Question 1

Why does hashtomin come before the noun prozhe, and why is there no Ezafe?

Accepted Answer

Adjectives usually come after the noun, connected by an Ezafe. However, Type 2 ordinal numbers (which end in -omin) are an exception! They are placed directly in front of the noun they describe. Because they come before the noun instead of after it, no Ezafe is used.

Question 2

How exactly is the word hashtomin built?

Accepted Answer

It starts with the regular number hasht (eight). First, you add the suffix -om to get the Type 1 ordinal hashtom (eighth). Then, you add -in to make it the Type 2 ordinal hashtomin. This special -omin ending is what allows the number to be placed before the noun.

Question 3

Since bozorg means 'big', why isn't there an Ezafe between prozhe and bozorg?

Accepted Answer

Because bozorg is not acting as a direct adjective to the noun here. The sentence isn't saying "the big project" (prozhe-ye bozorg). Instead, it's stating a fact using the verb "to be": "the project is big" (prozhe bozorg ast). The Ezafe is only used to link a noun to its modifiers, not to the descriptive part of the sentence.

Question 4

Even though we are talking about a series of at least eight things, why is prozhe singular?

Accepted Answer

Just like in English, ordinal numbers pick out a single specific item in a sequence, so the noun remains singular. But it's also a great time to remember a rule from earlier lessons: in Farsi, nouns stay singular after numbers anyway. So whether you say "eight projects" or "the eighth project", the word prozhe never takes a plural marker!

هشتمین پروژه بزرگ است.

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