن است ... کنید؟	more formal request	formal or very polite
اگر امکان دارد...	acknowledges possible difficulty	formal-neutral
... کنم؟	offer by the speaker	neutral
بفرمایید	go ahead, come in, take it, help yourself	polite hospitality

Soften a direct imperative

The polite ـید form respects one addressee or addresses several people. لطفا softens the directive, but tone and the size of the request still matter.

لطفا نام و شماره‌ی تماس خود را اینجا بنویسید.

lotfan nâm va shomâre-ye tamâs-e khod râ injâ benevisid.

Please write your name and telephone number here. (polite standard; service encounter)

لطفا وقتی رسیدید به من خبر بدهید.

lotfan vaqti residid be man khabar bedahid.

Please let me know when you arrive. (polite standard)

In edited Persian, the target is written unpointed لطفا here; its conventional pronunciation is lotfan. A reason can make a larger request sound more cooperative:

لطفا کمی آرام‌تر صحبت کنید؛ کودک خوابیده است.

lotfan kami ârâm-tar sohbat konid; kudak khâbide ast.

Please speak a little more quietly; the child is asleep. (polite neutral request with a reason)

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Polite agreement and softened force are separate layers. The ـید ending shows respect or plurality; the frame, explanation, and intonation determine how demanding the request feels.

می‌شود: ask for cooperation

می‌شود...؟ literally asks whether something is possible and commonly frames a request. The requested verb usually appears in the polite ـید form when addressing a stranger, customer, colleague, or respected individual.

می‌شود این فرم را تا ظهر برایم بفرستید؟

mi-shavad in form râ tâ zohr barâ-yam beferestid?

Could you send me this form by noon? (polite standard request)

می‌شود یک لحظه در را نگه دارید؟

mi-shavad yek lahze dar râ negah dârid?

Could you hold the door for a moment? (polite neutral)

In informal Tehran speech, می‌شه and colloquial addressee forms are normal (informal, regional: Tehran):

می‌شه یه لحظه گوشیتو بدی؟

mi-she ye lahze gushi-to bedi?

Can you give me your phone for a moment? (informal, regional: Tehran)

Do not put colloquial می‌شه، یه، ـتو into a sentence otherwise presented as edited formal Persian.

More formal request frames

ممکن است...؟ and اگر امکان دارد... are useful in professional correspondence and careful service encounters. They are not necessarily more deferential than every spoken request; they are more explicitly formal.

ممکن است نسخه‌ی امضاشده را دوباره ارسال کنید؟

momken ast noskhe-ye emzâ-shode râ dobâre ersâl konid?

Could you resend the signed copy? (formal-polite)

اگر امکان دارد، نظر نهایی خود را تا پایان امروز اعلام فرمایید.

agar emkân dârad, nazar-e nahâyi-ye khod râ tâ pâyân-e emruz e'lâm farmâyid.

If possible, please state your final position by the end of today. (very formal and deferential)

اعلام فرمایید is an honorific verbal frame suited to formal institutional communication. It would sound excessive between close friends.

Keep accessible objects compact

When the object has already been named, an object clitic can avoid repetition. On a simple polite imperative it follows the complete verb; in many compound predicates it can attach to the nonverbal element.

فایل نهایی آماده است؛ لطفا برای مدیر بفرستیدش.

fâyl-e nahâyi âmâde ast; lotfan barâ-ye modir beferestid-ash.

The final file is ready; please send it to the manager. (polite standard; verbal object clitic)

چراغ راهرو هنوز روشن است؛ لطفا خاموشش کنید.

cherâgh-e râhro hanuz rowshan ast; lotfan khâmush-ash konid.

The hallway light is still on; please turn it off. (polite standard; clitic inside a compound verb)

In a neutral standard request, the clitic replaces an ordinary full را object. Persian also permits clitic doubling in some colloquial or strongly topical structures, but a learner should not treat full object + را + clitic as the unmarked pattern. Review Object Clitics on Verbs for the complete inventory.

Make an offer

Offers often use first-person subjunctive questions: کمک کنم؟ “Shall I help?”, بیاورم؟ “Shall I bring it?” A polite object or beneficiary can appear as ـتان or برای شما.

اجازه بدهید این جعبه را برایتان بیاورم.

ejâze bedahid in ja'be râ barâ-yetân biyâvaram.

Let me carry this box for you. (polite offer)

در پیدا کردن آدرس کمکتان کنم؟

dar peydâ kardan-e âdres komak-etân konam?

Shall I help you find the address? (polite neutral offer)

Food and drink invitations often use a present question or بفرمایید rather than a literal verb meaning offer:

چای میل دارید یا قهوه؟

chây meyl dârid yâ qahve?

Would you like tea or coffee? (formal-polite hospitality)

بفرمایید، چای میل کنید؛ همین الان دم کرده‌ام.

befarmâyid, chây meyl konid; hamin alân dam karde-am.

Please have some tea; I've just brewed it. (polite hospitality)

بفرمایید changes meaning with the situation: at a doorway it can mean “please come in,” while presenting an object it means “here you are” or “please take it.”

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Do not translate بفرمایید as one fixed English word. Interpret the offered action or object in the physical and conversational context.

Reply formulas complete the exchange

Accept a request with حتما, چشم, or a clear commitment. Decline with a brief apology or limitation, ideally followed by an alternative. Accept an offer with thanks; decline it with نه، ممنون or زحمت نکشید.

— می‌شود گزارش را امروز بفرستید؟ — حتما، تا ساعت سه می‌فرستم.

— mi-shavad gozâresh râ emruz beferestid? — hatman, tâ sâ'at-e se mi-ferestam.

— Could you send the report today? — Certainly, I'll send it by three. (polite work exchange)

— کیفتان را بیاورم؟ — ممنون، لطف می‌کنید.

— kif-etân râ biyâvaram? — mamnun, lotf mi-konid.

— Shall I bring your bag? — Thank you, that's very kind. (polite offer and acceptance)

— باز هم چای می‌خورید؟ — نه ممنون، زحمت نکشید.

— bâz ham chây mi-khorid? — na mamnun, zahmat nakeshid.

— Would you like more tea? — No thank you, please don't trouble yourself. (polite hospitality)

Common Mistakes

Using a familiar command with polite شما

❌ شما لطفا اینجا صبر کن.

Incorrect for polite address — شما requires the ـید command form.

✅ شما لطفا اینجا صبر کنید.

shomâ lotfan injâ sabr konid.

Please wait here. (polite singular or plural)

Using an infinitive as a request

❌ لطفا فرم را پر کردن.

Incorrect — کردن is an infinitive and does not address the listener.

✅ لطفا فرم پیوست را کامل کنید.

lotfan form-e peyvast râ kâmel konid.

Please complete the attached form.

Expressing the same object twice

⚠️ فایل را لطفا بفرستیدش.

fâyl râ lotfan beferestid-ash.

Possible as colloquial or strongly topical clitic doubling, but marked in a neutral polite request; normally use either فایل را or ـش, not both.

✅ فایل آماده است؛ لطفا بفرستیدش.

fâyl âmâde ast; lotfan beferestid-ash.

The file is ready; please send it.

Treating بفرمایید as a universal word for please

⚠️ بفرمایید دیر نکنید.

befarmâyid dir nakonid.

Grammatical only as two separate moves such as ‘go ahead; don't be late’; بفرمایید does not itself mean ‘please’ in one softened negative request.

✅ لطفا برای جلسه دیر نکنید.

lotfan barâ-ye jalase dir nakonid.

Please don't be late for the meeting.

Key Takeaways

Use لطفا + polite imperative for a clear softened instruction and می‌شود...؟ for a cooperative request.
Reserve ممکن است...؟ and اگر امکان دارد... for more formal framing.
Use first-person subjunctive questions such as کمکتان کنم؟ to offer your own action.
Interpret بفرمایید from context: go ahead, come in, take it, or help yourself.
Complete the exchange with an explicit acceptance, limitation, alternative, thanks, or polite refusal.

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