Passive Infinitives with شدن
In Farsi, infinitives end in تن or دن and can function as nouns in a sentence, much like English "-ing" gerunds (e.g., "hunting"). But what if you want to express a passive action, like "being hunted"?
To build a passive infinitive, take the past participle of your main verb (usually the infinitive minus ن, plus ه) and add the infinitive شدن (to become).
For example, کشته (killed) becomes کشته شدن (being killed), and گرفته (caught) becomes گرفته شدن (being caught). Because these act as verbal nouns, they can serve as the subject of a sentence:
| These birds being caught in an illegal trap is dangerous. | گرفته شدن این پرندهها در دام غیرقانونی خطرناک است.gerefte shodan-e in parande-hâ dar dâm-e gheyr-ghânuni khatarnâk ast. |
Following Prepositions
Just like regular nouns, passive verbal nouns are incredibly useful as the objects of prepositions like از (from/of).
For instance, the verb ترسیدن (to fear) is always followed by the preposition از:
| They are afraid of being killed and of extinction. | آنها از کشته شدن و انقراض میترسند.ânhâ az koshte shodan va enqerâz mitarsand. |
| The park ranger is afraid of the cheetah being caught in this trap. | محیطبان از گرفته شدن یوزپلنگ در این دام میترسد.mohit-bân az gerefte shodan-e yuz-palang dar in dâm mitarsad. |
Expressing Purpose with برای
You will also frequently see passive infinitives after the preposition برای (for) to describe what an action or tool is intended to achieve:
| The tracker is useful for the injured bear to be seen in the dark. | ردیاب برای دیده شدن خرس زخمی در تاریکی مفید است.radyâb barâye dide shodan-e khers-e zakhmi dar târiki mofid ast. |
This same structure applies to compound verbs. The active verb "to rescue" is نجات دادن, making its passive past participle نجات داده (rescued).
| This law is for the bear to be rescued from extinction. | این قانون برای نجات داده شدن خرس از انقراض است.in qânun barâye nejât dâde shodan khers az enqerâz ast. |