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To say that an action "must" or "might" happen, Farsi often uses **impersonal modals**. Instead of conjugating a modal verb for a specific person (like "I must" or "he might"), you use a fixed phrase meaning "It is necessary that..." or "It is possible that..."

These structures are formed by placing the impersonal phrase at the beginning of the sentence, optionally followed by **که** (that), and then conjugating the main verb in the **Present Subjunctive**.

### It is necessary (لازم است)

**لازم است** (it is necessary) is frequently used to talk about rules, requirements, and needs. It is one of the most common ways to say "have to" or "must."

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Notice how the first part of the sentence (**لازم است**) never changes, but the final verb is conjugated in the subjunctive to match the person actually performing the action (e.g., "we obey" vs. "you use").

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### It is possible (ممکن است)

To express probability, such as "might," "may," or "could," use **ممکن است** (it is possible). This is highly useful for talking about potential hazards and risks.

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Just like with necessity, the final verb changes to match the subject of the clause:

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### Putting It Together

In safety protocols and everyday warnings, you will frequently hear both structures used together to explain *what* you must do, and *why* it might be dangerous if you don't.

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Impersonal modals (lâzem ast, momken ast)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

suffix

verb

Singular pronouns and copula (man, -am)

Plural pronouns and copula (mâ, -im)

Subject pronoun omission

Singular demonstratives (in, ân)

Plural demonstratives (inhâ, ânhâ)

Independent copula (hastam, hast)

Negative present copula (nistam, nist)

Yes/No questions (âyâ)

Regular plurals (-hâ)

Animate plurals (-ân)

Indefiniteness (yek)

Indefinite marker (-i)

Describing nouns (-e / -ye)

Possession (-e / -ye)

Singular possessives (-am, -at, -ash)

Plural possessives (-emân, -etân, -eshân)

Basic prepositions (dar, be, az, bâ)

Spatial prepositions (ru-ye, zir-e...)

Numbers 1 to 10 (yek, do, se...)

Numbers and singular nouns

Numbers 11 to 20 (yâzdah, davâzdah...)

Counting by tens to 100

Telling time (sâ'at)

The verb to have (dâram)

Negative to have (nadâram)

Basic word order (SOV)

Infinitives and present stems (-an)

Present indicative (mi-)

Negative present indicative (nemi-)

Compound verbs

Question words (che, kojâ)

How many (chand)

The definite object marker (râ)

Object pronouns (man râ, to râ)

Singular commands (be-)

Formal and plural commands (be- ... -id)

Negative commands (na-)

The present subjunctive (be-)

The negative present subjunctive (na-)

Must (bâyad)

Might (shâyad)

Wanting to do something (khâstan)

Being able to do something (tavânestan)

Forming the past stem

The simple past of to be (budan)

The simple past tense

Negative simple past (na-)

Attached object pronouns on verbs (-am, -at, -ash)

Comparative adjectives (-tar)

Basic conjunctions (va, ammâ, yâ)

Giving reasons (chon)

Adverbs of frequency and degree (hamishe, hargez, kheyli, kam)

Everyday actions (kâr kardan, bâz kardan)

Non-human plural subjects

Indefinite pronouns (kasi, chizi, jâyi)

Negative indefinite pronouns (hich-kas, hich-chiz, hich-jâ)

Reciprocal pronouns (hamdigar, yekdigar)

Reflexive pronouns (khod-)

Reflexive direct objects (khod râ)

Emphatic pronouns (khod)

The quantifier every (har)

The quantifier all (hame)

The quantifier some (ba'zi)

Another and other (-i digar)

Which (kodâm)

How much (cheghadr)

Comparisons of equality (mesl-e)

Superlative adjectives (-tarin)

Irregular comparatives and superlatives

Ordinal numbers (-om)

Pre-nominal ordinal numbers (-omin)

Fractions and percentages

Prepositions of theme (dar mored-e)

Prepositions of time (ghabl az, ba'd az)

Preposition of exclusion (bedun-e)

Resultative conjunctions (banâbarin, pas)

Hortative construction (biyâ, biyâyid)

The present progressive tense (dâram mi-)

The past continuous tense (mi-)

Negative past continuous (ne-mi-)

Past continuous of to have (dâshtam)

The past progressive tense (dâshtam mi-)

The past participle (-e)

Present perfect tense (-e-am, -e-ast)

Negative present perfect (na-)

Question	Answer
necessary	لازمlâzem
safety	ایمنیimani
factory	کارخانهkârkhâne
it is necessary (that), one must	لازم استlâzem ast
It is necessary that we obey the safety rules in this factory.	لازم است که قانون‌های ایمنی را در این کارخانه رعایت کنیم.lâzem ast ke qânun-hâ-ye imeni râ dar in kârkhâne re'âyat konim.
possible	ممکنmomken
machine	دستگاهdastgâh
It is possible that this machine is dangerous.	ممکن است که این دستگاه خطرناک باشد.momken ast ke in dastgâh khatarnâk bâshad.
environment (surroundings)	محیطmohit
mask	ماسکmâsk
It is necessary that you use a mask in this environment.	لازم است که در این محیط از ماسک استفاده کنی.lâzem ast ke dar in mohit az mâsk estefâde koni.
to pay attention / to be careful (attention to detail)	دقت کردنdeghghat kardan
to be injured / to get hurt	آسیب دیدنâsib didan
It is necessary that you pay attention, because it is possible that you get injured.	لازم است که دقت کنید، چون ممکن است که آسیب ببینید.lâzem ast ke deghghat konid, chon momken ast ke âsib bebinid.
It is necessary that they pay attention before working with the machines.	لازم است که قبل از کار کردن با دستگاه‌ها دقت کنند.lâzem ast ke qabl az kâr kardan bâ dastgâh-hâ deqqat konand.
Without safety, it is possible that an accident happens.	بدون ایمنی، ممکن است که یک حادثه رخ دهد.bedun-e imeni, momken ast ke yek hâdese rokh dahad.
It is necessary that we buy a mask for the second section.	لازم است که برای دومین بخش یک ماسک بخریم.lâzem ast ke barâye dovvomin bakhsh yek mâsk bekharim.
Fire is dangerous; it is possible that the workers get injured.	آتش خطرناک است؛ ممکن است که کارگرها آسیب ببینند.âtash khatarnâk ast; momken ast ke kârgarhâ âsib bebinand.
For safety, it is necessary that you help each other in the factory.	برای ایمنی، لازم است که در کارخانه به همدیگر کمک کنید.barâye imani, lâzem ast ke dar kârkhâne be hamdigar komak konid.
Which environment is safe? It is possible that it is dangerous here.	کدام محیط امن است؟ ممکن است که اینجا خطرناک باشد.kodâm mohit amn ast? momken ast ke injâ khatarnâk bâshad.
danger / risk	خطرkhatar
It is necessary that the worker pays attention to this danger.	لازم است که کارگر به این خطر دقت کند.lâzem ast ke kârgar be in khatar deghghat konad.
It is possible that this machine is a danger to the environment.	ممکن است که این دستگاه برای محیط خطر داشته باشد.momken ast ke in dastgâh barâye mohit khatar dâshte bâshad.

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