Breakdown of ما خبر دولتی و خارجی را میشنیدیم.
ما
we
و
and
خبرkhabar
news
شنیدنshenidan
to hear
راrâ
definite direct object marker
دولتdowlat
government
خارجkhârej
outside (abroad)
Questions & Answers about ما خبر دولتی و خارجی را میشنیدیم.
How are the adjectives دولتی and خارجی formed?
Both are relational adjectives made by adding the suffix ی (-i) to a noun. دولت (dowlat) means "government" or "state," so دولتی (dowlati) means "governmental." Similarly, خارج (khârej) means "outside" or "abroad," making خارجی (khâreji) mean "foreign."
Does خبر need an ezafe here?
Yes! To connect the noun خبر (news) to its adjective دولتی (governmental), you need the ezafe. When spoken, it sounds like khabar-e dowlati.
Why is the object marker را placed after the adjectives instead of right after خبر?
The word را (râ) marks the definite direct object of the sentence. It always goes at the very end of the entire noun phrase. Since the complete direct object here is "the governmental and foreign news" (خبر دولتی و خارجی), را must wait until after the final adjective.
Why does the verb میشنیدیم translate to "used to hear" rather than just "heard"?
The verb is in the past continuous (or habitual) tense. It is built with the continuous prefix می (mi-), the past stem شنید (shenid), and the "we" ending یم (-im). This tense is used for actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past, which translates well to "we were hearing" or "we used to hear."
The English translation says "news," which implies plural. Should خبر be pluralized?
You could use the plural forms like اخبار (akhbâr) or خبرها (khabar-hâ), but the singular خبر (khabar) is very often used to refer to "the news" as a general uncountable concept, just like in English!
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