شرکت کردن means “to participate, take part, enter,” and often “attend” an organized event. The activity or event normally follows در: در جلسه شرکت کردم “I participated in/attended the meeting.” This complement is prepositional, not a direct object, so standard Persian does not say جلسه را شرکت کردم.
The noun شرکت also independently means “company, firm.” That homonymy creates real ambiguity in strings such as با شرکت: it can mean “with the company,” while با شرکت کردن در... begins a clause meaning “by participating in....” Spacing, the following words, and the inflection on کردن determine the parse.
Principal parts
| Form | Persian | Romanization | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | شرکت کردن | sherkat kardan | to participate |
| past base | شرکت کرد | sherkat kard | شرکت کردم |
| present base | شرکت کن | sherkat kon | شرکت میکنم |
| past participle | شرکت کرده | sherkat karde | شرکت کردهاند |
| imperative | شرکت کن / شرکت کنید | sherkat kon / sherkat konid | take part |
| negative imperative | شرکت نکن / شرکت نکنید | sherkat nakon / sherkat nakonid | do not participate |
These are current (neutral standard) forms. Only کردن carries tense, person, aspect, or negation. Modern compound subjunctives and imperatives normally omit affirmative بـ: شرکت کنم، شرکت کن. The compound remains two words.
اگر وقت داری، در جلسهی پرسش و پاسخ شرکت کن.
agar vaqt dâri, dar jalse-ye porsesh-o pâsokh sherkat kon.
If you have time, take part in the question-and-answer session. (familiar singular; neutral standard)
پیش از ثبتنام در کارگاه شرکت نکنید.
pish az sabt-nâm dar kârgâh sherkat nakonid.
Please do not attend the workshop before registering. (polite/plural standard)
Core paradigm
| Person | Present | Simple past | Present perfect | Present subjunctive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | شرکت میکنم | شرکت کردم | شرکت کردهام | شرکت کنم |
| you (sg.) | شرکت میکنی | شرکت کردی | شرکت کردهای | شرکت کنی |
| he/she/it | شرکت میکند | شرکت کرد | شرکت کرده است | شرکت کند |
| we | شرکت میکنیم | شرکت کردیم | شرکت کردهایم | شرکت کنیم |
| you (pl./polite) | شرکت میکنید | شرکت کردید | شرکت کردهاید | شرکت کنید |
| they | شرکت میکنند | شرکت کردند | شرکت کردهاند | شرکت کنند |
Negatives are شرکت نمیکنم، شرکت نکردم، شرکت نکردهام، شرکت نکنم. For the light verb's stems and Tehran endings, see کردن kardan: to Do and Make.
بعید است همهی نامزدها در مناظره شرکت کنند.
ba'id ast hame-ye nâmzad-hâ dar monâzere sherkat konand.
It is unlikely that all the candidates will participate in the debate. (formal; subjunctive)
تا امروز در سه دورهی تخصصی شرکت کردهام.
tâ emruz dar se dowre-ye takhassosi sherkat karde-am.
So far, I have taken part in three specialist courses. (formal-neutral)
Event and activity with در
Meetings, classes, competitions, elections, ceremonies, studies, and discussions all fit the frame در + event/activity + شرکت کردن. The در phrase identifies the domain in which participation happens. English can use a direct verb with no preposition—attend a meeting, enter a competition—but Persian retains در.
بیش از دویست پژوهشگر در این همایش شرکت کردند.
bish az devist pazhuheshgar dar in hamâyesh sherkat kardand.
More than two hundred researchers participated in this conference. (academic/formal)
برای دریافت گواهی باید خودتان در دوره شرکت کنید.
barâ-ye daryâft-e govâhi bâyad khod-etân dar dowre sherkat konid.
To receive the certificate, you must attend the course yourself. (formal/institutional)
او در بحث شرکت کرد، اما با نتیجه موافق نبود.
u dar bahs sherkat kard, ammâ bâ natije movâfeq nabud.
He or she took part in the discussion but did not agree with the conclusion. (neutral standard)
The در phrase can be omitted when the event is already active in the discourse: من هم شرکت میکنم “I'll participate too.” Omission does not turn a preceding noun into a direct object.
Participation versus mere presence
شرکت کردن construes someone as a participant in an organized activity. حضور داشتن means “to be present/attend” and can focus simply on physical or official attendance. At a lecture, a person may حضور داشته باشد without actively speaking; in an election or competition, شرکت کردن is the normal choice because entry into the activity matters.
| Predicate | Typical viewpoint | Register |
|---|---|---|
| در جلسه شرکت کردن | take part in/attend the meeting | neutral |
| در جلسه حضور داشتن | be present at the meeting | formal-neutral |
| در مسابقه شرکت کردن | enter/compete | neutral |
| در مراسم حضور یافتن | attend/be present | formal |
وزیر در مراسم حضور داشت، ولی در گفتوگو شرکت نکرد.
vazir dar marâsem hozur dâsht, vali dar goft-o-gu sherkat nakard.
The minister was present at the ceremony but did not take part in the discussion. (formal-neutral; presence versus participation)
In attendance records the two expressions may refer to the same real-world fact. The contrast is one of construal, not a claim that everyone who شرکت میکند must speak.
Two meanings of شرکت
As a count noun, شرکت means “company”: یک شرکت نرمافزاری، شرکت ما. As the nonverbal member of شرکت کردن, it contributes “participation.” A following در plus an event strongly favors the verb reading; an ezafe modifier or proper company name favors the business noun.
با شرکت آریا برای اجرای طرح قرارداد بستیم.
bâ sherkat-e âryâ barâ-ye ejrâ-ye tarh qarârdâd bastim.
We signed a contract with Arya Company to implement the project. (business/formal; شرکت means company)
با شرکت کردن در نمایشگاه، چند مشتری تازه پیدا کردیم.
bâ sherkat kardan dar namâyeshgâh, chand moshtari-ye tâze peydâ kardim.
By participating in the exhibition, we found several new customers. (neutral standard; با + nominalized infinitive)
In the second example, کردن is an infinitive governed by با; it does not agree with the main-clause subject. This use belongs to the broader system of Nominalized Infinitives.
Institutional nominal style
Administrative prose often replaces the finite verb with the action noun شرکت در: شرکت در آزمون الزامی است “participation in the examination is compulsory.” This compact style is (formal/institutional). A finite clause is usually clearer in conversation.
شرکت در دوره برای کارکنان بخش فروش الزامی است.
sherkat dar dowre barâ-ye kârkonân-e bakhsh-e forush elzâmi ast.
Participation in the course is mandatory for sales staff. (formal/institutional; nominal style)
Tehran conversational forms
Everyday Tehran (informal, regional: Tehran) has شرکت میکنه، میکنیم، میکنین، میکنن. The event marker در is often realized by conversational تو “in,” but the complement is still not direct.
امسال تو مسابقه شرکت نمیکنم؛ وقت تمرین ندارم.
emsâl tu mosâbeqe sherkat nemi-konam; vaqt-e tamrin nadâram.
I'm not entering the competition this year; I don't have time to train. (informal, regional: Tehran)
کی تو جلسهی فردا شرکت میکنه؟
ki tu jalse-ye fardâ sherkat mi-kone?
Who's attending tomorrow's meeting? (informal, regional: Tehran)
Common Mistakes
1. Treating the event as a direct object
❌ من جلسهی آنلاین را شرکت کردم.
Incorrect — the event is introduced by در.
✅ من در جلسهی آنلاین شرکت کردم.
man dar jalse-ye ânlâyn sherkat kardam.
I participated in the online meeting.
2. Putting present morphology on شرکت
❌ او هر سال در مسابقه میشرکت کند.
Incorrect — می and agreement belong on کردن.
✅ او هر سال در مسابقهی محلی شرکت میکند.
u har sâl dar mosâbeqe-ye mahalli sherkat mi-konad.
He or she participates in the local competition every year.
3. Using شرکت کردن to mean establishing a company
❌ آنها سال گذشته یک شرکت کردند.
Incorrect for ‘they founded a company’ — شرکت کردن means participate.
✅ آنها سال گذشته یک شرکت کوچک تأسیس کردند.
ân-hâ sâl-e gozashte yek sherkat-e kuchek ta'sis kardand.
They founded a small company last year.
4. Joining the compound
❌ بیشتر دانشجوها شرکتکردند.
Incorrect standard spacing — شرکت and کردن remain separate words.
✅ بیشتر دانشجوها در رأیگیری شرکت کردند.
bishtar-e dâneshju-hâ dar ra'y-giri sherkat kardand.
Most of the students took part in the vote.
Key Takeaways
- The event or activity follows در: در جلسه، در مسابقه، در انتخابات شرکت کردن.
- شرکت کردن construes participation; حضور داشتن can foreground mere or official presence.
- Independent noun شرکت also means “company,” so با شرکت must be parsed from its continuation.
- Only کردن inflects, and the compound remains two written words.
- Formal institutional prose often uses nominal شرکت در where conversation prefers a finite clause.
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