When cleaning up a mess, you often need to describe the state of things: broken glass, spilled water, or washed clothes. In Persian, we form these adjectives using the past participle.
Forming the Past Participle
To create a past participle, take the infinitive of the verb, drop the final ن to get the past stem, and add the ه suffix (which is pronounced as a short "-e").
| Infinitive | Past Stem | Past Participle | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| شکستن | شکست | شکسته | broken |
| ریختن | ریخت | ریخته | spilled |
| شستن | شست | شسته | washed |
| سوختن | سوخت | سوخته | burned |
Using Participles as Adjectives
Just like regular Persian adjectives, past participles follow the noun they describe. They are connected to the noun using the Ezafe (the hidden "-e" sound).
If the noun ends in a vowel (like شیشه), the Ezafe is written as a ی and pronounced as "-ye" (شیشهی شکسته).
| The broken glass is on the floor of the room. | شیشهی شکسته روی کف اتاق است.shishe-ye shekaste ruye kaf otâq ast. |
| We must wipe up the spilled water with a cloth. | ما باید آب ریخته را با دستمال پاک کنیم.mâ bâyad âb rikhte râ bâ dastmâl pâk konim. |
Notice how the past participle agrees with plural nouns naturally, just following the plural suffix and Ezafe:
| Are the washed clothes inside the basket? | آیا لباسهای شسته داخل سبد هستند؟âyâ lebâs-hâ-ye shoste dâkhel-e sabad hastand? |
| Please gather the burned curtains and put them inside the bin. | لطفاً پردههای سوخته را جمع کنید و داخل سطل بگذارید.lotfan pardeh-hâye sukhte râ jam' konid va dâkhel-e satl begzârid. |
As you practice these new adjectives, you can pair them with cleaning vocabulary to talk about tidying up a room:
| You must clean the stains of the spilled coffee. | شما باید لکههای قهوهی ریخته را پاک کنید.shomâ bâyad lekke-hâye ghahve-ye rikhte râ pâk konid. |
| Do you see the washed curtain on the floor? | آیا شما پردهی شسته را روی زمین میبینید؟âyâ shomâ parde-ye shoste râ ruye zamin mibinid? |