Question 1

Why does this sentence have را (râ) twice?

Accepted Answer

The first را belongs to the main sentence: "I returned the drill" (من دریلی را ... پس دادم). The second را is part of آن را (it) inside the relative clause. In Farsi, when the object of a relative clause is the same as the noun it describes, we repeat it using a "resumptive pronoun" like آن را. So literally, Farsi says "I returned the drill that I borrowed it."

Question 2

Could I drop آن را (ân râ) and use a pronoun suffix instead?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Instead of using the independent pronoun آن را, you could use the object enclitic ش (esh). You would attach it to the non-verb part of the compound verb, making it که قرضش گرفتم (ke qarz-esh gereftam). This is very common, especially in spoken Farsi.

Question 3

Why is there an ی (i) at the end of دریل (deril)? Doesn't that usually mean "a drill"?

Accepted Answer

Usually, adding ی (i) makes a noun indefinite ("a drill"). But right before که (ke, meaning "that"), this ی acts as a linking sound called the restrictive "i". It signals that you are about to specify exactly which drill you mean. So دریلی که translates to "the (specific) drill that..." rather than "a drill that...".

Question 4

How do the two verbs قرض گرفتم and پس دادم work here?

Accepted Answer

Both are compound verbs. قرض گرفتن (qarz gereftan) means "to borrow" (literally "to take loan"), so قرض گرفتم is "I borrowed". پس دادن (pas dâdan) means "to return" or "to give back" (literally "to give back"), making پس دادم "I returned".

من دریلی را که آن را قرض گرفتم، پس دادم.

Breakdown of من دریلی را که آن را قرض گرفتم، پس دادم.

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