Questions & Answers about نه زیپ سیاه است نه نخ.
Why is the verb ast (is) positive if the sentence has a negative meaning?
In Farsi, you usually need a negative verb when using negative words (like saying 'nobody didn't come'). However, the na... na... (neither... nor...) structure is a common exception! The conjunction itself makes the sentence negative, so the verb usually stays positive. That's why we use ast (is) here instead of the negative nist (is not).
Why does the verb ast appear in the middle of the sentence instead of at the very end?
Normally verbs go at the end in Farsi, but this sentence is actually two parts joined together. The full idea is 'na zip siyâh ast, na nakh [siyâh ast]' (Neither the zipper is black, nor the thread [is black]). To sound natural and avoid repeating words, the second part drops the adjective and verb, leaving the first verb ast right in the middle.
Is zip the exact same as the English word?
Yes! zip is borrowed directly from English and means 'zipper'. Farsi has adopted quite a few modern everyday items this way.
How do we know it translates to the zipper and the thread if there's no word for 'the'?
Farsi doesn't have a direct equivalent for the English word 'the'. A plain noun like zip can mean 'a zipper', 'zippers' in general, or 'the zipper'. You have to figure it out from the context, which here clearly points to a specific zipper and thread.
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