Object Clitics on Infinitives and Participles | Farsi Grammar

Persian enclitics can follow nonfinite forms, but their grammatical role is not visible from spelling alone. دیدنش can mean “seeing him/her/it,” where ـش is the understood object of دیدن; in a suitable context it can also mean “his/her seeing,” where the same suffix identifies the understood performer of the nominalized action. گفته‌شدنش “its being said” contains the passive infinitive گفته‌شدن, so ـش is the theme of the passive event, not a direct object.

Participles impose a different restriction. In a perfect such as باز کرده بودیم, the lexical participle کرده is not freely available as an object-clitic host. Persian instead places the clitic on a preverbal element—بازش کرده بودیم—or on the finite auxiliary—باز کرده بودیمش. Learning to identify the host and the clitic's semantic role prevents several deceptively similar strings from being collapsed into one rule.

One suffix series, several grammatical relations

Form	Status of host	Likely role of clitic	Reading
دیدنش	nominal infinitive	object or understood performer	seeing him/her/it; his/her seeing
آمدنش	nominal infinitive	understood performer	his/her coming
گفته‌شدنش	passive infinitive	passive theme	its being said
بازش کرده بودیم	nonverbal element before participle	object of complete predicate	we had opened it
باز کرده بودیمش	finite auxiliary	object of complete predicate	we had opened it
نسخه‌ی ویرایش‌شده‌اش	edge of a noun phrase	possessor of the noun phrase	his/her edited version

The clitic inventory ـم، ـت، ـش، ـمان، ـتان، ـشان is formally the same across possession and object marking. Syntax and the valency of the nonfinite verb decide the relation. English normally uses separate words—him, his, its—so an English gloss can hide the Persian ambiguity rather than resolve it.

💡

First identify whether the host is a nominal infinitive, a lexical participle, an auxiliary, or the last word of a noun phrase. Only then decide whether the suffix is object, performer, passive theme, or possessor.

Object clitics on nominal infinitives

A long infinitive can function as an action noun. If its transitive verb has a definite, recoverable object, an enclitic can represent that object. The entire infinitival phrase can then serve as subject, complement, or object of a preposition.

دیدنش بعد از پانزده سال برایم عجیب بود.

didan-ash ba'd az pânzdah sâl barâ-yam ajib bud.

Seeing him or her after fifteen years felt strange to me. (neutral standard; ـش is the object of seeing)

پرونده‌ها برچسب نداشتند و پیدا کردنشان بدون شماره تقریبا ناممکن بود.

parvande-hâ barchasb na-dâshtand va peydâ kardan-eshân bedun-e shomâre taqriban nâ-momken bud.

The files had no labels, and finding them without a number was almost impossible. (formal-neutral; plural object of a compound infinitive)

آن حرف زننده بود و از شنیدنش جلوی بقیه خجالت کشیدم.

ân harf zanande bud va az shenidan-ash jelow-e baqiye khejâlat keshidam.

That remark was offensive, and I was embarrassed to hear it in front of everyone else. (neutral; an overt antecedent forces the object reading)

The clitic replaces an object that would otherwise be expressed more fully: دیدن او, پیدا کردن آن‌ها, شنیدن آن حرف. It does not combine with را as a second marker of that internal object. The whole infinitival phrase may nevertheless take را when a matrix predicate treats the entire nominalized action as its specific object.

خواندنش را به همه‌ی اعضای گروه توصیه می‌کنم.

khândan-ash râ be hame-ye a'zâ-ye goruh towsiye mi-konam.

I recommend reading it to all the group members. (را marks the whole nominalized phrase as the matrix object)

— دیدنش بعد از این همه سال سخت بود؟ — نه، فقط عجیب بود.

— didan-ash ba'd az in hame sâl sakht bud? — na, faqat ajib bud.

‘Was it hard to see him or her after all these years?’ ‘No, it was just strange.’ (neutral dialogue; known referent gives ـش an object reading)

The infinitive remains nonfinite: person and tense belong to the surrounding clause, not to دیدن or پیدا کردن.

With compound infinitives, the clitic commonly follows the whole infinitive as in پیدا کردنشان. Internal placement such as پیدایشان کردن can belong to other structures and is not a free equivalent in every predicate. Host preferences inside finite compound verbs are treated on Object Clitics inside Compound Verbs.

Performer or object: the ambiguity of دیدنش and خواندنش

Because an infinitive is nominal, its enclitic can behave like a possessor and identify the action's understood performer. An intransitive verb makes this clear: آمدنش cannot mean “coming him,” because آمدن has no direct object. It means “his/her coming.”

آمدنش در آن ساعت همه را غافلگیر کرد.

âmadan-ash dar ân sâ'at hame râ ghâfelgir kard.

His or her arrival at that hour surprised everyone. (neutral standard; ـش is the performer of an intransitive action)

بلند حرف زدنشان تمرکز بقیه را به هم می‌زد.

boland harf zadan-eshân tamarkoz-e baqiye râ be ham mi-zad.

Their talking loudly kept disrupting everyone else's concentration. (neutral; ـشان identifies the plural performers)

A transitive infinitive can support both relations. خواندنش دشوار بود may mean “reading it was difficult” or, with an understood object, “his/her reading was difficult.” This is a real ambiguity, not a rule that context always resolves effortlessly.

خواندنش با این فونت ریز چشمم را خسته می‌کند.

khândan-ash bâ in font-e riz cheshm-am râ khaste mi-konad.

Reading it in this small font tires my eyes. (neutral; context forces an object reading)

این‌که او متن را بدون مکث خواند، داورها را تحت تأثیر قرار داد.

in-ke u matn râ bedun-e maks khând, dâvar-hâ râ taht-e ta'sir qarâr dâd.

The fact that he or she read the text without pausing impressed the judges. (formal-neutral; finite clause removes performer/object ambiguity)

When both participants matter, expand one or both: خواندن این متن توسط او is possible (formal/bureaucratic), but a finite clause is usually clearer and more natural. For the nominal syntax of the long infinitive itself, see Long Infinitives as Verbal Nouns.

💡

Use valency as a diagnostic. With intransitive آمدن, the clitic in آمدنش must identify the arriver. With transitive دیدن, the same form can encode object or performer, so context or expansion must settle the reading.

Passive infinitives: گفته‌شدنش

The passive infinitive combines a lexical passive base with شدن: گفته‌شدن، دیده‌شدن، پذیرفته‌شدن. The active object has become the affected participant of the passive event. An attached clitic therefore refers to that passive theme.

گفته‌شدنش در جلسه ممکن بود به همکاری دو گروه آسیب بزند.

gofte-shodan-ash dar jalase momken bud be hamkâri-ye do goruh âsib be-zanad.

Its being said in the meeting might have damaged cooperation between the two groups. (formal; ـش is the proposition said, not an agent)

منتشرشدنشان پیش از اعلام رسمی قابل قبول نبود.

montasher-shodan-eshân pish az e'lâm-e rasmi qâbel-e qabul na-bud.

Their being published before the official announcement was unacceptable. (formal; ـشان identifies the items published)

The agent is deliberately absent. If the writer needs to identify it, a finite active clause is often more idiomatic than piling an agent phrase onto the nominalization: این‌که خبرنگار خبر را منتشر کرد ... “the fact that the reporter published the news ...”.

Participles inside perfects do not freely host objects

The written sequence in a perfect can be misleading. A lexical participle such as کرده or دیده is not normally the object-clitic host when a following auxiliary completes the tense. In the past perfect, place the clitic before the participle on a licensed element or after finite بودن.

تا پلیس رسید، در را بازش کرده بودیم.

tâ polis resid, dar râ bâz-ash karde budim.

By the time the police arrived, we had opened the door. (informal/marked clitic doubling; the clitic is hosted by باز)

نقشه را قبلا دیده بودیمش، اما مسیر یادمان نبود.

naqshe râ qablan dide budim-ash, ammâ masir yâd-emân na-bud.

We had seen the map before, but we did not remember the route. (careful conversation; object clitic on the finite auxiliary, doubled for emphasis)

The doubled full objects make the host relation visible, though formal prose would usually choose the uncliticized در را باز کرده بودیم and نقشه را دیده بودیم. A form such as دیده‌اش بودیم is not the standard way to say “we had seen him/her”; it invites a possessive or otherwise nominal reading of دیده‌اش.

In the present perfect, attached copular endings form a tight word with the participle. Conservative standard prose therefore prefers a full object or an earlier host: او را دیده‌ایم, تمامش کرده‌ایم. Do not mechanically append another clitic to yield forms such as دیده‌ایمش in edited prose.

Participial adjectives and noun-phrase possession

When a participle modifies a noun, a final enclitic can possess the whole noun phrase. نسخه‌ی ویرایش‌شده‌اش normally means “his/her edited version,” not “the version that edited him/her.” The clitic is pronounced on the participial adjective because Persian possessive enclitics can occur at the right edge of a noun phrase.

نسخه‌ی امضاشده‌اش را در پوشه‌ی اصلی پیدا کردم.

noskhe-ye emzâ-shode-ash râ dar pushe-ye asli peydâ kardam.

I found his or her signed copy in the main folder. (formal-neutral; ـش possesses نسخه, not an object of امضاشده)

Common Mistakes

1. Marking an infinitival subject with را

❌ دیدنش را برایم سخت بود.

Incorrect — دیدنش is the subject of سخت بود here, so the whole phrase does not take را; را is possible when that phrase is instead a matrix direct object.

✅ دوباره دیدنش برای من از نظر عاطفی سخت بود.

dobâre didan-ash barâ-ye man az nazar-e âtefi sakht bud.

Seeing him or her again was emotionally difficult for me.

2. Assuming every ـش on an infinitive is an object

❌ آمدنش یعنی آمدن او را.

Incorrect analysis — آمدن is intransitive, so ـش identifies the arriver rather than a direct object.

✅ دیر آمدنش برنامه‌ی همه را به هم زد.

dir âmadan-ash barnâme-ye hame râ be ham zad.

His or her late arrival disrupted everyone's plans.

3. Attaching an object clitic to the lexical participle

❌ پرونده را بررسی کرده‌اش بودیم.

Incorrect for ‘we had reviewed it’ — کرده is not the object host in this past-perfect structure.

✅ پرونده را پیش از جلسه بررسی کرده بودیم.

parvande râ pish az jalase barrasi karde budim.

We had reviewed the file before the meeting.

4. Reading noun-phrase possession as verbal object marking

❌ گزارش منتشرشده‌اش یعنی گزارشی که او را منتشر کرده‌اند.

Incorrect analysis — in the ordinary reading, ـش possesses گزارش; it is not the object of منتشرشده.

✅ گزارش منتشرشده‌اش چند خطای آماری داشت.

gozâresh-e montasher-shode-ash chand khatâ-ye âmâri dâsht.

His or her published report contained several statistical errors.

Key Takeaways

On a nominal infinitive, an enclitic may represent the action's object or its understood performer; valency and context decide.
On a passive infinitive such as گفته‌شدنش, the clitic identifies the affected theme, not a direct object or agent.
A lexical participle inside a perfect does not freely host an object clitic; use a licensed preverbal host, the finite auxiliary where possible, or a full object.
A clitic after a participial adjective can possess the entire noun phrase, as in نسخه‌ی ویرایش‌شده‌اش.
Expand ambiguous compact forms in formal prose rather than asking punctuation or translation alone to resolve them.

Now practice Farsi

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Farsi →