Breakdown of معلم میتواند این مشکل را حل کند.
این
this
معلمmo'allem
teacher
مشکلmoshkel
problem
راrâ
definite direct object marker
Questions & Answers about معلم میتواند این مشکل را حل کند.
Why are there two verbs in this sentence, and how do they work together?
To say someone can do something, Farsi uses the modal verb mi-tavânad (can) followed by the main action verb. The modal verb takes the regular present tense, while the main action verb goes at the very end of the sentence in the subjunctive form, which is hall konad (solve) here.
I thought the subjunctive form always needed a be- prefix. Why doesn't hall konad have one?
You are right that the subjunctive usually adds a be- prefix. But hall kardan (to solve) is a compound verb. With compound verbs using kardan (to do), we often just drop the mi- prefix from the regular present tense to make the subjunctive. So, hall mi-konad simply becomes hall konad without adding be-.
Why is the word râ used after in moshkel?
The word râ is a marker that points out the definite direct object of the sentence. Since the teacher is solving a specific problem, we add râ right after in moshkel to show it receives the action of the verb.
Why is the object in moshkel râ placed in between the two verbs?
In Farsi, the main action verb almost always sits at the very end of the sentence. The modal verb like mi-tavânad usually comes right after the subject. This means the rest of the sentence, including the direct object, naturally gets sandwiched between the modal verb and the final subjunctive verb.