Questions & Answers about چتر معلم بزرگ است.
Where is the word for the 's' showing that the umbrella belongs to the teacher?
Farsi doesn't use an exact equivalent to the English 's. Instead, it uses the Ezafe rule. You link the possessed thing (چتر) and the owner (معلم) with a short e sound, pronouncing it chatr-e mo'allem. Notice that the object comes first, exactly the opposite of the English word order!
Why can't I see the 'e' sound (the Ezafe) written anywhere between چتر and معلم?
The short vowel for the Ezafe is usually invisible in standard written Farsi! It is just a spoken rule. When you see two nouns linked by possession, you simply have to remember to pronounce the short e sound at the end of the first word.
If the Ezafe links words, why isn't there one before بزرگ (big)?
The Ezafe links a noun to its owner, or to an adjective that is attached directly to it (like if we wanted to say the big umbrella). But in this sentence, بزرگ is just telling us what the umbrella is. The literal order is umbrella-of teacher big is, so بزرگ stands on its own without an Ezafe.
Why does the verb است (is) come at the very end of the sentence?
Farsi naturally puts the main verb at the very end of a sentence. So instead of saying The teacher's umbrella is big, Farsi structures it as The teacher's umbrella big is.
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