Question 1

Why does the Farsi sentence literally translate to 'It is said that this cave is sacred' instead of matching the English structure?

Accepted Answer

In Farsi, reporting verbs like گفتن (to say) or شنیدن (to hear) cannot take the subject of the reported action (the cave) as their own subject. Instead, Farsi relies on an impersonal 'it is [verb]ed that...' structure. Therefore, 'This cave is said to be...' must be phrased as گفته می‌شود که این غار... (It is said that this cave...).

Question 2

How exactly is the passive verb گفته می‌شود formed?

Accepted Answer

Passive verbs in Farsi are built by combining the past participle of the main verb with a conjugated form of the auxiliary verb شدن (to become). Here, we use گفته (the past participle of گفتن) followed by می‌شود, which is the third-person singular present form of شدن.

Question 3

Why is the final verb است (indicative) instead of the subjunctive باشد?

Accepted Answer

You might be used to triggering the subjunctive after که (that) with verbs expressing doubt, desire, or necessity. However, impersonal reporting verbs like 'it is said that' or 'it is heard that' introduce a supposed statement of fact. Because it reports a reality rather than a wish or obligation, the clause takes the normal indicative mood, which is why we use است.

Question 4

How would I change this sentence to say 'It was said that...' in the past tense?

Accepted Answer

To make a passive verb past tense, you only change the tense of the auxiliary verb شدن. The past participle گفته never changes. Depending on the exact nuance of the past action, you would use گفته شد که (it was said that) for a single completed action, or گفته می‌شد که (it used to be said that / it was being said that).

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