In formal, legal, and corporate Farsi, everyday verbs are often replaced by compound constructions that emphasize the deliberate initiation of an action. Two of the most common are اقدام به and مبادرت به.
Proceeding to Action: اقدام به
The noun اقدام means "measure" or "action." Combined with the preposition به, an action-noun, and the verb کردن (to do), it creates a formal phrase meaning "to proceed to [do something]" or "to take steps to [do something]."
| The manager proceeded to cancel the contract. | مدیر اقدام به فسخ قرارداد کرد.modir eghdâm be fask-e gharârdâd kard. |
| The bank proceeded to the legal collection of the debt. | بانک اقدام به وصول قانونی بدهی کرد.bânk eghdâm be vosule ghânuniye bedehi kard. |
| Since the documents were fake, the court proceeded to void them. | از آنجا که اسناد جعلی بود، دادگاه اقدام به ابطال آنها کرد.az ânjâ ke asnâd ja'li bud, dâdgâh eqdâm be ebtâl ânhâ kard. |
Engaging In: مبادرت به
A similar construction uses the noun مبادرت, meaning "engaging in" or "undertaking." Paired with به and کردن, it forms مبادرت به ... کردن ("to engage in [an action]"). This structure is heavily used in official reports to describe organized or significant actions, such as auditing (حسابرسی) or strikes (اعتصاب).
| Approximately ten experts engaged in auditing the company. | تقریباً ده کارشناس مبادرت به حسابرسی شرکت کردند.taghriban dah kârshenâs mobâderat be hesâbresi sherkat kardand. |
| The workers engaged in a legal strike. | کارگران مبادرت به اعتصاب قانونی کردند.kârgarân mobâderat be e'tesâb-e qânuni kardand. |
Action as a Noun
The core action in these sentences is always a noun (or a long infinitive) placed directly after به. Instead of saying "they agreed" or "they smuggled," formal Farsi says "they proceeded to an agreement" or "they engaged in smuggling."
You only conjugate the light verb کردن for tense and subject; the action-noun block remains completely unchanged.
| Even if you proceed to an agreement, they will not accept. | حتی اگر اقدام به توافق کنید، آنها قبول نمیکنند.hattâ agar eqdâm be tavâfoq konid, ânhâ qabul nemikonand. |
| The police proceeded to seize the assets of the fraudster. | پلیس اقدام به توقیف داراییهای کلاهبردار کرد.polis eqdâm be towqif dârâyi-hâye kolâhbardâr kard. |
| About twenty people engaged in the smuggling of medicine. | حدود بیست نفر مبادرت به قاچاق دارو کردند.hodud-e bist nafar mobâderat be qâchâq-e dâru kardand. |
Because these structures belong to the same formal register, they frequently appear side-by-side in complex sentences detailing cause and effect.
| Since they engaged in a strike, the employer proceeded to cancel the contracts. | از آنجا که آنها مبادرت به اعتصاب کردند، کارفرما اقدام به فسخ قراردادها کرد.az ânjâ ke ânhâ mobâderat be e'tesâb kardand, kârfarmâ eghdâm be faskh-e gharârdâdhâ kard. |
