Impersonal می‌توان | Farsi Grammar

Impersonal می‌توان means “one can,” “it is possible to,” or—in many English translations—“can be.” It is a frozen modal form with no personal ending, used especially in formal, academic, and administrative Persian: می‌توان این فرم را آنلاین پر کرد “this form can be completed online.” The possible action normally appears as a short infinitive, the bare past stem.

This construction differs from personal توانستن. Personal می‌توانیم برویم names “us” through two first-plural endings; impersonal می‌توان رفت leaves the actor generic and has no personal ending anywhere.

Construction map

Pattern	Example	Actor	Register
impersonal می‌توان + short infinitive	می‌توان رفت	generic “one/people”	formal, academic, careful written
negative impersonal نمی‌توان + short infinitive	نمی‌توان وارد شد	generic	formal, academic
personal می‌توانـ + ending + subjunctive	می‌توانیم برویم	specified by agreement	all standard registers
impersonal می‌شود + short infinitive	می‌شود رفت	generic	neutral, common in speech

از بالای برج می‌توان تمام شهر را دید.

az bâlâ-ye borj mi-tavân tamâm-e shahr râ did.

From the top of the tower, one can see the whole city. (formal-neutral; generic perceiver)

با این نرم‌افزار می‌توان چند فایل را هم‌زمان ویرایش کرد.

bâ in narm-afzâr mi-tavân chand fâyl râ ham-zamân virâyesh kard.

With this software, several files can be edited simultaneously. (formal-neutral; generic ability)

از این شواهد می‌توان نتیجه‌ی روشنی گرفت.

az in shavâhed mi-tavân natije-ye rowshan-i gereft.

A clear conclusion can be drawn from this evidence. (academic)

The object remains an object and can take را. English often chooses a passive translation, but Persian has not promoted شهر or فایل‌ها to subject. Frozen می‌توان remains singular regardless of the object's number.

💡

Do not diagnose a Persian passive from the English translation. In می‌توان فایل‌ها را ویرایش کرد, فایل‌ها را is still the object and the construction is impersonal.

Why the short infinitive looks past

The short infinitive is simply the past stem with no personal ending: رفت، دید، نوشت، کرد، گرفت. After impersonal می‌توان, it does not locate the event in past time. The modal and context supply present or future possibility.

فردا هم می‌توان از ورودی شرقی وارد شد.

fardâ ham mi-tavân az vorudi-ye sharqi vâred shod.

Tomorrow, too, it will be possible to enter through the east entrance. (formal-neutral; future time with a short infinitive)

The construction can describe present availability or future availability, but a past-shaped short infinitive does not create a past modal. For an explicitly past ability, use توانست/می‌توانست, or conversational impersonal می‌شد, as appropriate; those contrasts are treated on Past Obligation and Ability.

In a compound predicate, only the light verb appears as the short infinitive: بررسی کرد، تماس گرفت، تغییر داد. Do not turn the nonverbal element into a finite word.

Short infinitive versus a finite subjunctive

The direct complement of formal impersonal می‌توان is normally the short infinitive. A finite subjunctive appears when a specific actor is selected, but then Persian normally uses a personal form of توانستن: می‌توانم بروم، می‌توانید بنویسید. This division is a useful safeguard against unidiomatic mixed constructions.

می‌توان این مسیر را در نیم ساعت طی کرد.

mi-tavân in masir râ dar nim sâ'at tey kard.

This route can be covered in half an hour. (formal impersonal; generic actor and short infinitive)

ما می‌توانیم این مسیر را پیش از تاریکی طی کنیم.

mâ mi-tavânim in masir râ pish az târiki tey konim.

We can cover this route before dark. (neutral standard; specific actor and finite subjunctive)

An impersonal clause can itself contain a subordinate subjunctive, but the layers remain distinct: می‌توان پیشنهاد کرد که جلسه زودتر شروع شود “one can suggest that the meeting start earlier.” Here پیشنهاد کرد is the short-infinitive complement of می‌توان; شروع شود belongs to the که clause selected by “suggest.”

می‌توان پیشنهاد کرد که رأی‌گیری یک هفته عقب بیفتد.

mi-tavân pishnehâd kard ke ra'y-giri yek hafte aqab bioftad.

One can propose that the vote be postponed for a week. (formal; short infinitive plus an embedded subjunctive clause)

💡

Count the clause layers. In می‌توان پیشنهاد کرد که..., کرد completes the impersonal modal frame; the subjunctive after که belongs to the proposed event.

Negation and word order

Negation replaces می‌ with نمی‌ on the modal: نمی‌توان گفت، نمی‌توان دید. It means that the action is impossible, unjustified, or unavailable to a generic actor. Moving نمی‌ to the short infinitive destroys the construction.

بدون بررسی داده‌ها نمی‌توان درباره‌ی علت حادثه قضاوت کرد.

bedun-e barrasi-ye dâde-hâ nemi-tavân darbâre-ye ellat-e hâdese qazâvat kard.

Without examining the data, one cannot judge the cause of the incident. (academic)

Constituents such as a setting, instrument, object, and adverb normally precede می‌توان, while the short infinitive closes the clause. Persian can reorder material for topic and focus, but می‌ never separates from توان.

Register: می‌توان and می‌شود

Impersonal می‌توان is productive but strongly associated with edited prose, lectures, reports, and formal explanation. Neutral conversation normally prefers impersonal می‌شود or a personal form: می‌شود اینجا نشست؟ / می‌تونیم اینجا بشینیم؟ See Impersonal می‌شود for the structural contrast.

— از اینجا میشه بلیت خرید؟ — نه، باید از دستگاه بخرین.

— az injâ mishe belit kharid? — na, bâyad az dastgâh bekharin.

— Can you buy a ticket here? — No, you have to buy it from the machine. (informal, regional: Tehran)

Do not manufacture a colloquial می‌تون as an impersonal equivalent. Tehran می‌تونه means personal third singular “he/she/it can” and requires a recoverable subject; generic speech uses میشه or an inclusive personal form.

Common Mistakes

1. Using the full infinitive

❌ از این پنجره می‌توان دریا را دیدن.

Incorrect — formal impersonal می‌توان takes the short infinitive دید, not full دیدن.

✅ از این پنجره می‌توان بندر را دید.

az in panjare mi-tavân bandar râ did.

The harbor can be seen from this window.

2. Giving a generic construction a personal ending

❌ می‌توانند این مسئله را به‌آسانی حل کرد.

Incorrect — personal می‌توانند requires a third-plural subjunctive; generic می‌توان requires short حل کرد.

✅ کارشناسان می‌توانند این مسئله را با داده‌های تازه حل کنند.

kârshenâsân mi-tavânand in mas'ale râ bâ dâde-hâ-ye tâze hall konand.

The specialists can solve this problem with the new data.

3. Moving the imperfective prefix

❌ توان می این نتیجه را گرفت.

Incorrect — می‌ is a bound prefix and must remain attached to توان with a ZWNJ.

✅ از گزارش نهایی می‌توان نکته‌های زیادی آموخت.

az gozâresh-e nehâyi mi-tavân nokte-hâ-ye ziyâdi âmukht.

Many lessons can be learned from the final report.

4. Treating the short infinitive as past tense

❌ هفته‌ی بعد می‌توان این سالن را رزرو کرد.

as a past-tense sentence because کرد looks past

Incorrect interpretation — this grammatical sentence refers to future availability; کرد is a nonfinite short infinitive here.

✅ هفته‌ی بعد هم می‌توان این سالن را برای دو ساعت رزرو کرد.

hafte-ye ba'd ham mi-tavân in sâlon râ barâ-ye do sâ'at rezerv kard.

Next week, too, this hall can be reserved for two hours.

Key Takeaways

Formal impersonal می‌توان is invariant and normally takes a bare past stem, or short infinitive.
That past-stem shape is nonfinite; it does not by itself give the modal statement past time.
Use personal می‌توانم/می‌توانیم + subjunctive when a particular actor must be grammatically identified.
Negation is نمی‌توان, with نمی‌ attached to the modal.
Conversation normally prefers می‌شود or personal colloquial می‌تونیم, not invented impersonal می‌تون.

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