Breakdown of این مردان استادان عالی هستند.
استاد
professor / master (expert)
عالی
excellent
این
this
بودنbudan
to be
Questions & Answers about این مردان استادان عالی هستند.
Why is in used instead of a plural word for 'these'?
In Farsi, pointing words like in (this) and ân (that) do not change to plural when they are placed directly in front of a noun. Even though mardân (men) is plural, in stays in its singular form. You literally say 'this men'.
Why do mardân (men) and ostâdân (professors) end in -ân instead of -hâ?
The suffix -ân is a plural marker specifically used for animate nouns, which mostly means people. Since mard (man) and ostâd (professor) are both people, they can use this ending. You could also use the standard plural -hâ, but -ân is very common and sounds a bit more elegant for people.
Is there a connecting Ezafe sound between 'professors' and 'excellent'?
Yes! Even though it is not written in the Farsi text, you must pronounce an -e sound between them: ostâdân-e âli. This invisible link connects the noun ostâdân to the describing adjective âli (excellent).
The English word 'men' is an irregular plural. Is mardân irregular in Farsi?
Not at all! Farsi plurals are remarkably regular. You just take the singular noun mard (man) and attach the plural suffix -ân to get mardân (men). There are no tricky vowel changes inside the word like we have in English.