Breakdown of ظاهراً هیچچیز اینجا کار نمیکند.
اینجاinjâ
here
هیچچیزhich chiz
nothing
کار کردنkâr kardan
to work
ظاهراًzâheran
apparently
Questions & Answers about ظاهراً هیچچیز اینجا کار نمیکند.
How is the adverb ظاهراً formed in this sentence?
ظاهراً (zâheran) means apparently. It is built by taking the Arabic loanword ظاهر (zâher), which means apparent or appearance, and adding the suffix اً (pronounced -an). This suffix turns adjectives or nouns into adverbs, and you will see it often in written Farsi.
Why is the verb نمیکند negative when the English translation says nothing works?
Farsi requires a double negative. When you use negative words like هیچچیز (nothing) or هیچکس (nobody), the verb must also be negative. Literally, this sentence says nothing here does not work, but it translates into English simply as nothing works here.
I know کار means work, but how does it combine with نمیکند?
The verb to work (as in a machine functioning or a person doing a job) is the compound verb کار کردن (kâr kardan), literally meaning to do work. Since هیچچیز acts as a third-person singular subject (it), we use the negative conjugated form نمیکند (does not do).
Why is هیچچیز written with a very small gap instead of a full space?
هیچچیز (nothing) is made of هیچ (any or no) and چیز (thing). Because it represents one single concept, it is usually typed using a zero-width non-joiner (half-space) to keep the words visually connected. You might also see it written with a full space as هیچ چیز; both are correct and pronounced exactly the same.