Learn Farsi: آیا ماشین‌ها به سمت میدان می‌روند؟

Yes, absolutely! به سمت (be samt-e), به سوی (be su-ye), and به طرف (be taraf-e) are all compound prepositions that mean "towards" or "in the direction of". They are essentially interchangeable here. So, به طرف میدان or به سوی میدان would mean the exact same thing.

How exactly is the compound preposition به سمت built?

It’s made of the simple preposition به (to) plus the noun سمت (direction or side). To connect it to the next noun, میدان (the square), we use the hidden connector sound called the ezâfe (-e). So literally, it translates to "to the direction of (the square)".

I learned that inanimate plural nouns like ماشین‌ها (cars) usually take a singular verb. Why is می‌روند plural here?

That's a great memory! While inanimate plurals usually take a singular verb (like می‌رود) in everyday speech, using the plural verb (می‌روند) is also perfectly correct. It is often used in more formal writing, or when the speaker wants to emphasize the individual items acting separately—in this case, multiple individual cars moving towards the square.

The English translation uses "are going", but isn't می‌روند just the simple present tense "they go"?