Making Someone Do Something

Level 4

The person who is made to do the action becomes the object of the new verb.

How It Works

A plain verb says that someone does something: کودک ترسید. (The child was afraid.) A causative verb says that someone makes another do it: رعد، کودک را ترساند. (The thunder frightened the child.)

Make the causative verb from the present stem plus ـاندن.

Plain verb	Causative verb	Meaning
ترسیدن	ترساندن	to frighten
خندیدن	خنداندن	to make laugh
خوردن	خوراندن	to feed
رسیدن	رساندن	to take someone somewhere
خوابیدن	خواباندن	to put to bed
نشستن	نشاندن	to seat

The one who is made to do or feel it is the object, and a specific object takes را: او مهمانان را سر میز نشاند. (She seated the guests at the table.) The new verb has the usual endings: ترساندم, ترساندی, ترساند.

Once you have the new infinitive, it works like any other verb: ترساندم (I frightened), می‌ترسانم (I frighten), بترسانم (that I frighten).

Learn each causative as its own verb, and watch the stem: نشستن has the stem نشین, but its causative is نشاندن. Many compound verbs with کردن do the same job: خوشحال کردن (to make happy).

Examples (5)

مادرم کودک را در بستر خواباند.
My mother put the child to bed.
خواباند means "made someone sleep", and کودک is its object with را.
این فلم ما را خنداند.
This film made us laugh.
خنداند is the causative of خندیدن.
رعد، کودک را ترساند.
The thunder frightened the child.
ترساند has an object, کودک را, because it means "made afraid".
برادرم مرا با موتر به میدان هوایی رساند.
My brother took me to the airport by car.
رساند means "made arrive", so مرا is its object.
او مهمانان را سر میز نشاند.
She seated the guests at the table.
نشاند is the causative of نشستن, with the object مهمانان را.

Common Mistakes

Using the plain verb when the sentence needs an object.
رعد کودک را ترسید.
رعد کودک را ترساند.
ترسید means "was afraid", so it takes no object. Use ترساند for "frightened".
Using نشست for "seated".
او مهمانان را سر میز نشست.
او مهمانان را سر میز نشاند.
نشست means "sat down". نشاند means "made someone sit".

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Making Someone Do SomethingLevel 4

Learn This First

ـاندن joins the stem of an infinitive to make a causative like خوراندن, so the infinitive comes first.

Infinitives and Past Stems
Know the infinitive, because ـاندن joins its stem, as خوردن becomes خوراندن.
Level 2

Words in This Pattern

خندیدنخنداندنترسیدنترساندن

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