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In English, we usually frame sensations as something we actively experience: "I feel lethargic" or "I am falling asleep." We are the grammatical subjects. However, to describe powerful involuntary states in Farsi—like falling into a deep trance, succumbing to hypnosis, or being paralyzed by astonishment—the language treats the sensation as a force that acts upon you.

### The Accusative Experiencer Construction

To express an involuntary sensation taking over, use this formula:

**[Experiencer] + را + [State] + [Verb]**

Because the state is happening *to* the person, the experiencer acts as the direct object and takes the object marker **را**. The involuntary state itself acts as the grammatical subject. As a result, the verb is always conjugated in the third-person singular to match the state.

The most common verbs used in this structure are **گرفتن** (to take) and its compound form **فرا گرفتن** (to engulf/overtake).

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As with any regular sentence, you can change the tense of the entire phrase simply by changing the tense of the verb at the end.

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### Surrendering to the Subconscious

This construction is perfect for describing scenarios involving psychological suggestions, intense emotions, or physical reactions that bypass our conscious control. You can modify the state with an adjective to add more detail to the experience.

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### The Exception for Sleep

There is one very common, notable exception to the verbs discussed above. When describing the involuntary act of dozing off or falling asleep (**خواب**), Farsi uses the verb **بردن** (to carry/take away) rather than **گرفتن**. It translates beautifully and literally as "sleep carried [me] away."

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Involuntary states (râ)

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
trance	خلسهkhalse
to overtake (abstract or elements) / to engulf	فرا گرفتنfarâ gereftan
Except for the psychologist, a deep trance engulfed everyone.	به جز روان‌شناس، همه را خلسه‌ای عمیق فرا گرفت.be joz ravânshenâs, hame râ khalse-i amigh farâ gereft.
madness	جنونjonun
Before the end of the trance, madness will engulf you.	قبل از پایان خلسه، تو را جنون فرا خواهد گرفت.qabl az pâyân-e khalse, to râ jonun farâ khâhad gereft.
hypnosis	هیپنوتیزمhipnotizm
lethargy / torpor	رخوتrekhvat
During hypnosis, lethargy overtook the patient.	در طول هیپنوتیزم، بیمار را رخوت گرفت.dar tule hipnutizm, bimâr râ rokhvat gereft.
tremor (medical or physiological) / shudder	رعشهra'she
As long as he is in hypnosis, a tremor will not overtake him.	تا زمانی که در هیپنوتیزم است، او را رعشه نخواهد گرفت.tâ zamâni ke dar hipnutizm ast, u râ re'she nakhâhad gereft.
suggestion (instilling an idea, psychological)	تلقینtalqin
With this suggestion, a heavy lethargy overtook the student.	با این تلقین، دانشجو را رخوتی سنگین گرفت.bâ in talqin, dâneshju râ rekhvati sangin gereft.
If you accept this suggestion, a deep sleep will overtake you.	اگر این تلقین را بپذیری، تو را خوابی عمیق خواهد برد.agar in talqin râ bepazirî, to râ khâbi amiq khâhad bord.
involuntarily / without will	بی‌ارادهbi'erâde
Suddenly, involuntarily, a strong tremor overtook the magician.	ناگهان جادوگر را بی‌اراده رعشه‌ای قوی گرفت.nâgahân jâdugar râ bi-erâde ra'she-i qavi gereft
astonishment / stupefaction	بهتboht
After the magic, astonishment overtook another person.	بعد از جادو، شخصی دیگر را بهت فرا گرفت.ba'd az jâdu, shakhsi digar râ boht farâ gereft.
Astonishment will not overtake us, on the condition that we close our eyes.	ما را بهت نخواهد گرفت، به شرطی که چشم‌هایمان را ببندیم.mâ râ boht nakhâhad gereft, be sharti ke cheshm-hâyemân râ bebandim.
Except for that man, madness overtook everyone in the room.	در اتاق، به جز آن مرد، همه را جنون گرفت.dar otâq, be joz ân mard, hame râ jonun gereft.
eyelid	پلکpelk
His eyelids became heavy and involuntarily, sleep overtook him.	پلک‌هایش سنگین شد و بی‌اراده او را خواب برد.pelk-hâyash sangin shod va bi-erâde u râ khâb bord.
As long as your eyelids are open, a trance will not overtake you.	تا زمانی که پلک‌هایت باز است، تو را خلسه نخواهد گرفت.tâ zamâni ke pelak-hâyat bâz ast, to râ khalse nakhâhad gereft.