Formal Persian frequently uses مورد + action noun + قرار گرفتن to mean “be subjected to / undergo” an action: مورد بررسی قرار گرفتن “be reviewed,” مورد انتقاد قرار گرفتن “be criticized,” and مورد حمله قرار گرفتن “be attacked.” The affected participant is the subject; قرار گرفتن carries tense and agreement.
This construction suppresses or backgrounds the agent and packages the action as a noun. It is characteristic of official, legal, academic, and news prose (formal). Some combinations, especially مورد حمله قرار گرفتن and مورد توجه قرار گرفتن, are established beyond bureaucracy, but indiscriminate use makes prose heavy.
Internal structure
| Part | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| patient subject | entity affected | درخواست |
| مورد + noun | nominalized action/domain | مورد بررسی |
| قرار گرفتن | finite support predicate | قرار گرفت |
| whole clause | formal passive-like meaning | درخواست مورد بررسی قرار گرفت |
The ezâfe after consonant-final مورد is heard—mowred-e barrasi—but not written. The action element is a noun such as بررسی، انتقاد، حمله، تأیید، استفاده; it is not a conjugated verb or an arbitrary infinitive.
درخواست شما در جلسهی بعد مورد بررسی قرار میگیرد.
darkhâst-e shomâ dar jalase-ye ba'd mowred-e barrasi qarâr mi-girad.
Your request will be reviewed at the next meeting. (formal administrative; present used for scheduled future)
این تصمیم با انتقاد گسترده روبهرو شد و مورد بازنگری قرار گرفت.
in tasmim bâ enteqâd-e gostarde rube-ru shod-o mowred-e bâznegari qarâr gereft.
The decision met widespread criticism and was reconsidered. (formal news/academic prose)
چند خانهی روستا در جریان درگیری مورد حمله قرار گرفتند.
chand khâne-ye rustâ dar jarayân-e dar-giri mowred-e hamle qarâr gereftand.
Several village houses came under attack during the fighting. (formal news register; individuated plural subjects)
Tense, negation, and agreement
Only قرار گرفتن inflects: قرار گرفت، قرار میگیرد، قرار نگرفت، قرار گرفته است، قرار خواهد گرفت. The patient is a grammatical subject, so human plurals normally trigger plural agreement. Inanimate plurals may appear with singular agreement under formal collective construal, but plural is natural when the writer individuates them.
پیشنهادهای برگزیده ماه آینده مورد آزمایش قرار خواهند گرفت.
pishnehâd-hâ-ye bar-gozide mâh-e âyande mowred-e âzmâyesh qarâr khâhand gereft.
The selected proposals will be tested next month. (formal future; plural agreement)
هیچیک از کارکنان مورد بازجویی قرار نگرفتند.
hich-yek az kârkonân mowred-e bâzjuyi qarâr na-gereftand.
None of the employees were interrogated. (formal; negative past and human plural agreement)
The negative prefix and می belong to گرفتن, not to مورد or the action noun: مورد استفاده قرار نمیگیرد. For the full passive system, see Passive across the Tense and Mood System.
Agent suppression and optional agent phrases
The construction is attractive precisely because it can leave the actor unmentioned. If an agent matters, formal prose may add از سوی or توسط, but a clear active clause is often shorter and more natural.
طرح از سوی هیئت علمی مورد تأیید قرار گرفت.
tarh az su-ye hey'at-e elmi mowred-e ta'yid qarâr gereft.
The plan was approved by the academic board. (formal; explicit agent phrase)
هیئت علمی طرح را تأیید کرد.
hey'at-e elmi tarh râ ta'yid kard.
The academic board approved the plan. (formal-neutral active rewrite)
The active rewrite restores the agent as subject and the patient as a را-marked object. It is usually preferable when responsibility is important. The passive-like version is useful when the document’s topic is طرح, when the approver is unknown, or when institutional style deliberately backgrounds responsibility.
Productivity has lexical limits
Many action nouns form conventional sequences: مورد پذیرش، توجه، حمایت، ارزیابی، استفاده، حمله، تهدید. Yet the frame is not a machine for passivizing every verb. Everyday concrete actions often demand ordinary شدن passives or active clauses. Persian says نامه نوشته شد, not the artificial نامه مورد نوشتن قرار گرفت.
روش تازه در چند بیمارستان مورد استفاده قرار گرفته است.
ravesh-e tâze dar chand bimârestân mowred-e estefâde qarâr gerefte ast.
The new method has been used in several hospitals. (formal academic/reporting perfect)
مورد توجه قرار گرفتن often means “receive attention,” and مورد استقبال قرار گرفتن means “be well received.” These are lexicalized evaluations, not merely wordier copies of a single active verb. Their meaning must be learned with the noun.
نمایشگاه کوچک محله مورد استقبال خانوادهها قرار گرفت.
namâyeshgâh-e kuchek-e mahalle mowred-e esteqbâl-e khânevâde-hâ qarâr gereft.
The neighborhood's small exhibition was warmly received by families. (formal-neutral; lexicalized evaluation)
A short editorial exchange
— چرا نوشتی «مورد بررسی قرار گرفت»؟ — چون نمیخواستم نام داور را بیاورم.
— cherâ neveshti ‘mowred-e barrasi qarâr gereft’? — chun nemi-khâstam nâm-e dâvar râ biyâvaram.
— Why did you write ‘was reviewed’? — Because I didn't want to name the reviewer. (professional conversation about agent suppression)
Common Mistakes
1. Using a finite verb after مورد
❌ درخواست مورد بررسی کرد قرار گرفت.
Incorrect — مورد selects the action noun بررسی, not a finite کرد.
✅ درخواست تازه مورد بررسی دقیق قرار گرفت.
darkhâst-e tâze mowred-e barrasi-ye daqiq qarâr gereft.
The new request underwent careful review. (formal)
2. Keeping را on the patient subject
❌ این مقاله را مورد نقد قرار گرفت.
Incorrect — in the passive-like clause, مقاله is subject and takes no را.
✅ این مقاله در نشست دیروز مورد نقد قرار گرفت.
in maqâle dar neshast-e diruz mowred-e naqd qarâr gereft.
This article was criticized at yesterday's session. (formal)
3. Moving negation to the action noun
❌ پرونده مورد نابررسی قرار گرفت.
Incorrect — verbal negation belongs on قرار نگرفت.
✅ پروندهی ناقص مورد بررسی قرار نگرفت.
parvande-ye nâqes mowred-e barrasi qarâr na-gereft.
The incomplete file was not reviewed. (formal)
4. Forcing the frame onto an ordinary concrete verb
❌ نامه مورد نوشتن قرار گرفت.
Incorrect — نوشتن does not supply an established action noun in this frame; use the ordinary participial passive نوشته شد.
✅ نامه همان روز نوشته و ارسال شد.
nâme hamân ruz neveshte-vo ersâl shod.
The letter was written and sent that same day. (neutral standard)
Key Takeaways
- The construction is patient subject + موردِ action noun + قرار گرفتن.
- It belongs mainly to formal institutional registers and commonly suppresses the agent.
- Tense, negation, and agreement appear only on قرار گرفتن.
- Use established nominal collocations; ordinary verbs do not all permit a natural مورد ... قرار گرفتن passive.
- An active rewrite is often clearer when responsibility matters.
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