In Farsi, compound verbs are incredibly common. They usually consist of a noun or adjective followed by a light verb like کردن (to do) or دادن (to give).
Normally, to express the direct object of a verb, you might use an independent pronoun followed by the object marker را (for example: او را ردیابی کردم - I tracked him). However, there is a much more compact, natural-sounding shortcut!
Attaching Enclitics to the Noun
Instead of using an independent pronoun, you can attach an object enclitic directly to the non-verb component of the compound verb.
For "him", "her", or "it", use the third-person singular enclitic اش (often written simply as ش when attached). The enclitic slides right into the middle of the compound verb, safely sandwiched between the noun and the light verb.
| The villain took a hostage, but I tracked him. | شرور گروگان گرفت، اما من ردیابیاش کردم.sharur gerogân gereft, ammâ man radyâbi-ash kardam. |
| This armor was strong, but the alien possessed it. | این زره قوی بود، اما بیگانه تسخیرش کرد.in zereh qavi bud, ammâ bigâne taskhirash kard |
Working with Different Tenses and Negation
This structure works beautifully regardless of the verb's tense or whether the sentence is affirmative or negative. The enclitic stays firmly glued to the noun component, while the light verb does all the heavy lifting for the tense and conjugation.
| They thought he was immortal, but they defeated him. | آنها فکر میکردند که جاودانه است، اما شکستش دادند.ânhâ fekr mikardand ke jâvedâne ast, ammâ shekastash dâdand. |
| We must set a trap for him and arrest him. | باید برای او تله بگذاریم و دستگیرش کنیم.bâyad barâye u tale begozârim va dastgirash konim. |
| We could not track him, therefore we did not pursue him. | نتوانستیم ردیابیاش کنیم، بنابراین تعقیبش نکردیم.natavânestim radyâbi'ash konim, banâbarin ta'qibash nakardim. |
Other Pronouns: Using "Us"
You aren't limited to the third person. You can attach any pronominal enclitic to the noun component to change the object.
For example, to express "us" as the object, attach the first-person plural enclitic مان (or امان). Notice in the next example how the enclitics perfectly handle both "him" and "us" without needing a single independent pronoun.
| We hope that they do not torture him and he rescues us. | امیدواریم که شکنجهاش نکنند و نجاتمان دهد.omidvârim ke shekanje-ash nakonand va nejâtemân dahad. |
