Once a passive base has been built, Persian puts tense, aspect, negation, and subject agreement on شدن. Compare منتشر میشود “is published,” منتشر شد “was published,” منتشر نمیشود “is not published,” and منتشر نشده است “has not been published.” The lexical element remains stable while the auxiliary changes.
This differs from English, where the auxiliary is a form of be and the participle remains separate. Persian شدن also means “become,” so a form can report a passive event, a change of state, or the resulting state; context does part of the grammatical work.
One passive base, several tense forms
The following map uses compound predicate منتشر کردن / منتشر شدن “publish / be published”:
| Form | Persian | Structure | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| present imperfective | منتشر میشود | منتشر + می + شو + د | is/gets published |
| simple past | منتشر شد | منتشر + شد + zero | was/got published |
| negative present | منتشر نمیشود | منتشر + نمی + شو + د | is not published |
| present perfect | منتشر شده است | منتشر + شده + است | has been published |
| negative present perfect | منتشر نشده است | منتشر + نشده + است | has not been published |
برنامهی کلاسها هر ماه منتشر میشود.
barnâme-ye kelâs-hâ har mâh montasher mi-shavad.
The class schedule is published every month. (formal-neutral; habitual present passive)
برنامهی تازه دیروز منتشر شد.
barnâme-ye tâze diruz montasher shod.
The new schedule was published yesterday. (formal-neutral; completed past passive)
نام شرکتکنندگان پیش از قرعهکشی منتشر نمیشود.
nâm-e sherkat-konandegân pish az qor'e-keshi montasher nemi-shavad.
The participants' names are not published before the drawing. (formal policy statement)
فهرست نهایی هنوز منتشر نشده است.
fehrest-e nahâyi hanuz montasher na-shode ast.
The final list has not been published yet. (formal-neutral; negative perfect passive)
Simple-verb passives keep their first participle
With a simple transitive verb, the lexical participle remains before every form of شدن: نوشته میشود، نوشته شد، نوشته نشده است. Negating the passive event changes شدن, not the lexical participle.
این واژه در متنهای رسمی بیشتر نوشته میشود.
in vâzhe dar matn-hâ-ye rasmi bishtar neveshte mi-shavad.
This word is written more often in formal texts. (formal-neutral; present passive)
نشانی اشتباه روی بسته نوشته شده بود.
neshâni-ye eshtebâh ru-ye baste neveshte shode bud.
The wrong address had been written on the package. (neutral standard; past-perfect passive)
این بخش از کتاب هنوز ترجمه نشده است.
in bakhsh az ketâb hanuz tarjome na-shode ast.
This section of the book has not yet been translated. (formal-neutral; compound passive)
The string can contain two participial layers in a perfect passive: lexical نوشته plus auxiliary participle شده, followed by a copula. Each layer has a separate job.
Agreement follows the patient—and Persian animacy
The promoted patient controls the agreement system, but Persian does not simply copy English number agreement. A human plural normally selects plural شدند / میشوند. An inanimate plural often permits or favors third-person singular in formal prose when treated as a batch; plural agreement is also possible and foregrounds separate items.
| Patient | Present | Past | Perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| نامه | فرستاده میشود | فرستاده شد | فرستاده شده است |
| نامهها، یک مجموعه | فرستاده میشود | فرستاده شد | فرستاده شده است |
| نامهها، جداگانه | فرستاده میشوند | فرستاده شدند | فرستاده شدهاند |
مدارک ناقص به فرستنده برگردانده میشوند.
madârek-e nâqes be ferestande bar-gardânde mi-shavand.
Incomplete documents are returned to the sender. (formal procedure; plural agreement)
دو صندلی شکسته از سالن بیرون برده شدند.
do sandali-ye shekaste az sâlon birun borde shodand.
Two broken chairs were removed from the hall. (formal-neutral; plural patient)
In colloquial Tehran (informal, regional: Tehran), third-plural میشوند / شدند often reduces to میشن / شدن. This phonological reduction is separate from standard singular agreement with an inanimate collective.
The full semantic and register contrast is developed on Inanimate Plurals and Singular Verb Agreement.
Agent suppression is the normal point
Passives are natural when the actor is unknown, generic, obvious, or institutionally less important than the procedure. A policy says what happens to an application; it need not repeatedly name the employee who handles it.
پس از پرداخت، رسید به نشانی شما فرستاده میشود.
pas az pardâkht, resid be neshâni-ye shomâ ferestâde mi-shavad.
After payment, a receipt is sent to your address. (formal instruction; generic actor suppressed)
در این مرحله اطلاعات شخصی ذخیره نمیشود.
dar in marhale ettelâ'ât-e shakhsi zakhire nemi-shavad.
At this stage, personal information is not stored. (formal policy statement)
If the actor is important new information, Persian commonly switches to active voice rather than adding a heavy agent phrase. The basic actor options are explained on Passive with شدن: First Pattern.
Event, change, or result?
شدن contributes transition, which creates systematic ambiguity with result states. Consider درها بسته شدهاند:
- In a security report, it can mean “the doors have been closed”—a prior passive event matters.
- On inspecting the building, it can mean “the doors are now closed”—the resulting state matters.
- درها بستهاند more directly predicates the state “the doors are closed,” without overt شدن.
همهی درها طبق دستور بسته شدهاند.
hame-ye dar-hâ tebq-e dastur baste shode-and.
All the doors have been closed as instructed. (formal; event plus result)
نگران نباش؛ در اصلی بسته است.
negarân na-bâsh; dar-e asli baste ast.
Don't worry; the main door is closed. (neutral conversation; state description)
With lexical pairs such as خاموش کردن / خاموش شدن, شدن may simply describe a change without entailing a hidden human actor: چراغ خاموش شد “the light went out.” English passive-like translations can conceal this difference.
A short formal–informal contrast
— درخواست من بررسی شده؟ — آره، امروز نتیجه رو میفرستن.
— darkhâst-e man barrasi shode? — âre, emruz natije ro mi-ferestan.
— Has my application been reviewed? — Yes, they'll send the result today. (informal, regional: Tehran; passive question, active generic reply)
نتیجه پس از تکمیل بررسی برای متقاضی ارسال خواهد شد.
natije pas az takmil-e barrasi barâ-ye motaqâzi ersâl khâhad shod.
After the review is complete, the result will be sent to the applicant. (formal administrative register)
Formal instructions favor passive organization; conversation often uses an active third plural with an understood institutional actor.
Common Mistakes
1. Using the lexical present stem before شدن
❌ نام شما نویس میشود.
Incorrect — a simple-verb passive uses past participle نوشته, not present stem نویس.
✅ نام شما بالای برگه نوشته میشود.
nâm-e shomâ bâlâ-ye barge neveshte mi-shavad.
Your name is written at the top of the form.
2. Negating the wrong layer
❌ گزارش نه منتشر میشود.
Incorrect — verbal negation belongs on شدن as نمیشود.
✅ گزارش کامل پیش از تأیید منتشر نمیشود.
gozâresh-e kâmel pish az ta'yid montasher nemi-shavad.
The full report is not published before approval.
3. Using present شدن for a completed dated event
❌ قرارداد پارسال امضا میشود.
as a marked historical-present narration rather than an ordinary report of a completed event
Incorrect for an ordinary report of a completed event last year — use simple-past شد.
✅ قرارداد اصلی پارسال امضا شد.
qarârdâd-e asli pârsâl emzâ shod.
The original contract was signed last year.
4. Using singular agreement with a human plural
❌ نامزدهای برگزیده دیروز دعوت شد.
Incorrect in ordinary modern Persian — the human plural subject requires شدند.
✅ نامزدهای برگزیده دیروز برای مصاحبه دعوت شدند.
nâmzad-hâ-ye bargozide diruz barâ-ye mosâhebe da'vat shodand.
The selected candidates were invited for an interview yesterday.
Key Takeaways
- Keep the passive base stable and conjugate شدن for tense, negation, and agreement.
- Present میشود, past شد, negative نمیشود, and perfect شده/نشده است express distinct viewpoints.
- Human patients normally trigger plural agreement; inanimate plurals allow singular collective or plural individuated agreement.
- Passives normally omit the actor; active voice is often better when the actor matters.
- Use context to distinguish a passive event from a change of state or a resulting condition.
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Passive with شدن: First PatternA2 — Build the basic Persian passive with a past participle or compound-predicate base plus شدن, promoting the patient and placing tense on the auxiliary.
- Past Participle in هA2 — Build Persian past participles by adding ه to the past stem, then use them in perfect forms, compound predicates, and adjectival result descriptions.
- Present Perfect FormationA2 — Form the Persian present perfect with a past participle and present copula, including six standard spellings, negation, compound verbs, and Tehran reductions.
- Transitive and Intransitive Pairs with کردن and شدنA2 — Contrast کردن predicates that introduce a causer with شدن predicates whose subject undergoes a change, including passive-like translations and lexical restrictions.
- Passive across the Tense and Mood SystemB1 — Carry Persian passive bases through subjunctive, perfect, future, modal, negative, and agreement patterns by conjugating the شدن layer.
- Inanimate Plurals and Singular Verb AgreementA2 — Why Persian often pairs an inanimate plural subject with a singular verb, and when modern usage instead highlights the members with plural agreement.