Learn Farsi: دوازده صندلی در اتاق است. - There are twelve chairs in the room.

In Farsi, nouns that follow a number always stay in the singular form. You do not add a plural ending to the noun. That is why we say دوازده صندلی (literally 'twelve chair') instead of 'twelve chairs'.

Since there are multiple chairs, why does the sentence end with است (is) instead of an 'are' verb?

In Farsi, when the subject is made up of inanimate objects (things that are not alive, like chairs or books), the verb is usually singular. Even though there are twelve chairs, the verb stays singular as است (is).

The English translation says 'There are', but I do not see a word for 'there' in the Farsi sentence. How does this work?

Farsi does not use a filler word like 'there' to say that something exists in a place. Instead, you just state what the object is, where it is located, and end with the verb 'to be'. Literally, this sentence translates to 'Twelve chair in room is'.

Where is the word for 'the' before اتاق (room)?

Farsi does not have a specific word for 'the'. A plain noun like اتاق can mean 'a room' or 'the room' depending on the context. In this sentence, the context makes it clear we are talking about a specific place, so it translates smoothly to 'the room'.