Causative verbs (-ân-, -ândan)

Causative Verbs (Gozarâ kardan)

In Farsi, you can turn an intransitive verb (an action you do) into a transitive verb (an action you make someone else do) using the causative form.

To form a causative verb, add ـاندن to the present stem of the base verb.

Base VerbPresent StemCausative InfinitiveMeaning
خوابیدنخوابخواباندنto put to sleep
خندیدنخندخنداندنto make laugh
ترسیدنترسترساندنto frighten
فهمیدنفهمفهماندنto make understand

Stem Changes

Some stems undergo a slight change before adding the causative suffix. For example, the present stem of نشستن (to sit) is نشین, but the causative drops the ی to become نشاندن (to seat).

Conjugation

Causative verbs conjugate regularly. The past stem ends in ـاند and the present stem ends in ـان. You form imperatives, subjunctives, negatives, and continuous tenses just like any other regular verb.

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