Breakdown of آیا دنبال صدفی هستی که خرچنگ در آن زندگی میکند؟
آن
that
بودنbudan
to be
آیاâyâ
whether (question particle)
درdar
in
Questions & Answers about آیا دنبال صدفی هستی که خرچنگ در آن زندگی میکند؟
Why do we say dar ân ('in it') inside the second half of the sentence?
This is a major difference between English and Farsi! When a relative clause (starting with ke) describes a noun that is the object of a preposition, Farsi requires a pronoun to stay inside the clause. So instead of saying 'the shell that the crab lives in', Farsi literally says 'the shell that the crab lives in it' (dar ân).
The English translation says 'the shell', so why does sadaf have the suffix -i added to it to make sadafi?
The -i suffix here is acting as a bridge to the relative clause. When a noun is followed by a ke clause that specifies exactly which thing you are talking about, Farsi often attaches this -i to the noun. It acts like a signal saying 'Wait, I am about to tell you exactly which shell I mean'.
How does donbâl work here to mean 'looking for'?
The word donbâl literally means 'tail' or 'following', but Farsi commonly uses it with the verb 'to be' (budan) to mean 'looking for'. Connected to the following noun with a hidden ezâfe, donbâl-e sadafi hasti simply translates to 'you are looking for a shell'.
Why is the verb hasti in the middle of the sentence instead of at the very end?