Breakdown of اینها جدید نیست اما تمیز است.
اینهاinhâ
these
بودنbudan
to be
اماammâ
but
جدیدjadid
new
تمیزtamiz
clean
Questions & Answers about اینها جدید نیست اما تمیز است.
Why does the sentence use the singular verbs نیست (is not) and است (is) when the subject اینها (these) is plural?
In Farsi, when a plural subject refers to non-human things (like objects or animals), the verb is usually singular. Since "these" refers to objects here, we use the singular negative copula نیست instead of the plural نیستند, and the singular است instead of هستند.
How is the negative "to be" verb formed in this sentence?
The affirmative "is" is است. To make it negative ("is not"), Farsi uses the word نیست. Unlike regular verbs where you add a prefix to make them negative, the present tense "to be" verb has its own special negative forms, which you are learning in this lesson.
Since the verbs are singular, could I just say این (this) instead of اینها (these)?
No, because the objects you are talking about are actually plural in real life. You must use the plural pronoun اینها to show there is more than one item, even though the grammatical rule for inanimate objects makes the verb singular.
Why isn't the subject اینها repeated in the second half of the sentence after اما (but)?
Just like in English, Farsi often drops the pronoun in the second part of a compound sentence if the subject hasn't changed. You don't need to repeat it because it is already perfectly understood from the first half.
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