Breakdown of چقدر روغن داخل پیمانه بود؟
بودنbudan
to be
داخلdâkhel
inside
چقدرcheqadr
how much
پیمانهpeymâne
measuring cup
Questions & Answers about چقدر روغن داخل پیمانه بود؟
How do we connect cheghadr (how much) to roghan (oil)? Do we need an ezafe?
No ezafe (the invisible connecting vowel) is needed here! When using cheghadr to ask "how much" of something, you simply put it directly before the uncountable noun. Cheghadr roghan translates exactly as "how much oil".
I see dakhel (inside/in) right next to peymaneh (cup). Is there an invisible ezafe between them?
Yes, exactly! Prepositions of location like dakhel (inside) need an ezafe (the short "e" sound) to connect to the noun that follows. When speaking, you pronounce it as dakhel-e peymaneh (inside of the cup).
Does peymaneh mean a regular drinking cup?
Not usually. Peymaneh specifically refers to a measuring cup used for cooking and baking, or a standard unit of measure. If you were asking about a cup for drinking tea or water, you would use fenjan (teacup) or livan (glass/cup).
Even though this is a question, the verb bood (was) is at the very end. Is that normal?
Yes! Unlike English, where the verb "was" moves forward to form a question ("How much oil was in the cup?"), Farsi keeps its standard word order. The verb almost always stays at the very end of the sentence, and the question word (cheghadr) does the job of showing it is a question.