Persian does not have one pronoun exactly equivalent to generic English one, nor does it normally insert a meaningless subject like English it in “it is possible.” Instead, it suppresses the actor and lets the predicate signal how that actor should be understood. میگویند “people say,” میشود رفت “one can go,” باید صبر کرد “one must wait,” and میتوان دید “one can see” are four important but grammatically different solutions.
All four can receive an English passive translation: میگویند جاده بسته است may become “the road is said to be closed.” That translation does not make the Persian clause passive. The crucial question is whether Persian has an understood generic human actor, an invariant modal predicate, or a patient subject in a true passive.
Four ways to leave the actor unexpressed
| Pattern | Typical interpretation | Register | Agreement |
|---|---|---|---|
| میگویند + clause | people say / it is said | neutral; میگن informal Tehran | third-person plural |
| میشود + short infinitive | one can; it is possible/permitted | neutral; میشه informal Tehran | frozen third-person singular |
| باید + short infinitive | one must / it is necessary | neutral | باید itself is invariant |
| میتوان + short infinitive | one can / it is possible to | formal, academic | invariant |
A short infinitive is the past stem used without ـن and without a personal ending: رفت، دید، کرد. It does not identify an actor. With میشود، باید، میتوان, that missing actor is normally understood as people in general or anyone in the relevant situation.
میگویند این نانوایی بهترین سنگک محله را دارد.
mi-guyand in nânvâyi behtarin sangak-e mahalle râ dârad.
People say this bakery has the best sangak in the neighborhood. (neutral standard)
از این پنجره میشود کوه را دید.
az in panjare mi-shavad kuh râ did.
You can see the mountain from this window. (neutral; literally, one can see)
برای ورود باید کارت شناسایی نشان داد.
barâ-ye vorud bâyad kârt-e shenâsâyi neshân dâd.
You have to show identification to enter. (neutral general requirement)
از این دادهها میتوان نتیجهی دیگری گرفت.
az in dâde-hâ mi-tavân natije-ye digari gereft.
A different conclusion can be drawn from these data. (academic)
English must choose you, one, people, or a passive. Persian can keep the generic actor unspoken because the construction already supplies it. This is ordinary subject suppression, not vagueness or incomplete grammar.
Generic third plural: people, not a passive patient
With verbs of saying, believing, selling, building, and institutional action, Persian often uses an active third-person plural without an overt subject. میگویند literally has plural agreement: “they say.” The understood subject may be humanity in general, local residents, employees of an institution, or another contextually recoverable group.
در این روستا هنوز نان را در تنور میپزند.
dar in rustâ hanuz nân râ dar tanur mi-pazand.
In this village, they still bake bread in a clay oven. (neutral; generic local people)
گفتند جواب آزمایش فردا آماده میشود.
goftand javâb-e âzmâyesh fardâ âmâde mi-shavad.
They said the test result would be ready tomorrow. (neutral; a contextually recoverable staff or institution)
The first subject is generic; the second is merely omitted because speaker and listener know who “they” are. Persian morphology alone does not force one reading. A source phrase such as در خبرها “in the news,” a setting such as در این روستا, or prior discourse resolves it.
Invariant modality versus personal obligation
In میشود رفت and formal میتوان رفت, the modal stays invariant and رفت is a short infinitive. By contrast, personal توانستن agrees with a subject and normally selects a present-subjunctive verb: میتوانیم برویم “we can go.” The two structures frame the same possibility differently.
اگر زود راه بیفتیم، میتوانیم پیش از تاریکی برسیم.
agar zud râh bi-oftim, mi-tavânim pish az târiki be-resim.
If we set off early, we can arrive before dark. (neutral; personal ability/possibility)
با مترو میشود در بیست دقیقه به بازار رسید.
bâ metro mi-shavad dar bist daqiqe be bâzâr resid.
You can reach the bazaar by metro in twenty minutes. (neutral; general possibility)
باید is also invariant, but the following form determines whether the actor is generic or specific. باید رفت means “one must go”; باید برویم means “we must go”; باید بروید means “you must go” in plural or polite address. The verb after باید is subjunctive when it carries person.
باید آرامتر صحبت کنیم؛ بچه خوابیده است.
bâyad ârâm-tar sohbat konim; bachche khâbide ast.
We should speak more quietly; the child is asleep. (neutral; specific first-person plural actor)
در روزهای برفی باید آهسته رانندگی کرد.
dar ruz-hâ-ye barfi bâyad âheste rânandegi kard.
On snowy days, one must drive slowly. (neutral general advice)
See Impersonal میشود and Impersonal میتوان for their complete formation.
Why an English passive may hide an active Persian clause
Compare این فرم را آنلاین پر میکنند and این فرم آنلاین پر میشود. The first is active: the form carries object marker را, and an unnamed plural actor fills it out. The second is passive: این فرم is the patient subject, carries no را, and میشود is the passive auxiliary after پر.
این فرم را فقط بهصورت آنلاین قبول میکنند.
in form râ faqat be-surat-e ânlâyn qabul mi-konand.
This form is accepted only online. (neutral Persian third-plural active; English passive translation)
این فرم پس از امضا در بایگانی نگهداری میشود.
in form pas az emzâ dar bâyegâni negahdâri mi-shavad.
After it is signed, this form is kept in the archive. (formal passive)
The same surface form میشود also has a modal use. A following short infinitive is a strong diagnostic: میشود این فرم را آنلاین پر کرد has frozen singular میشود, object این فرم را, and short infinitive کرد. A true passive instead makes the form the subject: این فرم آنلاین پر میشود.
میشود این هزینه را با کارت پرداخت کرد.
mi-shavad in hazine râ bâ kârt pardâkht kard.
This fee can be paid by card. (neutral impersonal modal, not a grammatical passive)
Register and everyday reductions
Standard writing uses میگویند، میشود، میتوان. In informal Tehran speech, میگویند commonly becomes میگن and میشود becomes میشه. These are spoken forms, not standard spellings for formal prose. In academic argument, invariant میتوان is especially common because it allows a conclusion without naming the researcher.
میگن آخر هفته هوا سرد میشه.
mi-gan âkhar-e hafte havâ sard mi-she.
They say the weather will get cold this weekend. (informal, regional: Tehran)
با مقایسهی دو نمودار میتوان این روند را دقیقتر توضیح داد.
bâ moqâyese-ye do nemudâr mi-tavân in ravand râ daqiq-tar towzih dâd.
By comparing the two charts, one can explain this trend more precisely. (academic)
Common Mistakes
1. Pluralizing frozen impersonal میشود
❌ اینجا میشوند چای خورد.
Incorrect — impersonal میشود remains singular even when many people could perform the action.
✅ در حیاط میشود چای خورد.
dar hayât mi-shavad chây khord.
You can drink tea in the courtyard.
2. Using a full infinitive after invariant میتوان
❌ میتوان از اینجا دریا را دیدن.
Incorrect — invariant میتوان selects the short form دید, not full infinitive دیدن.
✅ از پشتبام میتوان دریا را دید.
az posht-bâm mi-tavân daryâ râ did.
The sea can be seen from the roof. (formal-neutral)
3. Mixing a را-marked object with passive agreement
❌ فرمها را فردا بررسی میشوند.
Incorrect — را makes فرمها an object, but میشوند treats it like a plural passive subject.
✅ فرمها را فردا بررسی میکنند.
form-hâ râ fardâ barrasi mi-konand.
They will review the forms tomorrow. (generic or contextually recoverable actor)
4. Using an infinitive where باید requires a personal subjunctive
❌ ما باید زود رسیدن.
Incorrect — an explicit ما requires a first-person plural verb after باید.
✅ ما باید پیش از ساعت نه برسیم.
mâ bâyad pish az sâ'at-e noh be-resim.
We must arrive before nine.
Key Takeaways
- A subjectless third plural such as میگویند still has an understood human actor; it is grammatically active.
- Frozen میشود, باید, and formal میتوان can combine with a short infinitive to express generic possibility or necessity.
- A personal verb after باید or personal توانستن identifies the actor through its ending.
- Diagnose Persian structure through را, verb form, and agreement—not through an English passive translation.
- Use standard forms in writing; label colloquial میگن and میشه as informal Tehran speech.
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Impersonal میشودA2 — Use impersonal میشود for possibility, permission, and generic action, and distinguish it from agreeing passive and lexical شدن constructions.
- Impersonal میتوانA2 — Use invariant formal میتوان with a short infinitive for generic ability and possibility, and distinguish it from personal توانستن and impersonal میشود.
- Present Subjunctive FormationA2 — Form the Persian present subjunctive with بـ, the present stem, and personal endings, including vowel allomorphy, preverbs, compounds, irregulars, and stress.
- Passive in Present and PastA2 — Conjugate Persian passives across present, past, negative, and perfect forms while controlling agreement, agent suppression, and result-state ambiguity.
- Avoiding the Passive with Third-Plural ActivesB1 — Use referential or arbitrary third-plural active verbs to background a human actor, especially where English prefers a passive.
- Pro-Drop and When Pronouns AppearA1 — Omit recoverable Persian subject pronouns, but state them for contrast, emphasis, topic changes, politeness, or reference clarity.