Breakdown of ما امیدواریم که ماهی را برای شام کباب کنیم.
ما
we
برایbarâye
for
کهke
that (conjunction)
امیدوار بودنomidvâr budan
to hope
شامshâm
dinner
ماهیmâhi
fish
کباب کردنkabâb kardan
to grill
Questions & Answers about ما امیدواریم که ماهی را برای شام کباب کنیم.
Why does the sentence use ke and the verb kabâb konim instead of an infinitive for "to grill"?
In Farsi, you don't literally say "we hope to grill". Instead, after expressing a hope or desire, you use ke (that) followed by a conjugated verb in the subjunctive mood. So, omidvârim ke... kabâb konim literally translates to "we hope that we grill".
I learned that the present subjunctive usually starts with a be- prefix. Why isn't it bekonim here?
That is a great observation! kabâb kardan (to grill) is a compound verb. When forming the subjunctive with compound verbs that use kardan (to do/make), Farsi speakers usually drop the be- prefix because the non-verbal part of the verb (kabâb) already takes the focus. So it becomes kabâb konim instead of kabâb bekonim.
What is the purpose of râ after mâhi (fish)?
râ is the specific direct object marker. By adding it, the sentence means "the fish" (a specific fish you already bought or caught). If you just said mâhi barâye shâm kabâb konim without râ, it would mean you hope to grill fish in general for dinner.
The English translation says "we", and I see the "we" ending on both verbs. Is the starting pronoun mâ necessary?
No, the starting mâ is completely optional. Because both omidvârim and konim end in -im (the "we" ending), the subject is perfectly clear without it. Including mâ at the beginning just adds a little bit of emphasis.
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