Breakdown of یک قرن است که دانشمندان روی این اختراع جدید کار میکنند.
است
is
این
this
رویruye
on
جدیدjadid
new
یکyek
one / a, an
کهke
that (conjunction)
کار کردنkâr kardan
to work
دانشمندdâneshmand
scientist
قرنqarn
century
اختراعekhterâ'
invention
Questions & Answers about یک قرن است که دانشمندان روی این اختراع جدید کار میکنند.
In English we say 'have been working', but the Farsi sentence uses the present tense kār mikonand. Why is that?
This is the exact structure we are learning in this lesson! To talk about an action that started in the past and is still ongoing, Farsi uses [time period] + ast ke followed by the Present Indicative tense. Here, yek qarn ast ke literally means 'It is a century that'. When paired with the present tense kār mikonand (they work), the whole phrase translates to 'they have been working for a century'.
Why do we use ruy-e for 'on' in this sentence?
The word ruy-e literally means 'on' or 'on the surface of'. In Farsi, when you talk about working 'on' a project, an idea, or an invention, ruy-e is the standard preposition to use, just like in English. Notice that it links to the following phrase with an Ezāfe sound, making it ruy-e in... (on this...).
Why does the word for scientists (dāneshmandān) end in -ān instead of the usual plural -hā?
The suffix -ān is a traditional plural marker used specifically for people and living things. While you will often hear -hā used for everything in casual spoken Farsi (like dāneshmand-hā), the -ān ending is very common in writing, news, and slightly more formal speech when referring to professions or groups of people.
Where does the Ezāfe (the linking 'e' sound) go in the phrase in ekhterā'-e jadid (this new invention)?
Demonstrative words like in (this) sit directly in front of the noun and never take an Ezāfe. So, we start with in ekhterā' (this invention). However, the adjective jadid (new) comes after the noun, so it must be linked with the Ezāfe. That gives us the full grammatical chain: in ekhterā'-e jadid.
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