Breakdown of حیوان بیمار دیروز ضعیفتر بود.
بیمار
sick
بودنbudan
to be
حیوانheyvân
animal
دیروزdirooz
yesterday
Questions & Answers about حیوان بیمار دیروز ضعیفتر بود.
I see the -tar suffix for "weaker", but where is the word az (than)?
You only use az when you are explicitly comparing two things in the same sentence (like "weaker than a dog"). Since we are just saying the animal was "weaker" in general without naming what it is weaker than, we don't need az. The suffix -tar in za'iftar (weaker) is enough!
How do the words for "animal" and "sick" connect in this sentence?
They connect using the ezāfe! In Farsi, when an adjective describes a noun, you link them with a short "e" sound. So heyvān (animal) and bimār (sick) become heyvān-e bimār. This "e" is usually not written in the Persian alphabet, but you must say it when speaking.
Why is diruz (yesterday) placed in the middle of the sentence?
In Farsi, time words like diruz are very flexible, but they often go right after the subject. Here, the subject is the whole phrase heyvān-e bimār (the sick animal). So diruz comes right after it, followed by the adjective za'iftar and finally the verb bud (was) at the very end.
What is the root word for "weaker" here, and how is the comparative formed?
The root adjective is za'if (weak). To make it comparative to mean "weaker", you simply attach the suffix -tar to the end, making it za'iftar. This works exactly like adding "-er" in English!