Breakdown of او موهای خودش را شانه میکند.
او
he/she
راrâ
definite direct object marker
موmu
hair
خودkhod
self
Questions & Answers about او موهای خودش را شانه میکند.
Why do we use خودش (khodash) here instead of a regular possessive pronoun?
خودش (khodash) combines the reflexive pronoun خود (khod, meaning self) with the third-person ending ش (ash, meaning his or hers). Using it here emphasizes that he is combing his own hair, not someone else's.
Why is the word for hair pluralized as موهای (mooha-ye)? In English, we just say hair.
In Farsi, when referring to the hair on a person's head collectively, it is almost always pluralized with the suffix ها (ha), making it موها (mooha).
What is the ی (ye) doing at the end of موهای (mooha-ye)?
This is the Ezafe, which links the noun (hair) to its owner (himself). Because موها (mooha) ends in a long a-vowel, the Ezafe is pronounced as 'ye' and written with the letter ی to bridge the gap smoothly to خودش (khodash).
Why does the object marker را (ra) come after خودش (khodash) instead of immediately after the noun for hair?
The marker را (ra) always follows the entire noun phrase that makes up the specific direct object. Here, the complete object is 'his own hair' (موهای خودش), so را must wait until the very end of that connected phrase.