Breakdown of آن بچه در حیاط خودش را سرگرم میکند.
آن
that
حیاط
yard
درdar
in
بچهbacheh
child
راrâ
definite direct object marker
خودkhod
self
سرگرم کردنsargarm kardan
to entertain
Questions & Answers about آن بچه در حیاط خودش را سرگرم میکند.
Why do we add را after خودش in this sentence?
In this sentence, the child is entertaining himself. Because "himself" is the direct receiver of the action (the direct object), and it refers to a specific person, we must add the object marker را. The word خودش is made of خود (self) plus the third-person ending ش.
How does the compound verb سرگرم میکند mean "entertains"?
The infinitive is سرگرم کردن. Literally, سر means "head" and گرم means "warm". Putting them together with کردن (to do/make) gives "to make the head warm", which is the Farsi idiom for "to entertain", "to amuse", or "to keep busy".
Could I change the word order and put خودش را right after آن بچه?
You could, but it sounds less natural. The standard Farsi word order is Subject + Place + Object + Verb. Placing the subject آن بچه (that child), then the place در حیاط (in the yard), and then the direct object خودش را (himself) right before the verb flows perfectly.
If the child were a girl, would خودش change to a different word?
No, it would stay exactly the same. Farsi pronouns and possessive endings do not have gender. The ش ending on خودش can mean "his", "her", or "its", so خودش را works for "himself" or "herself" interchangeably.
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