Breakdown of ما داریم بچهها را در مهدکودک میخوابانیم.
ما
we
درdar
in
داشتنdâshtan
to have
بچهbacheh
child
راrâ
definite direct object marker
مهدکودکmahd-e kudak
daycare
خواباندنkhâbândan
to put to sleep
Questions & Answers about ما داریم بچهها را در مهدکودک میخوابانیم.
How do we get the verb میخوابانیم from the normal word for "sleep"?
The base verb for "to sleep" is خوابیدن (khâbidan), which doesn't take a direct object. To make it transitive ("to put someone to sleep"), we use the causative form. We take its present stem, خواب (khâb), and add the infix -ân- to get the new causative stem خوابان (khâbân). Finally, we add the prefix می (mi-) and the "we" ending -یم (-im) to make میخوابانیم.
Why is داریم (we have) used at the beginning of the sentence if the translation is "We are putting..."?
In Farsi, the present continuous tense (doing something right now) is formed by using the present tense of داشتن (dâshtan - to have) as a helper verb. Both the helper verb and the main verb must have the matching "we" ending: داریم (dârim) and میخوابانیم (mi-khâbânim).
Does داریم have to be right next to the main verb?
No, and it usually isn't! The helper verb داریم comes early in the sentence (right after the subject), while the main verb میخوابانیم stays at the very end. The rest of the sentence, like the object and location, is sandwiched between them.
Why do we need را after بچهها (children)?
Because our new causative verb means "to put someone to sleep", it now takes a direct object (the person being put to sleep). Since we are talking about specific children ("the children"), we must mark them with the definite direct object marker را (râ).
What does مهدکودک (mahd-e koodak) literally mean?
It literally means "cradle of the child". مهد (mahd) means "cradle" or "crib", and کودک (koodak) means "child". Notice the hidden "e" sound (the ezafe) connecting the two words. This is the standard Farsi word for daycare or kindergarten.
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