In English, a verbal noun is a verb form that can function as a noun: "He quit Smoking." In Dari, this function uses the infinitive form of the verb, as if in English we were to say, "He quit to smoke." The infinitive form used as a noun then takes the same plural endings and direct object marker and forms compound nouns as would any noun.
.او آموختن لسان خارجی را ترک گفته است
"He has quit learning a foreign language."
(Literally: "He has quit to learn a foreign language")
Dari makes frequent use of verb forms as nouns. In English, we often use the "-ing" ending to create nouns from verbs. Dari uses the infinitive and some other verb forms instead:
.فهمیدن آن معلومات اساسی را ایجاب می کند
"Understanding of this information requires profound knowledge"
(Literally: "To understand this information requires profound knowledge")
Dari uses present participles of verbs to convey the meanings of words which in English might be formed with the ending "-er," such as "reader," "writer," "seller" and "receiver":
"writer" نویسنده
"seller" فروشنده
"receiver" گیرنده
Dari also uses past participles to form nouns:
can mean both "written" and "something done in written form" نوشته
can mean both "said" and "something done in oral form (a speech)" گفته
Please note that verbal and nominal forms in Dari and those in English may not correspond exactly. (Their strict correspondence is an exception rather than a rule.)
See Also: