Breakdown of آنها میخواهند سال آینده ازدواج کنند.
آنها
they
خواستنkhâstan
to want / to ask (request from someone)
سالsâl
year
آیندهâyande
future / next
Questions & Answers about آنها میخواهند سال آینده ازدواج کنند.
Why do both میخواهند and کنند have the "they" ending?
In English, we say "They want to marry" using the dictionary base form for the second verb. In Farsi, when using خواستن (to want), you must conjugate both verbs to match the subject. Literally, it translates to "They want that they marry." The first verb is in the normal present tense, and the second is in the present subjunctive.
Where is the بـ (be-) prefix for the subjunctive verb? Shouldn't it be ازدواج بکنند?
ازدواج کردن (to marry) is a compound verb. It is made of the noun ازدواج (marriage) and the doing-verb کردن (to do). When making the subjunctive for compound verbs, the بـ (be-) prefix is almost always dropped in standard Farsi. So, it simply becomes ازدواج کنند.
Is there a hidden sound connecting سال (year) and آینده (next)?
Yes! This is the ezâfe rule. To link a noun to its adjective, you pronounce a short "e" sound between them. It is spoken as sâl-e âyande, even though the connecting "e" is not written in the Persian alphabet.
Why is سال آینده (next year) placed in the middle of the sentence between the two verbs?
Farsi naturally places the main conjugated verb at the end of a clause. This sentence is essentially split into two parts: "They want" (آنها میخواهند) and "that they marry next year" (سال آینده ازدواج کنند). Because "next year" describes when they will marry, it goes right before that final compound verb.