Prepositions in Relative Clauses
In the previous lesson, we learned that Farsi uses a "resumptive pronoun" to refer back to a noun inside a relative clause. This rule also applies when the noun is the object of a preposition (like in, with, or at).
In English, we often leave prepositions at the end of the clause ("the aquarium that the sharks live in"). In Farsi, you must keep the preposition inside the relative clause and pair it with a pronoun: آن for things and animals, or او for people.
You are literally saying "the aquarium that the sharks live in it" (در آن).
| The aquarium that the sharks live in is very big. | آکواریومی که کوسهها در آن زندگی میکنند، خیلی بزرگ است.âkvâryomi ke kuse-hâ dar ân zendegi mikonand, kheyli bozorg ast. |
| The whale that we are looking at is very beautiful. | نهنگی که ما داریم به آن نگاه میکنیم، خیلی زیبا است.nahangi ke mâ dârim be ân negâh mikonim, kheyli zibâ ast. |
| The turtle that the crab is walking with is not old. | لاکپشتی که خرچنگ با آن قدم میزند، پیر نیست.lâk-poshti ke kharchang bâ ân qadam mizanad, pir nist. |
Other Prepositions
This structure works seamlessly with any preposition, whether it is a simple word like از (from) or a compound preposition like دربارهی (about) or زیر (under).
| This is the coral that the octopus sleeps under. | این مرجانی است که هشتپا زیر آن میخوابد.in marjâni ast ke hasht-pâ zir ân mikhâbad. |
| Where is the octopus that you were talking about? | هشتپایی که دربارهی آن صحبت میکردی، کجا است؟hashtpâyi ke darbâreye ân sohbat mikardi, kojâ ast? |
| The shell that the water is pouring from is beautiful. | صدفی که آب از آن میریزد، زیبا است.sadafi ke âb az ân mirizad, zibâ ast. |
Objects in Both Clauses
Sometimes, the noun is the direct object of the main sentence, while simultaneously acting as the object of a preposition inside the relative clause.
When this happens, the main noun still takes the direct object marker را right before که. Inside the relative clause, nothing changes: you still use the preposition followed by آن or او.
| Do you like the aquarium that I work in? | آیا تو آکواریومی را که من در آن کار میکنم، دوست داری؟âyâ to âkvâriyumi râ ke man dar ân kâr mikonam, dust dâri? |
| I want to see the rare turtle about which we talked. | من میخواهم لاکپشت کمیابی را که دربارهی آن صحبت کردیم، ببینم.man mikhâham lâk-poshte kamyâbi râ ke darbâre-ye ân sohbat kardim, bebinam. |