Persian can place a long infinitive after a preposition: برای دیدن “in order to see,” قبل از رفتن “before leaving,” بعد از رسیدن “after arriving,” and بدون گفتن “without saying.” Although English often translates these forms with to, -ing, or a finite clause, the Persian infinitive is structurally noun-like. It has no person ending or tense of its own.
That nominal character explains both the elegance and the limitation of the construction. An infinitival phrase is compact when its performer is already obvious. When it needs a different subject, an exact tense, or an explicit possibility, Persian normally expands it into a finite clause with اینکه or تا.
The core construction
The preposition governs the entire infinitival phrase, not just the verb. The infinitive keeps the dictionary ending ـن, and a compound verb keeps both parts: خداحافظی کردن, تصمیم گرفتن, بیرون رفتن.
| Pattern | Core meaning | Natural example phrase |
|---|---|---|
| برای + infinitive | purpose or intended use | برای دیدن نمایشگاه “to see the exhibition” |
| قبل از + infinitive | earlier event | قبل از بیرون رفتن “before going out” |
| بعد از + infinitive | later event | بعد از رسیدن قطار “after the train arrives” |
| بدون + infinitive | an event that does not occur | بدون خداحافظی کردن “without saying goodbye” |
برای دیدن نمایشگاه زودتر از اداره بیرون آمدیم.
barâ-ye didan-e namâyeshgâh zudtar az edâre birun âmadim.
We left the office early to see the exhibition. (neutral standard)
قبل از بیرون رفتن پنجرهها را بستم.
qabl az birun raftan panjere-hâ râ bastam.
Before going out, I closed the windows. (neutral standard)
بعد از رسیدن قطار به مادرم زنگ زدم.
ba'd az residan-e qatâr be mâdar-am zang zadam.
After the train arrived, I called my mother. (neutral standard)
او بدون خداحافظی کردن از کافه رفت.
u bedun-e khodâhâfezi kardan az kâfe raft.
He or she left the café without saying goodbye. (neutral standard)
In speech, قبل از and بعد از are also pronounced in their ordinary conversational shapes, but the grammar does not change. This page gives the careful-spoken Iranian forms. The written phrases are standard in conversation, journalism, and formal prose; they are not specifically literary.
Why the subject is usually shared
An unpossessed infinitive has no grammatical person. Listeners therefore recover its performer from context, most often as the subject of the finite main verb. In قبل از بیرون رفتن ... بستم, the person who went out and the person who closed the windows are both “I.” English behaves similarly in Before leaving, I closed the windows.
پیش از خوابیدن گوشیام را روی حالت بیصدا میگذارم.
pish az khâbidan gushi-am râ ru-ye hâlat-e bi-sedâ mi-gozâram.
Before going to sleep, I put my phone on silent. (neutral standard; understood subject = I)
بدون نگاه کردن به نقشه راه افتادیم.
bedun-e negâh kardan be naqshe râh oftâdim.
We set off without looking at the map. (neutral standard; understood subject = we)
A different performer can be expressed as a noun-like possessor: بعد از رسیدنِ مهمانها “after the guests' arrival.” The performer may also be a possessive clitic: بعد از رسیدنت “after your arrival.” Ezâfe after infinitival ـن is normally unwritten but audible.
بعد از رسیدن مهمانها شام را گرم کردیم.
ba'd az residan-e mehmân-hâ shâm râ garm kardim.
After the guests arrived, we warmed up dinner. (neutral standard; مهمانها is the performer)
برای آمدنت صندلی کنار پنجره را نگه داشتم.
barâ-ye âmadan-at sandali-ye kenâr-e panjere râ negah dâshtam.
For your visit, I kept the seat by the window. (careful spoken standard; ـت marks ‘your’)
Attaching objects and complements
Because the infinitive is nominal, its logical object commonly follows through ezâfe: قبل از فرستادنِ فایل “before sending the file.” The written spelling normally leaves this ezâfe unmarked, but careful speech pronounces it. A prepositional complement selected by the underlying verb remains intact: بدون فکر کردن به نتیجه “without thinking about the consequence.”
پیش از فرستادن فایل نام گیرنده را دوباره بررسی کن.
pish az ferestâdan-e fâyl nâm-e girande râ do-bâre barrasi kon.
Before sending the file, check the recipient's name again. (neutral standard)
بدون فکر کردن به هزینه قرارداد را امضا نکن.
bedun-e fekr kardan be hazine qarârdâd râ emzâ nakon.
Do not sign the contract without thinking about the cost. (neutral standard)
The clitic in دیدنش is genuinely ambiguous out of context: it can mean “seeing him/her/it” or “his/her seeing.” Persian tolerates this because possessive and object clitics have the same forms on a nominal infinitive. A full noun can clarify the referent, but ezâfe alone still does not formally distinguish object دیدنِ نادر “seeing Nader” from performer دیدنِ نادر “Nader's seeing.” When the roles matter, a finite clause states them unambiguously: بعد از اینکه نادر را دیدم versus بعد از اینکه نادر مرا دید.
بعد از دیدن نادر تصمیمم عوض شد.
ba'd az didan-e Nâder tasmim-am avaz shod.
After seeing Nader, I changed my mind. (neutral standard; context favors Nader as the person seen, but ezâfe alone is ambiguous)
For the broader noun behavior behind these patterns, see Long Infinitives as Verbal Nouns.
When Persian prefers a finite clause
A finite clause is clearer when the dependent event has its own subject. قبل از اینکه مهمانها برسند overtly marks third-person plural; بعد از اینکه قطار رسید marks a completed past event. With purpose, تا + subjunctive is especially natural when the intended actor is explicit.
قبل از اینکه مهمانها برسند میز را چیدیم.
qabl az in-ke mehmân-hâ be-rasand miz râ chidim.
Before the guests arrived, we set the table. (neutral standard; separate subject and finite subjunctive)
بعد از اینکه باران بند آمد بچهها بیرون رفتند.
ba'd az in-ke bârân band âmad bachche-hâ birun raftand.
After the rain stopped, the children went outside. (neutral standard; completed dependent event)
سارا زودتر آمد تا به ما کمک کند.
Sârâ zudtar âmad tâ be mâ komak konad.
Sara came early so that she could help us. (neutral standard; finite purpose clause)
بدون اینکه چیزی بگوید در را بست.
bedun-e in-ke chizi be-guyad dar râ bast.
Without saying anything, he or she closed the door. (neutral standard; finite alternative)
The choice is not simply “formal versus informal.” Both patterns occur across registers. The infinitive packages an event as a compact noun-like unit; the clause presents it as a proposition with its own subject, tense, mood, and internal syntax.
A natural dialogue
— قبل از رفتن چیزی لازم نداری؟ — نه، فقط برای برداشتن شارژرم برگشتم.
— qabl az raftan chizi lâzem nadâri? — na, faqat barâ-ye bar-dâshtan-e shârzher-am bar-gashtam.
‘Before you go, don't you need anything?’ ‘No, I only came back to pick up my charger.’ (informal situation; careful-spoken forms)
The first infinitive has “you” as its contextually understood subject; the second shares “I” with برگشتم. No overt infinitival person ending is needed in either phrase.
Common Mistakes
1. Putting a finite verb directly after the preposition
❌ قبل از میروم چراغها را خاموش میکنم.
Incorrect — plain قبل از requires a noun-like infinitive, not the finite میروم.
✅ قبل از رفتن چراغ راهرو را خاموش میکنم.
qabl az raftan cherâgh-e râhru râ khâmush mi-konam.
Before leaving, I switch off the hallway light.
2. Moving the object outside its infinitival phrase
❌ بعد از خواندن را گزارش یادداشتهایم را مرتب کردم.
Incorrect — را cannot stand between nominal خواندن and its logical object; گزارش follows the infinitive through ezâfe.
✅ بعد از خواندن گزارش یادداشتهایم را مرتب کردم.
ba'd az khândan-e gozâresh yâddâsht-hâ-yam râ morattab kardam.
After reading the report, I organized my notes.
3. Using a subjunctive form after plain برای
❌ برای بخرم بلیت به ایستگاه رفتم.
Incorrect — plain برای takes a noun phrase or infinitive; a finite purpose clause needs تا or برای اینکه.
✅ برای خریدن بلیت به ایستگاه رفتم.
barâ-ye kharidan-e belit be istgâh raftam.
I went to the station to buy a ticket.
4. Dropping the infinitive ending
❌ بدون گفت چیزی جلسه را ترک کرد.
Incorrect — گفت is a past stem; the noun-like form required here is گفتن.
✅ بدون گفتن دلیل جلسه را ترک کرد.
bedun-e goftan-e dalil jalase râ tark kard.
He or she left the meeting without giving a reason.
Key Takeaways
- برای، قبل از، بعد از، بدون can govern a long infinitive or a larger infinitival phrase.
- The infinitive is noun-like: it lacks person and tense, and its logical object commonly follows through audible ezâfe.
- A bare infinitive usually shares its understood subject with the main clause; a possessor can identify another performer.
- Use اینکه or تا plus a finite verb when the dependent event needs an explicit subject, tense, or mood.
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Long Infinitives as Verbal NounsA2 — Use Persian infinitives as noun-like names of actions, with ezâfe complements, prepositional phrases, possessors, and countable event readings.
- Preposition plus InfinitiveB2 — Use the Persian infinitive as a verbal noun after برای, قبل از, بدون, and related prepositions, while managing shared subjects and finite-clause alternatives.
- Tense Choice in Temporal ClausesA2 — Choose tense and mood after وقتی, قبل از اینکه, بعد از اینکه, and تا by tracking factuality, event order, and future time.
- Present Subjunctive FormationA2 — Form the Persian present subjunctive with بـ, the present stem, and personal endings, including vowel allomorphy, preverbs, compounds, irregulars, and stress.
- Complementizer کهA2 — Link speech, thought, desire, and evaluation predicates to finite Persian content clauses with که and the appropriate mood.