کردن as Do, Make, Cause, and Light Verb | Farsi Grammar

Persian کردن can be a full verb meaning “do,” a causative verb in گرم کردن “make warm,” or a light verb in hundreds of predicates such as کار کردن “work,” بررسی کردن “examine,” and صحبت کردن “talk.” In the last group, the noun or adjective contributes most of the lexical meaning while کردن carries person, tense, mood, aspect, and negation.

This does not make کردن a universal translation of English do or make. Persian says میز ساختن “make a table,” کیک درست کردن “make a cake,” تصمیم گرفتن “make a decision,” and عکس گرفتن “take a photo.” Productivity is real, but each whole predicate and its argument structure still have to be learned.

Four roles for کردن

Role	Structure	Example	Core meaning
full verb	agent + object + کردن	این کار را کردم	do, perform
causative	causer + patient + adjective + کردن	اتاق را گرم کردم	cause to become
light verb	nonverbal element + کردن	بررسی کردم	one lexical predicate: examine
productive loanword host	borrowed noun + کردن	فایل را اسکن کردم	perform the borrowed action

The borders are not always sharp. تمیز کردن can be analyzed compositionally as “make clean,” but it is also a highly conventional lexical predicate meaning “clean.” That overlap is normal: light verbs develop precisely because repeated compositional combinations become stored vocabulary.

Literal کردن: doing an identifiable action

As a full verb, کردن can take کار “work, deed” or a pronoun referring to an already known action. The object is something performed rather than something manufactured.

این کار را بدون کمک کسی انجام دادم، ولی دوباره نمی‌کنم.

in kâr râ bedun-e komak-e kasi anjâm dâdam, vali do-bâre nemi-konam.

I did this without anyone's help, but I won't do it again. (neutral; کردن resumes the known action)

برای تولد مادرت چه کار کردی؟

barâ-ye tavallod-e mâdar-at che kâr kardi?

What did you do for your mother's birthday? (neutral conversation)

اگر برق دوباره قطع شد، باید چه کنیم؟

agar barq do-bâre qat' shod, bâyad che konim?

If the power goes out again, what should we do? (neutral; subjunctive کنیم after باید)

English also uses do as a general auxiliary in questions and negation: Do you know? I don't know. Persian کردن does not fill that auxiliary role. It says می‌دانی؟ نمی‌دانم, with question intonation and verbal negation directly on دانستن.

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Use literal کردن when an action itself is the object—often کار، این کار، چه کار—or when it resumes a known action. Do not insert it merely because an English sentence contains auxiliary do.

Causative کردن: making something enter a state

With many adjectives and state expressions, کردن adds a causer and an affected object. Its شدن partner removes the causer and presents the affected participant as subject.

بخاری کوچک اتاق را خیلی زود گرم کرد.

bokhâri-ye kuchek otâq râ kheyli zud garm kard.

The small heater warmed the room very quickly. (neutral; nonhuman causer)

خبر لغو پرواز همه‌ی مسافران را نگران کرد.

khabar-e laghv-e parvâz hame-ye mosâferân râ negarân kard.

The news that the flight was canceled worried all the passengers. (neutral causative)

صدای زنگ بچه را بیدار کرد.

sedâ-ye zang bachche râ bidâr kard.

The sound of the bell woke the child. (neutral lexical causative)

In each clause, the subject causes a change and the را-marked noun undergoes it. Compare اتاق گرم شد، مسافران نگران شدند، بچه بیدار شد. Not every adjective freely forms both patterns, however. Established usage—not a universal transformation—determines which pair is natural.

The suffixal causative described on The Full Causative Paradigm is a different morphological strategy. At B1, adjective + کردن is usually the more transparent and productive way to express caused states.

کردن as a light verb

In کار کردن، فکر کردن، تمرین کردن، بررسی کردن, the two written words form one lexical predicate. The nonverbal element is not simply an ordinary direct object of a fully meaningful “do.” For example, فکر کردن selects به for what someone thinks about, and صحبت کردن commonly selects با for the interlocutor and درباره‌ی for the topic.

کارشناس همه‌ی مدارک را با دقت بررسی کرد.

kârshenâs hame-ye madârek râ bâ deqqat barrasi kard.

The specialist examined all the documents carefully. (formal-neutral; transitive بررسی کردن)

دیشب مدت زیادی به پیشنهاد تو فکر کردم.

dishab moddat-e ziyâdi be pishnehâd-e to fekr kardam.

I thought about your suggestion for a long time last night. (neutral; فکر کردن with به)

فردا با مدیر درباره‌ی ساعت کاری صحبت می‌کنیم.

fardâ bâ modir darbâre-ye sâ'at-e kâri sohbat mi-konim.

Tomorrow we'll talk with the manager about working hours. (neutral; complements of صحبت کردن)

The whole predicate determines transitivity. بررسی کردن is transitive and can take a specific را-marked object. کار کردن is normally intransitive. فکر کردن often has a به complement. The fact that all contain کردن does not give them identical syntax.

پدرم سی سال در همین کارگاه کار کرد.

pedar-am si sâl dar hamin kârgâh kâr kard.

My father worked in this same workshop for thirty years. (neutral; intransitive کار کردن)

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Record a light-verb predicate with its complements: فکر کردن به چیزی, صحبت کردن با کسی درباره‌ی چیزی, چیزی را بررسی کردن. The light verb alone cannot predict valency.

Conjugate کردن, keep the nonverbal element stable

The past stem is کرد and the present stem is کن. Aspect, mood, person, and negation attach to this light verb; the preceding noun or adjective remains stable.

Category	بررسی کردن	Structure
simple past, 1sg	بررسی کردم	بررسی + کرد + م
present, 1sg	بررسی می‌کنم	بررسی + می‌ + کن + م
negative present	بررسی نمی‌کنم	بررسی + نمی‌ + کن + م
present subjunctive	بررسی کنم	بررسی + کن + م
present perfect	بررسی کرده‌ام	بررسی + کرده‌ام

هنوز صورت‌حساب این ماه را بررسی نکرده‌ام.

hanuz surat-hesâb-e in mâh râ barrasi na-karde-am.

I haven't reviewed this month's bill yet. (neutral present perfect)

پیشنهاد می‌کنم پیش از خرید قیمت‌ها را مقایسه کنی.

pishnehâd mi-konam pish az kharid qeymat-hâ râ moqâyese koni.

I suggest that you compare prices before buying. (neutral; present plus subjunctive)

Negation belongs on the light verb: بررسی نمی‌کنم, not on بررسی. In a neutral affirmative compound, the final lexical syllable of the nonverbal element carries the predicate's main prominence, while کردن is comparatively weak. Finite نَـ/نِـ takes over as the main prominence in negative forms such as بررسی نکردم and بررسی نمی‌کنم. Corrective focus can strengthen either part, but it never changes written prefix placement.

Productivity does not eliminate lexical choice

Contemporary Persian readily combines some borrowed technological nouns with کردن: اسکن کردن، دانلود کردن، کپی کردن. These are neutral in everyday technical conversation, although a formal editor may prefer Persian alternatives in some institutional writing.

رسید را اسکن کردم و برای حسابداری فرستادم.

resid râ eskan kardam-o barâ-ye hesâbdâri ferestâdam.

I scanned the receipt and sent it to accounting. (neutral technical conversation)

این برنامه فایل‌ها را خودکار فشرده می‌کند.

in barnâme fâyl-hâ râ khodkâr feshorde mi-konad.

This program compresses the files automatically. (technical; causative adjective predicate)

But learners cannot attach کردن to every noun. Persian chooses تصمیم گرفتن “decide,” عکس گرفتن “take a photo,” گوش دادن “listen,” پاسخ دادن “answer,” and آتش گرفتن “catch fire.” Some alternative pairings exist in restricted meanings or varieties, so the honest rule is lexical: verify and memorize the full infinitive.

بالاخره تصمیم گرفتیم خانه را تعمیر کنیم.

belâkhare tasmim gereftim khâne râ ta'mir konim.

We finally decided to renovate the house. (neutral; تصمیم گرفتن, not a freely invented کردن compound)

English make is especially misleading. Use ساختن for manufacturing or constructing many objects, درست کردن for preparing food or fixing/making something, and the relevant lexical light verb for abstract expressions.

عمویم این میز چوبی را خودش ساخت.

amu-yam in miz-e chubi râ khod-ash sâkht.

My uncle made this wooden table himself. (neutral; ساختن for constructing an object)

برای شام سوپ جو درست می‌کنم.

barâ-ye shâm sup-e jow dorost mi-konam.

I'm making barley soup for dinner. (neutral; درست کردن for preparing food)

A short conversation

— با این فایل چه کار کنم؟ — اول بازش کن و بعد یک نسخه کپی کن.

— bâ in fâyl che kâr konam? — avval bâz-ash kon-o ba'd yek noskhe kopi kon.

— What should I do with this file? — Open it first, then make a copy. (informal-neutral technical conversation)

Here the first کردن is the general verb “do”; باز کردن is causative “open something”; کپی کردن is a borrowed-noun light-verb predicate. The conversation is natural precisely because Persian assigns three different lexical structures to one small exchange.

Common Mistakes

1. Leaving کردن as an infinitive in a finite clause

❌ من هر روز در خانه ورزش کردن.

Incorrect — the infinitive کردن does not express present tense or first person.

✅ من بیشتر روزها در خانه ورزش می‌کنم.

man bishtar-e ruz-hâ dar khâne varzesh mi-konam.

I exercise at home most days.

2. Using the present stem in a simple-past form

❌ دیروز اتاق را تمیز کنتم.

Incorrect — simple past uses past stem کرد, not present stem کن.

✅ دیروز اتاق مهمان را تمیز کردم.

diruz otâq-e mehmân râ tamiz kardam.

Yesterday I cleaned the guest room.

3. Moving می‌ onto or inside the nonverbal element

❌ کارشناس می‌بررسی کند.

Incorrect — می‌ attaches to present stem کن; بررسی remains separate and unchanged.

✅ کارشناس درخواست‌ها را بررسی می‌کند.

kârshenâs darkhâst-hâ râ barrasi mi-konad.

The specialist reviews the applications.

4. Treating کردن as universal English “make”

❌ نجار یک صندلی تازه کرد.

Incorrect for ‘made a new chair’ — constructing furniture uses ساختن.

✅ نجار برای آشپزخانه یک صندلی تازه ساخت.

najjâr barâ-ye âshpazkhâne yek sandali-ye tâze sâkht.

The carpenter made a new chair for the kitchen.

5. Omitting را from a specific affected object

❌ این خبر من نگران کرد.

Incorrect in standard Persian — the specific pronoun object needs را, its fused form مرا, or an object clitic.

✅ این خبر مرا خیلی نگران کرد.

in khabar ma-râ kheyli negarân kard.

This news worried me a lot.

Key Takeaways

Literal کردن means “do/perform,” but it is not an English-style question or negation auxiliary.
Adjective + کردن often adds a causer and affected object; شدن commonly presents the affected participant as subject.
In light-verb compounds, conjugate کردن but learn the whole predicate and its complements as one lemma.
کردن is productive with established nouns and new technical loans, not freely attachable to every noun.
English do and make divide among کردن، انجام دادن، درست کردن، ساختن and many stored compound predicates.

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