Breakdown of آیا دورهی اول سخت بود؟
بودنbudan
to be
آیاâyâ
whether (question particle)
سختsakht
difficult / hard
اولavval
first
دورهdowre
course
Questions & Answers about آیا دورهی اول سخت بود؟
Why does avval (first) come after the noun dore (course)?
This is exactly what we are practicing in this lesson! In Farsi, ordinal numbers can act like regular adjectives. When they do, they are placed after the noun, and we connect them using the Ezafe. So, "the first course" becomes dore-ye avval.
The lesson is about adding -om to make ordinal numbers, so why doesn't avval end in -om?
Avval (first) is an exception. It is an Arabic loanword that doesn't use the -om suffix. While you might occasionally hear yekom (from yek, one), avval is the standard word for "first". You will, however, use yekom in compound numbers like bist-o yekom (twenty-first).
Why is there a ی attached to the end of دوره (dore)?
The word dore ends in a silent "h" (ه), which sounds like an "e". To link it to the adjective avval using the Ezafe, we need to add a "y" sound to bridge the vowels. In writing, this is shown by adding the letter ی (ye), making it dore-ye.
Do I have to use آیا (âyâ) to make this a question?
No, you don't have to. Âyâ is a question word used mainly in writing or formal speech. In everyday spoken Farsi, you can just drop it, say dore-ye avval sakht bud?, and simply raise the pitch of your voice at the end to show it's a question.
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