Causative Constructions in Persian

Overview

Causative constructions express making or causing someone to do something, or causing something to happen. In Persian, the primary method is the suffix اندن- (-āndan), which transforms intransitive verbs into causatives. At the B2 level, understanding causatives adds nuance to your expression — distinguishing between "to sleep" and "to put to sleep," or between "to laugh" and "to make someone laugh."

Persian has two main causative strategies: the morphological causative using the -āndan suffix, and the periphrastic (phrasal) causative using expressions like کاری کردن که (to cause that...) or واداشتن (vādāshtan, to compel). The suffix method is more compact and literary, while the periphrastic method is more flexible and common in speech.

Many causative verbs have become standard vocabulary items that you may already know without realizing they are causatives: رساندن (to deliver, from رسیدن to arrive), خواباندن (to put to sleep, from خوابیدن to sleep), ترساندن (to frighten, from ترسیدن to be afraid).

How It Works

Morphological causative: -āndan suffix

Base Verb	Meaning	Causative	Meaning
خوابیدن khābidan	to sleep	خواباندن khābāndan	to put to sleep
رسیدن residan	to arrive	رساندن resāndan	to deliver
ترسیدن tarsidan	to fear	ترساندن tarsāndan	to frighten
خندیدن khandidan	to laugh	خنداندن khandāndan	to make laugh
چسبیدن chasbidan	to stick	چسباندن chasbāndan	to glue
فهمیدن fahmidan	to understand	فهماندن fahmāndan	to explain

Periphrastic causative:

Expression	Meaning	Example
کاری کردن که...	to cause that...	کاری کرد که بروند (he caused them to go)
واداشتن	to compel	مرا واداشت که بخوانم (he compelled me to read)
مجبور کردن	to force	مجبورم کرد بروم (he forced me to go)

Examples in Context

Persian	English	Note
بچه را خواباندم.	I put the child to sleep.	-āndan causative
غذا را رساندم.	I delivered the food.	Caused to arrive
او مرا خنداند.	He/She made me laugh.	Caused to laugh
معلم شاگردان را فهماند.	The teacher made the students understand.	Caused to understand
مادرش او را ترساند.	His/Her mother frightened him/her.	Caused to fear
مجبورم کرد بروم.	He/She forced me to go.	Periphrastic
کاری کرد که همه بخندند.	He/She made everyone laugh.	Periphrastic
صدا بچه را بیدار کرد.	The noise woke the child.	Compound causative
لباس‌ها را خشک کردم.	I dried the clothes.	Caused to be dry
ماشین را نگه داشت.	He/She stopped the car.	Caused to stop

Common Mistakes

Creating causatives from verbs that already have standard forms

• Wrong: Inventing new -āndan forms
• Right: Use established causatives; they are lexical items, not freely productive
• Why: Not every verb can take -āndan. The suffix applies mainly to certain intransitive verbs. When in doubt, use the periphrastic form.

Confusing causative and simple transitive

• Wrong: من خوابیدم بچه را (I slept the child)
• Right: من بچه را خواباندم (I put the child to sleep)
• Why: The base verb خوابیدن is intransitive (I sleep). The causative خواباندن makes it transitive (I cause to sleep).

Forgetting را with the caused object

• Wrong: بچه خواباندم
• Right: بچه را خواباندم
• Why: The person/thing being caused to do something is a definite direct object and needs را.

Usage Notes

Causative verbs are more common in formal and literary Persian. In everyday speech, compound verb alternatives often replace them: instead of فهماندن (to make understand), people might say توضیح دادن (to explain). However, certain causatives like رساندن (to deliver) and ترساندن (to frighten) are fully naturalized in everyday vocabulary.

Practice Tips

1. Learn causative-base pairs together: خوابیدن/خواباندن, رسیدن/رساندن, ترسیدن/ترساندن. Practice using both in sentences.
2. When you encounter a verb ending in -اندن, try to identify the base verb. This reverse engineering deepens your understanding of Persian word formation.
3. Practice periphrastic causatives for situations without a standard -āndan form: کاری کردم که بخندد (I made him/her laugh), مجبورش کردم بیاید (I forced him/her to come).

Related Concepts

• Advanced Compound Verbs — the compound verb system that many causatives interact with