Breakdown of اینها چمدان را داخل گمرک بررسی نکرده بودند.
اینهاinhâ
these
داخلdâkhel
inside
چمدانchamadân
suitcase
راrâ
definite direct object marker
گمرکgomrok
customs
بررسی کردنbarresi kardan
to check / to inspect
Questions & Answers about اینها چمدان را داخل گمرک بررسی نکرده بودند.
How do we form the negative past perfect for "they had not checked" in this sentence?
The verb is the compound verb بررسی کردن (to check). To make the negative past perfect, you attach the negative prefix نـ (na-) to the past participle of the verbal part, giving us نکرده (nakarde). Then, you add the simple past of بودن (to be) matching "they", which is بودند (budand). Together, it makes بررسی نکرده بودند.
Why doesn't the negative prefix نـ attach to the first word, بررسی?
In Farsi compound verbs, بررسی is the non-verbal noun part (meaning "inspection") and کردن is the verbal part (to do). Grammatical prefixes like the negative نـ (na-) always attach to the verbal part of a compound verb, never the noun. That is why it goes on کردن, making it بررسی نکرده بودند.
Why is اینها translated as "these people"? Doesn't it just mean "these"?
While اینها literally means "these" (the plural of این, meaning "this"), Farsi frequently uses plural demonstrative pronouns as standalone nouns. When referring to humans, اینها is naturally understood and translated as "these people" or just "they" (for a group nearby).
How are the words داخل (inside) and گمرک (customs) linked together in speech?
They are linked by the hidden ezafe vowel, pronounced as "-e". Just like connecting a noun to an adjective, you use the ezafe to connect a position or direction word to its location. It is spoken as داخلِ گمرک (dakhel-e gomrok), which works a bit like saying "inside of customs" in English.
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