Question 1

Why do we use او را here?

Accepted Answer

The phrase او را combines the independent pronoun او (he/she) with the object marker را. This tells us exactly who is receiving the action. In English, we change the word to 'him' or 'her', but in Farsi, you just take the regular pronoun او and add را to make it the direct object.

Question 2

Since both the subject and object are third-person, how do we know who is waking up who?

Accepted Answer

The word را is the giveaway! It always tags the specific direct object of the sentence. Because او (he/she) is followed by را, we know او is the one receiving the action (being woken up). That leaves مادرش (his/her mother) as the subject doing the action.

Question 3

The English translation says 'His mother woke him', but how do we know it isn't 'Her mother'?

Accepted Answer

We actually do not know just from looking at this sentence! Farsi pronouns are completely gender-neutral. The attached ending ش in مادرش means 'his' or 'her', and the independent pronoun او means 'he' or 'she'. Without outside context, this could easily mean 'Her mother woke her up'.

Question 4

How does the verb بیدار کرد work here?

Accepted Answer

This is a compound verb, a very common feature in Farsi. It combines the adjective بیدار (awake) with کرد (the past tense of 'to do' or 'to make'). Literally, his mother 'made him awake'. Even though it is built from two words, it functions as a single verb at the end of the sentence.

مادرش امروز او را زود بیدار کرد.

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