The Focus of This Lesson Is the Passive Voice

سقف دستمزد پیشنهادی ما دو میلیون و نیمه (نیم است). ممکنه (ممکن است) ازتون بخوایم (ازتان بخواهیم) بعضی آخرهفته‌هام (ها هم) کار کنین (کنید)، بهتون (بهتان) اضافه حقوق پرداخت می‌شه (می‌شود).
saqf-e dastmozd-e pishnahaadi-ye maa do-o nim milyoone (milyoon ast). momkene (momken ast) azatoon bekhaaym (az shomaa bekhaahim) ba'zi aakhar-e hafte-haam (haa ham) kaar konin (konid), behetoon (behetaan) ezaafe hoqooq pardaakht mishe (mishavad).
"Our proposed wage cap is 2.5 million. If we ask you to work on some weekends as well, you'll be paid extra."

In this lesson, we will learn how to use:

1. Passive voice for simple verbs

2. Passive voice for compound verbs

1. Passive voice for simple verbs

The passive voice is used when the person or the thing that endures an action becomes the subject of a sentence. So the object of an active sentence becomes the subject in a passive sentence.

The passive form of a verb is made from the past participle of the verb and the auxiliary verb شدن (shodan), "to become," conjugated in the target tense and in agreement with the subject of the sentence.

To make the past participle, simply drop the ن (n) and add ه (he).

In formal settings and official correspondence you may see گردیدن (gardidan) which is the formal version of شدن (shodan) meaning "to become."

Here are some common verbs both in the active voice and the passive voice:

Conjugation chart: in the table below you can see how the verb ساختن (saakhtan) "to make" conjugated in the present perfect tense.

As you may already know, in colloquial Persian we tend to use the past tense (just the written form) and put the stress on the second syllable to make the present perfect tense. For example:

"I went" RAFtam vs. "I've gone/been" rafTAM.

In other words, we drop the ه (e) sound. As an example, ساخته شده ام (saakhte shode am), changes to  ساخته شدم (saakhte shodam).

1. من برای این کار ساخته نشدم ( نشده ام).
   man baraaye in kaar saakhte nashodam.
   "I'm not cut out for this job."
2. این بنا حدود ۴۵۰۰ سال پیش از میلاد ساخته شده (شده است).
   in banaa hodood-e chaahaar hezaar-o poonsad (paansad) saal pish az milaad saakhte shode (ast).
   "This monument was built around 4500 BC."

And please take note of the fact we need to use the present perfect tense, whereas in American English the past tense is used.

1. اسپانیاییا (اسپانیایی‌ها) برای زندگی کردن تو (در) جاهای سرد ساخته نشدن (نشده‌‌اند).
   espaaniyaayiyaa (espaaniyaayi-haa) baraaye zendegi kardan too (dar) jaa-haa-ye sard saakhte nashodan (nashode and).
   "Spaniards can't stand living in cold places." (Lit. "Spaniards are not made for living in cold places."

2. Passive voice for compound verbs

Compound verbs in Persian are made up of  a verb, such as داشتن (daashtan) "to have," دادن (daadan) "to give," and کردن (kardan) "to do," etc.  plus a nonverbal element.

Let's see how to form the passive voice with compound verbs.

1. دوست داشتن
   (doost daashtan)
   "to love/to like"

In such combinations, we use the past participle of the verb داشتن (daashtan,) "to have," which is داشته (daashte), and add the proper conjugated form of the verb شدن (shodan), "to become."

1. دوست داشته شدن
   doost daashte shodan
   "to be loved/to be liked"
2. ما انسان ها نیاز داریم که دوست داشته بشیم (بشویم).
   maa ensaan-haa niyaaz daarim ke doost daashte beshim (beshavim).
   "We humans, need to be loved."

1. به کسی چیزی دادن
   (be kasi chizi daadan),
   "to give someone something," "to give something to someone"

The same rule applies to دادن daadan, "to give." Here is a sample sentence:

1. سلامتی بزرگترین نعمتیه (نعمتی است) که به ما داده شده (است).
   salaamati bozorgtarin ne'mati-ye (ne'mati ast) ke be maa daade shode (ast).
   "Health is the biggest blessing given to us."

For some verbs, the modifications are beyond just changing the ending. We use a different verb.

For کردن (kadan), we use شدن instead, so انداختن (andaakhtan), "to drop," becomes  افتادن (oftaadan), "to fall."

Another example is انتقال دادن (enteqaal daadan), "to transfer," which changes into انتقال داده شدن  (enteqaal daade shodan) or منتقل شدن (montaqel shodan) meaning "to transfer" or "to be transferred." The second option منتقل شدن (montaqel shodan) is more common.

Here are some common compound verbs both in the active voice and the passive voice:

Conjugation chart:

Sample Sentences

1. یک گروه امداد و نجات به منطقه سیل زده اعزام خواهد شد.
   yek gorooh-e emdaad-o nejaat be mantaqe-ye seylzade e'zaam khaahad shod.
   "A relief and rescue team will be dispatched to the flood-affected region."
2. این دفتر به آدرس زیر منتقل گردید (شد).
   In daftar beh aadres-e zir montaghel gardid
   "This office has been moved/transferred to the address below."
3. اونا (‌آن ها) به دفتر سیدنی منتقل شدن (شدند).
   oonaa (aan-haa) be daftar-e sidni montaqel shodan (shodand).
   "They transferred/were transferred to the Sydney office."

Examples from the Dialogue

1. بله، بیمه دارین (دارید). مرخصی استحقاقی تونم (استحقاقی‌تان هم) طبق قانون کار بیست و شیش (شش) روزه (روز است).... ممنون که تشریف آوردین (آوردید). در مورد نتیجه مصاحبه باهاتون (با شما) تماس گرفته می‌شه (می‌شود).
   bale, bime daarin (daarid). morakh-khasi-ye estehqaaqi toonam (taan ham) bist-o shish (shesh) rooze (rooz ast)....mamnoon ke tashrif aavordin (aavardid). dar mored-e natije-ye mosaahebe baahaatoon (baa shomaa) tamaas gerefte mishe (mishavad).
   "Yes, you'll be insured. Your paid vacation is 26 days a year according to the labor law. Thank you for coming. We'll be contacting you regarding the result of the interview."

Sample Sentences

1. لغتایی (لغت‌هایی) که تو (در) این درس به کار رفته رو (را) مرور کن.
   loghataayi (loghat-haa-yi) ke too (dar) in dars be kaar rafta-ro (rafte raa) moroor kon.
   "Review the words that are used in this lesson."
2. نصف غذاها خورده شد.
   nesf-e ghazaa-haa khorde shod.
   "Half of the dishes were eaten."
3. یه (یک) خرس اطراف پارک طبیعی دیده شده (است).
   ye (yek) khers atraaf-e paark-e tabi'i dide shode (ast).
   "A bear has been seen around the natural park."

مرخصی استحقاقی
morak-khasi-ye estehghaaghi
"paid vacation, paid leave"

Morakh-khasi (مرخصی) is a noun meaning "leave" and estehghaaghi (استحقاقی) is an adjective meaning "which is deserved," in other words it indicates "a leave of absence that you're entitled to take."

It's mentioned in labor law and job contracts. مرخصی (morakh-khasi) is often used in the verb phrase مرخصی گرفتن, "take (time) off." Other terms which are equal to مرخصی استحقاقی (morakh-khasi-ye estehghaaghi) are مرخصی سالیانه (morakh-khasi-ye saaliyaaneh) where saaliyaaneh means "annual," and مرخصی با حقوق (morakh-khasi baa hoghoogh), where baa hoghoogh means "paid day off."

According to the labor law in Iran, all employees have 26 days of paid leave plus Fridays (which are part of the weekend in Iran). There might be slight deviations from law in some company's internal policies. It's better to read the contracts carefully and check if they've been set up according to the labor law.

For example:

1. چند روز مرخصی استحقاقی داری؟
   chand rooz morakh-khasi-ye estehghaaghi daari?
   "How many paid days off do you have?"

اضافه حقوق
ezaafeh hoghoogh
"extra pay"

Ezaafeh, (اضافه) is an adjective meaning "extra, added" and hoghoogh (حقوق), is a noun meaning "pay, salary."

It's a common phrase at the workplace. Some companies, when on a low budget, don't let their employees work overtime. You'd better check your company's policies in this regard in advance. Another term which associates with اضافه حقوق (ezaafeh hoghoogh) is اضافه کار (ezaafeh kaar), "overtime." کار (kaar) is a noun and means "work" in this context

For example:

1. این ماه اضافه حقوق نداشتم.
   in maah ezaafeh hooghoogh nadaashtam.
   "I didn't get extra pay this month."

Networking

It might me be the case in many cultures, but if you have good connections in a company or organization, it's likely you will get a good position (unfortunately even if you're not qualified enough for the job). It's called networking in its professional sense, but it might just seem as simple as pulling some strings, nepotism, or favoritism. It's called پارتی بازی کردن (paatri baazi kardan) or بند پ (band-e pe). There's a common belief in Iran (although not everyone believes in it) that in order to be successful in life you need "money" (pool پول), "connection" (پارتی paarti), and "rudeness" (por rooi پررویی). They all start with a "p" sound in Persian.

Jobs in banks and the oil or gas industry are among the most sought-after jobs in Iran. They are mainly run by the government (directly or indirectly). There's a huge competition among university graduates to work in such fields, which offer highly-paid and permanent jobs.

Useful expression:

1. پارتی بازی کردن
   paarti baazi kardan
   "pulling strings, favoritism"