AboutBehzad Expertise I can answer questions about the usage and meaning of Persian words, proverbs, and idioms asked in Persian or English. Controversial grammatical issues are beyond my knowledge. In addition, I cannot corroborate my answer to a question about newly coined slang words.
PLEASE do not ask me to translate more than 1 or 2 sentences.
Experience Persian language is my mother tongue; however, my knowledge is remarkably more than a mere native speaker.
Question what is the difference between persian and english participles?
Answer Hello Arf,
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I do not know how much you are familiar with Persian language, so I try to explain briefly everything needed.
Since the grammar of Persian language is different from English grammar, there are no grammar roles exactly equivalent to participles; in other words, the structure of Persian language does not necessitate the definition of the concept of participles. Instead, Persian words that have an equivalent meaning in sentences are categorized according to other concepts.
To make a comparison, I stick to the definition of Past Participle and present participle from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 7th Edition.
“past 'participle noun
(grammar) the form of a verb that in English ends in -ed, -en, etc. and is used with the verb have to form perfect tenses such as I have eaten, with the verb be to form passive sentences such as It was destroyed, or sometimes as an adjective as in an upset stomach—compare present participle” (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 7th Edition)
“present 'participle noun
(grammar) the form of the verb that in English ends in -ing and is used with the verb to be to form progressive tenses such as I was running or sometimes as an adjective as in running water—compare past participle” (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 7th Edition)
In the examples, I will use the infinitive خوردن (khordan) which means to eat.
Note that Persian is written right to left, so end of a word is on its left, and beginning of a word is on its right.
PAST PARTICIPLE:
All the infinitives in Persian Language end in ن , pronounced n. If the ن is omitted, what remains is called بن ماضی(bon-e-maazii). If ه, pronounced e, is added to the end of بن ماضی (bon-e-maazii), we have a word which is used almost in the same way as a past participle is used as an adjective. In other words, if ن is replaced by ه we have a word which is used almost in the same way as a past participle is used as an adjective. This form of the verb is called صفت مفعولی (sefat-e-maf ooli). However, this kind of adjectives is not very commonly used.
Example:
خوردن (khordan) >> infinitive
which means: to eat
خورد (khord) >> بن ماضی (bon-e-maazii)
which means: he/she ate (infact there is no equivalent for it in English.)
خورده (khorde) >> صفت مفعولی (sefat-e-maf ooli)
which means: eaten
To make present perfect tense a special kind of pronouns are added to the end of the صفت مفعولی (sefat-e-maf ooli). صفت مفعولی (sefat-e-maf ooli) and those pronouns make a one-word verb which has present perfect tense. To make past perfect tense, the word بود (bood) is added to the صفت مفعولی (sefat-e-maf ooli), and another kind of pronouns are added to بود (bood). Should you need the list of these pronouns and their name, ask me a follow-up question, please. I avoided going through those detailed to make it simpler and less confusing.
Example:
خورده (khorde) >> صفت مفعولی (sefat-e-maf ooli)
which means: eaten
خورده ام (khorde-am) >> present perfect
which means: I have eaten (ام is one of those pronouns used for the first person singular)
خورده بودم (khorde boodam) >> past perfect
Which means: I had eaten (م is one of the possible pronouns used for the first person singular)
PRESENT PARTICIPLE:
All the imperative verbs in Persian begin with ب , pronounced b. if the ب is omitted, what remains is called بن مضارع (bon-e- mozaare). If the suffix انده (ande) is added to it, we have صفت فاعلی (sefat-e- fa eli), which has almost the same role as an adjectival present participle.
Example:
خوردن (khordan) >> infinitive
which means: to eat
بخور (bekhor) >> imperative
which means: eat!
خور (khor) >> بن مضارع (bon-e- mozaare)
there is no equivalent for it in English.
خورنده (khorande) >> صفت فاعلی (sefat-e- fa eli)
which means: eating, corrosive
To make present continuous, the word دار (daar), a proper pronoun, the prefix می (pronounced mi), and the same pronoun are added to بن مضارع (bon-e- mozaare). It makes a two-word verb.
Example:
خور (khor) >> بن مضارع (bon-e- mozaare)
there is no equivalent for it in English.
دارم می خورم (daaram mikhoram) >> present continuous
which means: I am eating (م is a pronoun used for the first person singular)
To make past continuous, the word داشت (daasht), a proper pronoun, the prefix می, and the same pronoun are added to بن ماضی (bon-e- maazi). It makes a two-word verb.
Example:
خورد (khord) >> بن ماضی (bon-e-maazii)
which means: he/she ate (in fact there is no equivalent for it in English.)
داشتم می خوردم (daaram mikhoram) >> present continuous
which means: I am eating (م is a pronoun used for the first person singular)
SUMMARY:
In fact, there is no real equivalent for participles in Persian. However, the closest things to participles are صفت فاعلی (sefat-e- fa eli), which is close to present participle and صفت مفعولی (sefat-e-maf ooli), which is close to past participle. Both of them are introduced before.
