Breakdown of شما نمیتوانید بدون آب و غذا زنده بمانید.
شما
you (plural)
و
and
آبâb
water
غذاghazâ
food
ماندنmândan
to stay
توانستنtavânestan
to be able to
بدونbedun-e
without
زندهzende
alive
Questions & Answers about شما نمیتوانید بدون آب و غذا زنده بمانید.
Does the preposition bedun need an Ezafe here?
Yes, the preposition bedun (without) needs an Ezafe to link it to the noun that follows it. You pronounce it bedun-e. Even though the word without applies to both water and food, the Ezafe only attaches directly to the preposition, giving us bedun-e āb o ghazā.
Why is the verb for stay written as bemānid?
It is in the subjunctive form because of the modal verb nemi-tavānid (you cannot). In Farsi, when you use verbs expressing ability, desire, or necessity, the action that follows must take the subjunctive prefix be-. That is why the verb māndan (to stay) becomes bemānid.
How does the compound verb zende māndan (to stay alive) handle this be- prefix?
For compound verbs, only the true verb part changes to match the grammar rules. The adjective zende (alive) stays exactly as it is, and the be- prefix is added only to the verb portion, resulting in zende bemānid.
How should I pronounce the و connecting water and food?
When connecting words in a pair like this, the conjunction و (and) is usually pronounced as a short o sound. You will hear native speakers say āb o ghazā rather than using the formal va pronunciation.
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