شروع کردن shoru kardan: to Start | Farsi Grammar

شروع کردن is the ordinary compound verb for an agent “starting” an event, task, or activity. شروع supplies the lexical meaning “onset,” while light verb کردن carries tense, person, negation, and mood. The whole two-word expression is one predicate: جلسه را شروع کردیم “we started the meeting.”

Persian distinguishes this agentive predicate from intransitive شروع شدن “to start/begin”: مدیر جلسه را شروع کرد versus جلسه شروع شد. English often uses the same form “start” on both sides; Persian usually changes the light verb to display the valency difference.

Principal parts of the whole compound

Form	Persian	Romanization	Use
infinitive	شروع کردن	shoru' kardan	to start
past base	شروع کرد	shoru' kard	شروع کردم
present base	شروع کن	shoru' kon	شروع می‌کنم
past participle	شروع کرده	shoru' karde	شروع کرده‌ایم
imperative	شروع کن / شروع کنید	shoru' kon / shoru' konid	start
negative imperative	شروع نکن / شروع نکنید	shoru' nakon / shoru' nakonid	do not start

The nonverbal element شروع never receives می‌, negation, or a personal ending. Neutral modern Persian normally uses شروع کنم for the compound subjunctive and شروع کن for the imperative, without inserting affirmative بـ on کردن. Forms with بکن can add insistence in speech but are not the default reference forms.

جلسه را با مرور برنامه‌ی روز شروع می‌کنیم.

jalse râ bâ morur-e barnâme-ye ruz shoru' mi-konim.

We start the meeting by reviewing the day's agenda. (neutral standard)

تا همه آماده نشده‌اند، ارائه را شروع نکنید.

tâ hame âmâde na-shode-and, erâ'e râ shoru' nakonid.

Don't start the presentation until everyone is ready. (polite/plural standard)

Core paradigm

Person	Present	Simple past	Present perfect	Present subjunctive
I	شروع می‌کنم	شروع کردم	شروع کرده‌ام	شروع کنم
you (sg.)	شروع می‌کنی	شروع کردی	شروع کرده‌ای	شروع کنی
he/she/it	شروع می‌کند	شروع کرد	شروع کرده است	شروع کند
we	شروع می‌کنیم	شروع کردیم	شروع کرده‌ایم	شروع کنیم
you (pl./polite)	شروع می‌کنید	شروع کردید	شروع کرده‌اید	شروع کنید
they	شروع می‌کنند	شروع کردند	شروع کرده‌اند	شروع کنند

Negation belongs before the light verb: شروع نمی‌کنم، شروع نکردم، شروع نکرده‌ام، شروع نکنم. This separation is both morphological and orthographic; شروع‌کردن with ZWNJ is not the standard citation spelling.

قرار است تعمیر سقف را هفته‌ی آینده شروع کنیم.

qarâr ast ta'mir-e saqf râ hafte-ye âyande shoru' konim.

We are supposed to start repairing the roof next week. (neutral standard; subjunctive)

هنوز نوشتن گزارش نهایی را شروع نکرده‌ام.

hanuz neveshtan-e gozâresh-e nehâyi râ shoru' nakarde-am.

I haven't started writing the final report yet. (neutral standard)

A noun object: starting an event or task

A bounded event or task can be the direct object: کلاس را شروع کردن، کار را شروع کردن، بررسی را شروع کردن. A specific object normally takes را. This construction foregrounds the event as a whole rather than the internal action performed after onset.

مربی تمرین صبح را با ده دقیقه نرمش شروع کرد.

morabbi tamrin-e sobh râ bâ dah daqiqe narmesh shoru' kard.

The coach started the morning practice with ten minutes of warm-up. (neutral standard)

بیایید بحث را از سؤال اصلی شروع کنیم.

biyâyid bahs râ az so'âl-e asli shoru' konim.

Let's start the discussion with the main question. (polite collaborative suggestion)

The starting point can use از or با. بحث را از این نکته شروع کرد locates the first point; جلسه را با یک خبر خوب شروع کرد presents the opening material or manner. These phrases do not change the direct-object status of the event.

Starting to perform an activity

For an activity performed by the same subject, the dependable standard construction is شروع کردن به + long infinitive. Two word orders are current:

Order	Tendency	Pattern
phase verb first	especially natural in speech	شروع کرد به توضیح دادن
infinitive phrase first	common in edited prose	شروع به توضیح دادن کرد

بچه ناگهان شروع کرد به خندیدن.

bachche nâgahân shoru' kard be khandidan.

The child suddenly started laughing. (neutral careful speech)

شرکت از پارسال شروع به تولید این قطعه کرده است.

sherkat az pârsâl shoru' be tolid-e in qet'e karde ast.

The company has been producing this component since last year. (formal/edited prose)

The understood subject of the infinitive is normally the subject of شروع کردن. In لیلا شروع کرد به خواندن, Leila both begins and reads. A new overt subject cannot simply be inserted inside the infinitive; use a separate finite clause.

💡

Use a را-marked noun for a bounded event, but به + long infinitive for the activity the subject begins performing: درس را شروع کردم versus شروع کردم به خواندن.

For the noun-like behavior of these forms, see Long Infinitives as Verbal Nouns.

Finite complements: marked outside conversation

Direct شروع کرد که + finite verb is attested, especially in translation-influenced or regional prose, but it is not the dependable neutral-Iranian complement. For a simple same-subject activity, edited Iranian Persian normally uses به + long infinitive. Conversation may instead place a bare finite elaboration after شروع کردن, as shown below.

سخنران شروع کرد که پیامدهای طرح را یک‌به‌یک توضیح دهد.

sokhanrân shoru' kard ke payâmad-hâ-ye tarh râ yek-be-yek towzih dahad.

The speaker began to explain the plan's consequences one by one. (marked, translation-influenced; not the neutral Iranian default)

Neutral Iranian prose normally prefers سخنران شروع کرد به توضیح دادن.... When the second action has a genuinely different subject, coordination is clearer: مدیر جلسه را شروع کرد و دبیر صورت‌جلسه را خواند. The finite clause has its own tense and agreement rather than being forced into a controlled infinitive.

مدیر برنامه را شروع کرد و گروه اول روی صحنه آمد.

modir barnâme râ shoru' kard va goruh-e avval ru-ye sahne âmad.

The manager started the program, and the first group came onstage. (neutral; separate subjects)

Transitive شروع کردن versus intransitive شروع شدن

شروع کردن introduces an agent or causer and a direct object. شروع شدن makes the event itself the subject. Weather and spontaneous events normally use شدن: باران شروع شد. The pair does not mean active versus passive mechanically; شروع شدن is a lexical inchoative “begin.”

بارندگی شدید نزدیک نیمه‌شب شروع شد.

bârandegi-ye shadid nazdik-e nime-shab shoru' shod.

The heavy rain began near midnight. (neutral standard; intransitive)

داور مسابقه را پنج دقیقه دیر شروع کرد.

dâvar mosâbeqe râ panj daqiqe dir shoru' kard.

The referee started the match five minutes late. (neutral standard; transitive)

💡

Follow agency: if someone deliberately initiates an event, use شروع کردن with that event as object; if the event itself comes into progress, use شروع شدن with the event as subject.

The broader aspectual contrast with continuation is developed on Phase Verbs شروع کردن and ادامه دادن.

Tehran conversational forms

In everyday Tehran speech (informal, regional: Tehran), شروع remains, while the light verb follows colloquial کردن: شروع می‌کنم، شروع می‌کنی، شروع می‌کنه، شروع می‌کنیم، شروع می‌کنین، شروع می‌کنن. Writers may spell conversational می‌کنه with ZWNJ even when pronunciation is fully colloquial.

از فردا شروع می‌کنم هر روز نیم ساعت پیاده‌روی کنم.

az fardâ shoru' mi-konam har ruz nim sâ'at piyâde-ravi konam.

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to walk for half an hour every day. (conversational Iranian Persian; bare finite elaboration)

Here the second finite verb elaborates the new routine in speech. For a controlled activity in careful prose, شروع می‌کنم به روزی نیم ساعت پیاده‌روی کردن is structurally explicit but heavier.

Common Mistakes

1. Inflecting the nonverbal element

❌ جلسه می‌شروع کند.

Incorrect — tense and mood morphology attach to the light verb, not شروع.

✅ امیدواریم جلسه رأس ساعت شروع شود.

omidvârim jalse ra's-e sâ'at shoru' shavad.

We hope the meeting starts exactly on time.

2. Giving شروع شدن a direct object

❌ مربی تمرین را شروع شد.

Incorrect — an agent with a direct object requires شروع کردن.

✅ مربی تمرین تازه را بعد از استراحت شروع کرد.

morabbi tamrin-e tâze râ ba'd az esterâhat shoru' kard.

The coach started the new exercise after the break.

3. Copying an English bare infinitive

❌ او شروع کرد صحبت.

Incorrect for ‘started speaking’ — use به plus an activity noun/infinitive.

✅ او بعد از مکث کوتاهی شروع کرد به صحبت کردن.

u ba'd az maks-e kutâhi shoru' kard be sohbat kardan.

After a short pause, she began speaking.

4. Writing the compound with a ZWNJ

❌ تعمیر خانه را شروع‌کردیم.

Incorrect standard spacing — شروع and کردن are separate written words.

✅ تعمیر آشپزخانه را این هفته شروع کردیم.

ta'mir-e âshpazkhâne râ in hafte shoru' kardim.

We started renovating the kitchen this week.

Key Takeaways

Treat شروع کردن as one lexical predicate written in two words; inflect only کردن.
A bounded event can be a را-marked object; a controlled activity commonly uses به + long infinitive.
Direct finite complements exist but are heavier; coordination clearly accommodates a different subject.
Agentive شروع کردن contrasts with intransitive شروع شدن.
Colloquial endings appear on the light verb: شروع می‌کنه / می‌کنن.

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