Examples have audio.
Causative Verbs
Causative verbs are intransitive verbs that are made transitive by adding suffixes to them. Their past stem is made by adding the suffix “اند” to the present stem of the original verb. Their present stem is made by adding the suffix “ان” to the present stem of the original verb.
This gives us a whole new set of verbs that are easy to memorize since they are made using the verbs we are already familiar with. Below are some examples. Remember again that the past stem of any verb is formed of its infinitive without the “ن” ending.
| Causative Verb (transitive) | Intransitive Verb | ||||
| Meaning | Present Stem | Infinitive | Meaning | Present Stem | Infinitive |
| To pass (trans.) | گذران | گذراندن | To pass | گذر | گذشتن |
| To make sbdy sleep | خوابان | خواباندن | To sleep | خواب | خوابیدن |
| To scare | ترسان | ترساندن | To be scared | ترس | ترسیدن |
| To make sbdy laugh | خندان | خنداندن | To laugh | خند | خندیدن |
| To burn (trans.) | سوزان | سوزاندن | To burn | سوز | سوختن |
Let’s have a look at some examples of the usage of these verbs.
بچّهها خوابیدند.
مادر بچّهها را خواباند.
لیلا میخندد.
سعید لیلا را میخندانَد.
رم سوخت.
نرون رم را سوزاند.
The children slept.
Mother put the children to sleep.
Leila laughs.
Saeed makes Leila laugh.
Rome burnt.
Nero burnt Rome.
To be more precise, it is not only intransitive verbs that have causative forms. Transitive verbs, too, have causative forms. Here are some examples:
بچهها غذا را خوردند.
فروغ غذا را به بچهها خوراند.
دلیلش را میفهمی.
دلیلش را به تو میفهمانم.
دشمن را شناختهاید.
دشمن را به شما شناساندهایم.
The children ate the food.
Forough made the children eat the food.
You understand its reason.
I make you understand its reason.
You (pl.) have recognized the enemy.
We have helped you recognize the enemy.


