Breakdown of فیل از خرس بزرگتر است، ولی میمون به اندازهی خرس وحشی نیست.
بودنbudan
to be
بزرگbozorg
big / large
بهbe
to
ازaz
from
ولیvali
but
خرسkhers
bear
وحشیvahshi
wild
میمونmeymun
monkey
فیلfil
elephant
اندازهandâze
size / amount
Questions & Answers about فیل از خرس بزرگتر است، ولی میمون به اندازهی خرس وحشی نیست.
How do we form the 'not as wild as' structure using be andâze-ye?
To say 'as [adjective] as' or 'not as [adjective] as', we use the phrase be andâze-ye (which literally means 'to the size of' or 'as much as'). The standard pattern is: Subject + be andâze-ye + Noun + Adjective + ast / nist. So, meymun be andâze-ye xers vahši nist literally translates to 'the monkey to the size of the bear wild is not'.
Why is there a -ye at the end of andâze?
The phrase be andâze (to the extent/size) needs to connect to the noun that follows it, xers (bear). In Farsi, we connect words like this using the Ezafe. Because andâze ends in a silent 'e' sound, the connecting Ezafe becomes a -ye instead of just an -e. This gives us be andâze-ye xers.
Why do we use az in the first half but not the second half?
We use az (from/than) when making a comparative statement where one thing has more of a quality than another, along with the -tar ending on the adjective, like az xers bozorg-tar (bigger than the bear). The second half uses an equative comparison to show things are (or are not) on the same level. For that, we drop az and use be andâze-ye instead.
Why does the adjective vahši (wild) come after xers (bear)?
In this structure, vahši is not describing the bear; it is describing the monkey! The phrase be andâze-ye xers acts as a single block meaning 'as much as the bear'. The adjective vahši comes right after this block and immediately before the verb nist at the very end of the sentence.
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