Breakdown of من آنها را در خیابان دیدم.
من
I
آنها
they
خیابانkhiâbân
street
درdar
in
دیدنdidan
to see / to watch
راrâ
definite direct object marker
Questions & Answers about من آنها را در خیابان دیدم.
Why is râ added after ânhâ?
ânhâ means "they" or "those". By adding the object marker râ, it becomes a direct object, meaning "them". In Farsi, when an independent pronoun is the direct receiver of an action (like being seen), it must be followed by râ.
Would native speakers say ânhâ râ exactly like this in conversation?
In formal or written Farsi, yes. But in everyday spoken Farsi, ânhâ is usually pronounced as unâ, and râ becomes ro. So you will very often hear unâ ro instead of ânhâ râ.
Why does "them" (ânhâ râ) come before "in the street" (dar khiyâbân)?
Farsi sentence structure is a bit different from English. The standard order is Subject + Object + Place + Verb. So "I" (man) comes first, followed by the direct object "them" (ânhâ râ), then the location "in the street" (dar khiyâbân), and finally the verb "saw" (didam).
Could I leave out the word man (I) at the beginning?
Yes! The verb didam is built from the past root did (saw) and the personal ending -am (I). Because the verb ending already tells us who did the action, the pronoun man is optional and is often dropped in normal conversation.
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