Questions & Answers about این مرجانی است که هشتپا زیر آن میخوابد.
Why do we need the word ân (it/that) after zir (under) in this sentence?
In English, you can end a relative clause with a preposition: "the coral that the octopus sleeps under". In Farsi, you cannot leave a preposition hanging like this. You have to provide an object for it, saying "the coral that the octopus sleeps under it". Here, ân acts as a "resumptive pronoun" pointing back to the coral.
Why is there an -i at the end of marjân (coral)? Doesn't that mean "a coral"?
The suffix -i is often used to mean "a" or "an", but here it does a different job. It acts as a bridge connecting a specific noun to the ke (that) clause describing it. When you see the combination [noun]-i ke..., it translates to "the [noun] that...".
Why isn't the ezâfe (the connecting "-e" sound) used to connect marjân (coral) to the rest of the sentence?
You use the ezâfe to link a noun to an adjective or a possessor (like marjân-e zibâ for "the beautiful coral"). But to link a noun to a full descriptive clause that has its own verb, you use -i ke instead. Note, however, that there is an ezâfe linking the preposition to the pronoun: zir-e ân.
The word for octopus, hasht-pâ, seems to be made of two smaller words. What are they?
That's right! It's a compound word made of hasht (eight) and pâ (foot or leg). So an octopus in Farsi is literally an "eight-foot", which makes it very easy to remember.