Polite and Plural Imperatives in ید | Farsi Grammar

Persian uses the same imperative in ـید for two jobs: addressing more than one person and addressing one person politely. Familiar singular بنشین “sit” therefore corresponds to بنشینید both when a teacher addresses a class and when a host respectfully addresses one guest. Context—and sometimes an explicit شما—identifies the number, while the verb form marks the socially plural agreement.

English uses the same bare verb with singular and plural you, so this distinction can be easy to miss. Persian makes it audible: familiar singular normally has no ending, while plural or polite شما selects ـید.

Add ـید to the command stem

The productive frame is the affirmative imperative plus the second-plural ending ـید. With consonant-final present stems, the result is transparent: بنویس + ید → بنویسید. Vowel-final stems have established written junctions such as بروید، بیایید، بگویید.

Infinitive	Familiar singular	Plural/polite	Careful pronunciation
نشستن	بنشین	بنشینید	beneshinid
نوشتن	بنویس	بنویسید	benevisid
رفتن	برو	بروید	beravid
آمدن	بیا	بیایید	biyâyid
گفتن	بگو	بگویید	beguyid

خانم رضایی، بفرمایید داخل.

khânom rezâyi, befarmâyid dâkhel.

Ms. Rezaei, please come in. (polite singular; hospitable standard)

همه‌ی گروه‌ها، پاسخ‌هایتان را روی برگه بنویسید.

hame-ye goruh-hâ, pâsokh-hâ-yetân râ ru-ye barge benevisid.

All groups, write your answers on the sheet. (plural classroom instruction)

آقای مرادی، لطف می‌کنید این رسید را امضا کنید؟

âqâ-ye morâdi, lotf mi-konid in resid râ emzâ konid?

Mr. Moradi, would you kindly sign this receipt? (polite singular request)

The last example contains کنید, formally identical to the plural imperative of کردن, inside a conventional request. Persian frequently combines respectful agreement with a question or courtesy expression rather than relying on ـید alone.

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Do not translate ـید as “plural” in every sentence. It marks agreement with شما, and شما can denote either several addressees or one socially respected addressee.

One form, two readings

Pronouns are commonly omitted, so the same one-word instruction can remain ambiguous outside context. A receptionist’s بنشینید to one client is polite singular; a coach’s بنشینید to the team is plural. An overt noun phrase resolves the intended audience.

دکتر، لطف می‌کنید نتیجه را دوباره توضیح دهید؟

doktor, lotf mi-konid natije râ do-bâre towzih dahid?

Doctor, would you explain the result again? (polite singular)

دوستان، تلفن‌هایتان را روی حالت بی‌صدا بگذارید.

dustân, telefon-hâ-yetân râ ru-ye hâlat-e bi-sedâ begozârid.

Friends, put your phones on silent mode. (plural instruction)

An explicit شما is useful for contrast—شما شروع کنید، ما بعدا اضافه می‌شویم “You start; we’ll join later”—but routine repetition of شما can sound heavier than English you. The verb ending already identifies the addressee.

Compound verbs and lexical preverbs

The same structural rules as in the familiar singular remain in force. Only the light verb carries ـید: گوش بدهید، تصمیم بگیرید، آماده شوید. Compounds with کردن and شدن normally use کنید and شوید without affirmative بـ in neutral contemporary Persian.

خواهش می‌کنم چند دقیقه در سالن منتظر بمانید.

khâhesh mi-konam chand daqiqe dar sâlon montazer bemânid.

Please wait in the hall for a few minutes. (polite standard)

پیش از انتخاب، به هر دو فایل صوتی گوش بدهید.

pish az entekhâb, be har do fâyl-e sowti gush bedahid.

Before choosing, listen to both audio files. (plural or polite instruction)

تا ساعت یازده آماده شوید و پایین بیایید.

tâ sâ'at-e yâzdah âmâde shavid-o pâyin biyâyid.

Be ready by eleven and come downstairs. (plural instruction; neutral standard)

Lexical preverbs still block an extra بـ. The plural or polite command of برگشتن is برگردید, not a doubled-prefix form. The ending belongs at the far right of the finite verb.

بعد از ناهار مستقیم به دفتر برگردید.

ba'd az nâhâr mostaqim be daftar bar-gardid.

Return directly to the office after lunch. (plural or polite standard)

Softening a directive

The ـید ending supplies respectful agreement, but a bare صبر کنید! can still be forceful. Persian speakers soften requests with خواهش می‌کنم “please,” لطف می‌کنید...؟ “would you kindly...?”, a reason, or the hospitable verb بفرمایید. The conventional adverb is written لطفاً in edited text and often لطفا in informal typing; its ordinary Iranian pronunciation is the lexicalized lotfan, not evidence that Persian productively assigns Arabic case endings.

خواهش می‌کنم صدایتان را کمی پایین بیاورید.

khâhesh mi-konam sedâ-yetân râ kami pâyin biyâvarid.

Please lower your voice a little. (polite standard request)

بفرمایید چای؛ تا گرم است بنوشید.

befarmâyid chây; tâ garm ast benushid.

Please have some tea; drink it while it is hot. (polite hospitality)

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Politeness is layered. ـید respects the addressee grammatically; خواهش می‌کنم, an interrogative frame, or بفرمایید manages the social force of the request.

Negative and colloquial counterparts

The negative replaces affirmative بـ with نـ and keeps plural/polite ـید: نروید، ننویسید، تصمیم نگیرید. It does not use نمی‌. The full system is developed on Negative Imperative with ن.

Everyday Tehran speech (informal, regional: Tehran) normally reduces final ـید to ـین and may contract the stem: بروید → برین، بگویید → بگین، بنشینید → بشینین. These are coherent colloquial forms, not misspellings to insert into formal prose.

بفرمایین تو، بیرون سرده.

befarmâyin tu, birun sarde.

Please come inside; it’s cold out. (informal, regional: Tehran; polite singular)

The colloquial sentence consistently uses بفرمایین، تو، سرده. These maximally reduced forms are useful models, but actual Iranian speech also has intermediate variants: for example, بشینید may retain standard ـید after the reduced stem شین. Such forms are natural in speech but are not the edited-standard spelling بنشینید.

A short exchange

ممکن است گذرنامه‌تان را نشان دهید؟

momken ast gozarnâme-tân râ neshân dahid?

Could you show me your passport? (formal-polite request)

بله، بفرمایید؛ این هم بلیت من.

bale, befarmâyid; in ham belit-e man.

Yes, here you are; and this is my ticket. (polite standard)

Common Mistakes

1. Using a singular command with polite شما

❌ شما اینجا بنشین.

Incorrect in the intended polite address — شما selects the ـید form.

✅ شما کنار پنجره بنشینید.

shomâ kenâr-e panjare beneshinid.

Please sit by the window. (polite singular)

2. Adding the ending to the nonverbal element

❌ همه تصمیمید بگیر.

Incorrect — plural agreement belongs on the light verb, not on تصمیم.

✅ پس از گفت‌وگو با هم تصمیم بگیرید.

pas az goft-o-gu bâ ham tasmim begirid.

Decide together after discussing it.

3. Copying the singular form for a group

❌ دانشجوها، صفحه‌ی بعد را بخوان.

Incorrect for the whole class — the plural addressees require بخوانید.

✅ دانشجو‌ها، تمرین صفحه‌ی بعد را بخوانید.

dâneshju-hâ, tamrin-e safhe-ye ba'd râ bekhânid.

Students, read the exercise on the next page.

4. Keeping می‌ in a polite command

❌ خواهش می‌کنم در را می‌بندید.

Incorrect as the intended imperative after خواهش می‌کنم — use the command ببندید.

✅ خواهش می‌کنم در را آرام ببندید.

khâhesh mi-konam dar râ ârâm bebandid.

Please close the door quietly.

5. Mixing colloquial and standard endings

❌ در نامه بنویسینید که فردا می‌آیید.

Incorrect — بنویسینید contains two person endings; choose only one complete paradigm.

✅ در نامه بنویسید که فردا می‌آیید.

dar nâme benevisid ke fardâ mi-âyid.

Write in the letter that you are coming tomorrow. (standard)

Key Takeaways

Add ـید to address several people or one person respectfully.
Context distinguishes polite singular from genuine plural; شما can express either.
Only the finite light verb receives the ending in a compound predicate.
Respectful agreement and gentle pragmatic force are separate; soften commands when the relationship requires it.
Colloquial Tehran ـین belongs to a spoken paradigm and should not be mixed with standard ـید.

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