Once a Persian passive base is established, it can enter the same tense and mood system as other predicates. In نامه نوشته خواهد شد “the letter will be written,” lexical participle نوشته identifies the affected event, while خواهد شد supplies future tense. In نامه نوشته شده باشد “the letter may have been written,” participial شده and subjunctive باشد add perfect anteriority and nonassertion.
The apparent stacks become manageable when read from right to left: first identify the final finite auxiliary, then work backward through perfect شده to the stable lexical passive base.
The passive base stays stable
Simple transitive verbs retain their lexical past participle before شدن: نوشتن has passive نوشته شدن. Many compounds with active کردن instead replace that light verb: بررسی کردن pairs with بررسی شدن. Review that distinction on Passive with شدن: First Pattern.
| Category | Passive form | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| present imperfective | نوشته میشود | participle + present of شدن |
| simple past | نوشته شد | participle + past of شدن |
| present perfect | نوشته شده است | participle + participle of شدن + copula |
| past perfect | نوشته شده بود | participle + شده + past بودن |
| future | نوشته خواهد شد | participle + future auxiliary + short infinitive شد |
| present subjunctive | نوشته شود | participle + subjunctive of شدن |
| perfect subjunctive | نوشته شده باشد | participle + شده + subjunctive بودن |
این گزارش هر سه ماه یک بار بهروزرسانی میشود.
in gozâresh har se mâh yek bâr be-ruz-rasâni mi-shavad.
This report is updated once every three months. (formal-neutral; habitual passive)
نسخهی اصلاحشده دیروز برای اعضا فرستاده شد.
noskhe-ye eslâh-shode diruz barâ-ye a'zâ ferestâde shod.
The revised version was sent to the members yesterday. (formal-neutral; simple-past passive)
Perfect stacks and what each layer means
In نوشته شده است, there are two participles. نوشته belongs to the lexical verb “write”; شده belongs to passive auxiliary شدن; است connects the completed passive event to the present. The past perfect replaces the present copula with بود.
همهی صندلیها پیش از ورود مهمانان چیده شده بود.
hame-ye sandali-hâ pish az vorud-e mehmânân chide shode bud.
All the chairs had been arranged before the guests arrived. (formal-neutral; inanimate collective agreement)
نتیجهی آزمایش هنوز در سامانه ثبت نشده است.
natije-ye âzmâyesh hanuz dar sâmâne sabt na-shode ast.
The test result has not yet been entered in the system. (formal-neutral; negative present-perfect passive)
Negation targets the شدن layer: نوشته نشد، نوشته نمیشود، نوشته نشده است. With a compound passive, the same rule gives تأیید نشده است. Negating the lexical participle would incorrectly treat it like an active perfect.
Future passive
The formal future of شدن places an agreeing form of خواستن before short infinitive شد: خواهم شد، خواهد شد، خواهند شد. The lexical passive base remains before this pair.
نام برندگان فردا در وبگاه جشنواره اعلام خواهد شد.
nâm-e barandegân fardâ dar webgâh-e jashnvâre e'lâm khâhad shod.
The winners' names will be announced tomorrow on the festival website. (formal future passive; singular head نام)
اطلاعات شخصی کاربران بدون اجازه منتشر نخواهد شد.
ettelâ'ât-e shakhsi-ye kârbarân bedun-e ejâze montasher na-khâhad shod.
Users' personal information will not be published without permission. (formal policy register; negative future)
The synthetic future is much more frequent in regulations, announcements, and planned formal prose than in casual conversation. Speakers often choose a futurate present or a third-plural active instead.
Subjunctive and modal passives
Formal written Persian commonly uses bare subjunctive شود، شوند after the passive base. Forms with بـ, such as نوشته بشود, are also grammatical and are especially natural in speech or when the subjunctive is emphasized; they must not be condemned as errors.
این فرم باید پیش از ورود به سالن امضا شود.
in form bâyad pish az vorud be sâlon emzâ shavad.
This form must be signed before entering the hall. (formal-neutral; bare subjunctive passive)
هیچ دارویی نباید بدون برچسب فروخته شود.
hich dâru-yi na-bâyad bedun-e bar-chasb forukhte shavad.
No medicine should be sold without a label. (formal regulation; negative modal)
With میتواند, the passive subjunctive normally follows: میتواند حل شود “can be solved.” A perfect subjunctive places the passive event before the modal evaluation.
این مشکل میتواند با یک تغییر کوچک حل شود.
in moshkel mi-tavânad bâ yek taghyir-e kuchek hall shavad.
This problem can be solved with one small change. (formal-neutral; modal plus passive subjunctive)
ممکن است بخشی از دادهها هنگام انتقال حذف شده باشد.
momken ast bakhshi az dâde-hâ hengâm-e enteqâl hazf shode bâshad.
Some of the data may have been deleted during transfer. (formal-neutral; perfect subjunctive passive)
Agreement follows the affected subject
Human plural patients normally take plural شوند، شدهاند، خواهند شد. An inanimate plural may take singular agreement when construed as one set in formal prose, while plural agreement highlights separate items.
سه پژوهشگر جوان برای مرحلهی نهایی دعوت شدهاند.
se pazhuheshgar-e javân barâ-ye marhale-ye nahâyi da'vat shode-and.
Three young researchers have been invited to the final stage. (formal-neutral; human plural agreement)
مدارک هر متقاضی باید جداگانه بررسی شود.
madârek-e har motaqâzi bâyad jodâgâne barrasi shavad.
Each applicant's documents must be reviewed separately. (formal; inanimate set with singular agreement)
Notice that the lexical participle never agrees: Persian has no equivalents of gendered English or Romance participles here.
Formal and colloquial choices
Passive stacks are natural in formal, administrative, academic, and news registers. Tehran conversation (informal, regional: Tehran) reduces شود/شوند to بشه/بشن when بـ is present, but it also often avoids the passive altogether.
— میشه این بلیت عوض بشه؟ — نه، بعد از خرید نمیشه عوضش کرد.
— mi-she in belit avaz be-she? — na, ba'd az kharid nemi-she avaz-ash kard.
— Can this ticket be changed? — No, after purchase it can't be changed. (informal, regional: Tehran; passive and impersonal alternatives)
That dialogue is internally colloquial. A formal document would use آیا این بلیت قابل تعویض است؟ or این بلیت پس از خرید تعویض نمیشود.
Common Mistakes
1. Putting negation on the lexical participle
❌ گزارش بررسی نکرده شده است.
Incorrect — passive negation belongs on شدن: بررسی نشده است.
✅ گزارش حادثه هنوز بررسی نشده است.
gozâresh-e hâdese hanuz barrasi na-shode ast.
The incident report has not been reviewed yet.
2. Using a full infinitive in the future stack
❌ نتیجه اعلام خواهد شدن.
Incorrect — the Persian future uses short infinitive شد after خواهد.
✅ نتیجهی داوری تا پایان هفته اعلام خواهد شد.
natije-ye dâvari tâ pâyân-e hafte e'lâm khâhad shod.
The judging result will be announced by the end of the week.
3. Attaching می to the lexical participle
❌ نامه مینوشته شود.
Incorrect for the basic present passive — imperfective می belongs on شدن.
✅ نامههای فوری همان روز نوشته میشوند.
nâme-hâ-ye fowri hamân ruz neveshte mi-shavand.
Urgent letters are written the same day.
4. Using singular agreement for human patients
❌ کارکنان تازه باید معرفی شود.
Incorrect — human plural کارکنان requires plural شوند.
✅ کارکنان تازه باید به همهی بخشها معرفی شوند.
kârkonân-e tâze bâyad be hame-ye bakhsh-hâ mo'arrefi shavand.
The new employees must be introduced to all departments.
Key Takeaways
- Keep the lexical passive base stable and place tense, mood, and negation on شدن.
- Perfect passives stack lexical base + شده + copula/بودن.
- Future passives use خواهد/خواهند + شد, never full infinitive شدن.
- Modal passives commonly use subjunctive شود/شوند; perfect modal meanings use شده باشد/باشند.
- Agreement follows the affected subject, with Persian's human-plural and inanimate-collective contrast.
Now practice Farsi
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
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.
- Passive in Present and PastA2 — Conjugate Persian passives across present, past, negative, and perfect forms while controlling agreement, agent suppression, and result-state ambiguity.
- Future with خواستنA2 — Build the explicit Persian future with conjugated خواه plus a bare past stem, including negation, compound predicates, and its formal register.
- Present Subjunctive FormationA2 — Form the Persian present subjunctive with بـ, the present stem, and personal endings, including vowel allomorphy, preverbs, compounds, irregulars, and stress.
- Perfect SubjunctiveB1 — Form and use the Persian perfect subjunctive—رفته باشم and its paradigm—to place an earlier event inside doubt, possibility, desire, or evaluation.
- 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.