The Formal Progressive
In news reports and formal writing, Persian uses a specific construction to describe actions currently in progress.
| in the process of / currently | در حالdar hâl-e |
To say someone is "in the process of" doing something, use در حال linked with the Ezafe to an action noun (either a formal verbal noun or a full infinitive), followed by the "to be" copula. The action noun itself does not conjugate; only the copula at the end of the sentence changes to match the subject.
| The engineers are currently constructing a big dam. | مهندسان در حال احداث یک سد بزرگ هستند.mohandesân dar hâle ehdâse yek sadde bozorg hastand |
| We are currently building the second phase of the power plant. | در حال ساختن فاز دوم نیروگاه هستیم.dar hâl-e sâkhtan-e fâz-e dovom-e nirougâh hastim |
The Past Tense
You will frequently hear this structure used to discuss infrastructure and public works. To describe an action that was ongoing in the past, keep the exact same structure but use the past tense of the copula (such as بودند) at the end of the sentence.
| As soon as the mayor arrived, they were testing the machinery. | همین که شهردار رسید، آنان در حال آزمایش کردن ماشینآلات بودند.hamin ke shahrdâr resid, ânân dar hâle âzmâyesh kardane mâshin-âlât budand. |
| We had sent the machinery, and they were in the process of starting the project. | ما ماشینآلات را فرستاده بودیم، و آنان در حال شروع کردن پروژه بودند.mâ mâshin-âlât râ ferestâde budim, va ânân dar hâl shoru' kardan poroje budand. |
Compound Verbs and Objects
When using compound verbs, place the entire full infinitive (such as کامل کردن or تماشا کردن) right after در حال. If the action has a direct object, the object simply follows the infinitive or verbal noun, connected by the Ezafe.
| The mayor is currently watching the crane. | شهردار در حال تماشا کردن جرثقیل است.shahrdâr dar hâle tamâshâ kardane jarsaghil ast. |
| The workers are currently completing the final phase of this commercial complex. | کارگران در حال کامل کردن فاز نهایی این مجتمع تجاری هستند.kârgarân dar hâle kâmel kardane fâze nahâ'iye in mojtama'e tejâri hastand |
| A large crane is currently moving the concrete. | یک جرثقیل بزرگ در حال جابهجا کردن بتن است.yek jarsaghil bozorg dar hâle jâbejâ kardan beton ast. |