Persian Compound Verb Drills: 40 Practice Sentences
40 Persian compound verb drills with answers. Practice kardan, shodan, zadan, and other light verb combinations at A2-B2 level.
Most Persian verbs aren't single words. They're compounds. a noun or adjective glued to a "light verb" like کردن (kardan. to do) or گرفتن (gereftan. to take). If you only learn simple verbs, you'll understand maybe 30% of real Persian conversation. Compound verbs make up the other 70%.
The tricky part isn't understanding them. it's knowing which noun pairs with which light verb. You can't just guess. تصمیم (tasmim. decision) goes with گرفتن (gereftan. to take), not کردن (kardan. to do). قول (ghol. promise) goes with دادن (dâdan. to give), not زدن (zadan. to hit).
These 40 exercises drill the most common compound verb combinations until they stick. If you need the theory first, read my guide to Farsi compound verbs.
The Big Four Light Verbs
Almost every compound verb uses one of these:
کردن (kardan). to do/make → the most common light verb گرفتن (gereftan). to take/get دادن (dâdan). to give زدن (zadan). to hit/strike
A few others show up regularly: خوردن (khordan. to eat/hit), خواندن (khândan. to read), کشیدن (keshidan. to pull/draw), شدن (shodan. to become).
The noun part carries the meaning. The light verb carries the conjugation. You conjugate the light verb; the noun stays the same.
Section 1: Match the Noun to the Light Verb (Exercises 1–15)
Pick the correct light verb to complete the compound verb. Choose from: کردن / گرفتن / دادن / زدن / خوردن / کشیدن / شدن
Exercise 1: کار (*kâr ). to work Exercise 2: درس __ (dars *). to study Exercise 3: قول (ghol __). to promise Exercise 4: تصمیم (*tasmim ). to decide Exercise 5: حرف __ (harf *). to talk/speak Exercise 6: تلفن (telefon __). to telephone Exercise 7: امتحان (*emtehân ). to take a test Exercise 8: عکس __ (aks *). to take a photo Exercise 9: نقاشی (naghâshi __). to paint/draw Exercise 10: سیگار (*sigâr ). to smoke Exercise 11: دعوا __ (da'vâ *). to fight/argue Exercise 12: بازی (bâzi __). to play Exercise 13: عوض (*avaz ). to change (intransitive. to become changed) Exercise 14: شروع __ (shoru' *). to start (transitive. to start something) Exercise 15: نگاه (negâh __). to look
Answer Key: Exercises 1–15
| # | Compound Verb | Formal | Spoken | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | کار کردن | kâr kardan | kâr kardan (same) | to work |
| 2 | درس خواندن | dars khândan | dars khundan | to study |
| 3 | قول دادن | ghol dâdan | ghol dâdan (same) | to promise |
| 4 | تصمیم گرفتن | tasmim gereftan | tasmim gereftan (same) | to decide |
| 5 | حرف زدن | harf zadan | harf zadan (same) | to talk |
| 6 | تلفن زدن | telefon zadan | telefon zadan (same) | to phone/call |
| 7 | امتحان دادن | emtehân dâdan | emtehân dâdan (same) | to take a test |
| 8 | عکس گرفتن | aks gereftan | aks gereftan (same) | to take a photo |
| 9 | نقاشی کشیدن | naghâshi keshidan | naghâshi keshidan (same) | to paint/draw |
| 10 | سیگار کشیدن | sigâr keshidan | sigâr keshidan (same) | to smoke |
| 11 | دعوا کردن | da'vâ kardan | da'vâ kardan (same) | to fight/argue |
| 12 | بازی کردن | bâzi kardan | bâzi kardan (same) | to play |
| 13 | عوض شدن | avaz shodan | avaz shodan (same) | to change (become changed) |
| 14 | شروع کردن | shoru' kardan | shoru' kardan (same) | to start (something) |
| 15 | نگاه کردن | negâh kardan | negâ kardan | to look |
Section 2: Conjugate in Context (Exercises 16–30)
Fill in the blank with the correct conjugated form of the compound verb. Pay attention to the tense (present, past, or future) given in brackets.
Exercise 16: من هر روز هشت ساعت . (کار کردن. present) *man har ruz hasht sâ'at .* (to work. present)
Exercise 17: دیروز علی برای امتحان . (درس خواندن. past) *diruz Ali barâye emtehân .* (to study. past)
Exercise 18: او به من که فردا بیاید. (قول دادن. past) *u be man ke fardâ biâyad.* (to promise. past)
Exercise 19: ما که به ایران سفر کنیم. (تصمیم گرفتن. present perfect) *mâ ke be Irân safar konim.* (to decide. present perfect)
Exercise 20: بچهها در حیاط . (بازی کردن. present continuous) *bachche-hâ dar hayât .* (to play. present continuous)
Exercise 21: مریم با مادرش تلفنی . (حرف زدن. present) *Maryam bâ mâdarash telefoni .* (to talk. present)
Exercise 22: من فردا زبان جدیدی یاد بگیرم. (تصمیم گرفتن. present perfect) *man fardâ zabân-e jadidi yâd begiram.* (to decide. present perfect)
Exercise 23: آنها از منظره . (عکس گرفتن. past) *ânhâ az manzare .* (to take a photo. past)
Exercise 24: خواهرم هر شب . (نقاشی کشیدن. present) *khâharam har shab .* (to paint. present)
Exercise 25: پدرم سال پیش . (سیگار کشیدن. past continuous, then stopped) *pedaram sâl-e pish .* (to smoke. past continuous)
Exercise 26: چرا با هم ؟ (دعوا کردن. present) *cherâ bâ ham ?* (to fight. present)
Exercise 27: من که دیگر دروغ نگویم. (قول دادن. present perfect) *man ke digar dorugh naguyam.* (to promise. present perfect)
Exercise 28: آب و هوا خیلی . (عوض شدن. present perfect) *âb-o-havâ kheyli .* (to change. present perfect)
Exercise 29: کلاس ساعت هشت . (شروع شدن. present) *kelâs sâ'at-e hasht .* (to start. present)
Exercise 30: او به من و لبخند زد. (نگاه کردن. past) *u be man va labkhand zad.* (to look. past)
Answer Key: Exercises 16–30
| # | Formal (ketâbi) | Spoken (Tehrani) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | کار میکنم. kâr mikonam | کار میکنم. kâr mikonam | I work eight hours every day. |
| 17 | درس خواند. dars khând | درس خوند. dars khund | Yesterday Ali studied for the exam. |
| 18 | قول داد. ghol dâd | قول داد. ghol dâd | He promised me to come tomorrow. |
| 19 | تصمیم گرفتهایم. tasmim gerefte-im | تصمیم گرفتیم. tasmim gereftim | We have decided to travel to Iran. |
| 20 | بازی میکنند. bâzi mikonand | بازی میکنن. bâzi mikonan | The kids are playing in the yard. |
| 21 | حرف میزند. harf mizanad | حرف میزنه. harf mizane | Maryam talks with her mother on the phone. |
| 22 | تصمیم گرفتهام. tasmim gerefte-am | تصمیم گرفتم. tasmim gereftam | I've decided to learn a new language tomorrow. |
| 23 | عکس گرفتند. aks gereftand | عکس گرفتن. aks gereftan | They took a photo of the view. |
| 24 | نقاشی میکشد. naghâshi mikeshad | نقاشی میکشه. naghâshi mikeshe | My sister paints every night. |
| 25 | سیگار میکشید. sigâr mikeshid | سیگار میکشید. sigâr mikeshid | My father used to smoke last year. |
| 26 | دعوا میکنید. da'vâ mikonid | دعوا میکنین. da'vâ mikonin | Why do you fight with each other? |
| 27 | قول دادهام. ghol dâde-am | قول دادم. ghol dâdam | I have promised not to lie anymore. |
| 28 | عوض شده است. avaz shode ast | عوض شده. avaz shode | The weather has changed a lot. |
| 29 | شروع میشود. shoru' mishavad | شروع میشه. shoru' mishe | Class starts at eight o'clock. |
| 30 | نگاه کرد. negâh kard | نگاه کرد. negâh kard / negâ kard | He looked at me and smiled. |
Section 3: Translate These Sentences (Exercises 31–40)
Translate each sentence into Persian using the correct compound verb. Watch for tense clues.
Exercise 31: "I work at a hospital." (کار کردن) Exercise 32: "She promised to call me." (قول دادن) Exercise 33: "We decided to move to Tehran." (تصمیم گرفتن) Exercise 34: "The children are playing football." (بازی کردن) Exercise 35: "He took a photo of me." (عکس گرفتن) Exercise 36: "My grandmother used to pray every morning." (دعا کردن) Exercise 37: "Stop talking!". informal command (حرف زدن) Exercise 38: "I have to study tonight." (درس خواندن) Exercise 39: "The movie starts at nine." (شروع شدن) Exercise 40: "They traveled to Isfahan last year." (سفر کردن)
Answer Key: Exercises 31–40
| # | Formal (ketâbi) | Spoken (Tehrani) |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | من در بیمارستان کار میکنم. man dar bimârestân kâr mikonam | من تو بیمارستان کار میکنم. man tu bimârestân kâr mikonam |
| 32 | او قول داد به من تلفن بزند. u ghol dâd be man telefon bezanad | اون قول داد بهم زنگ بزنه. un ghol dâd behem zang bezane |
| 33 | ما تصمیم گرفتیم به تهران نقل مکان کنیم. mâ tasmim gereftim be Tehrân naghl-e makân konim | ما تصمیم گرفتیم بریم تهرون. mâ tasmim gereftim berim Tehrun |
| 34 | بچهها فوتبال بازی میکنند. bachche-hâ futbâl bâzi mikonand | بچهها فوتبال بازی میکنن. bachche-hâ futbâl bâzi mikonan |
| 35 | او از من عکس گرفت. u az man aks gereft | اون ازم عکس گرفت. un azam aks gereft |
| 36 | مادربزرگم هر صبح دعا میکرد. mâdarbozorgam har sobh do'â mikard | مادربزرگم هر صبح دعا میکرد. mâdarbozorgam har sobh do'â mikard |
| 37 | حرف نزن!. harf nazan! | حرف نزن!. harf nazan! (same) |
| 38 | من امشب باید درس بخوانم. man emshab bâyad dars bekhânam | من امشب باید درس بخونم. man emshab bâyad dars bekhunam |
| 39 | فیلم ساعت نه شروع میشود. film sâ'at-e noh shoru' mishavad | فیلم ساعت نه شروع میشه. film sâ'at-e noh shoru' mishe |
| 40 | آنها سال گذشته به اصفهان سفر کردند. ânhâ sâl-e gozashte be Esfahân safar kardand | اونا پارسال رفتن اصفهون. unâ pârsâl raftan Esfahun |
Notice exercise 40: in spoken Persian, people often drop the formal compound verb سفر کردن (safar kardan) entirely and just say رفتن (raftan. went). This is real life. formal compounds get simplified in conversation.
Why Compound Verbs Matter So Much
Persian has only about 250 simple verbs. Compare that to thousands in English. The way Persian compensates is through compound verbs. and there are thousands of those. Every new noun you learn potentially gives you a new verb when paired with the right light verb.
This is actually good news for learners. Once you master the pattern of the big four light verbs (کردن, گرفتن, دادن, زدن), you can construct verbs on the fly. For more on how Persian words combine, check out my Persian collocations guide.
What's Next?
You've just drilled the most productive pattern in Persian. Compound verbs will show up in literally every conversation, every text message, every movie you watch in Farsi.
Head to the Persian Grammar Exercises hub for more practice across all grammar topics.
If memorizing which noun goes with which light verb feels overwhelming, ZabanYar has spaced-repetition flashcards specifically for compound verb pairs. It tests you on the combinations that learners mix up most, and the spacing algorithm makes sure you don't forget what you've already learned.
FAQ
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Get it wrong and the worst that happens is a warm laugh and a story they’ll tell for years. Get it right — refuse the tea twice, accept on the third — and you’ll watch a face open up. You didn’t just speak Persian. You played the game.
A teacher from Tabriz, based in Milano. 5.0 on Preply across 42 reviews, 1,100+ lessons taught. He curates the growing dictionary behind this site.
