Word
آنها زمان سمینار را مشخص کردهاند.
Meaning
They have specified the time of the seminar.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of آنها زمان سمینار را مشخص کردهاند.
آنها
they
راrâ
definite direct object marker
زمانzamân
time (concept, duration, era)
سمینارseminâr
seminar
Questions & Answers about آنها زمان سمینار را مشخص کردهاند.
Why is the verb کردهاند translated as "have specified" rather than just "specified"?
The verb is in the Present Perfect tense, which is used for actions completed in the past that are relevant now. It combines مشخص (moshakhas - clear) with the Present Perfect form of کردن (kardan - to do). You build this by taking the past stem کرد (kard), adding ه (-e) to make the past participle, and attaching the suffix اند (-and) for the "they" subject.
Where is the invisible Ezafe linking two words in this sentence?
It connects the words for time and seminar. You must pronounce an "-e" sound between them: زمان سمینار (zamân-e seminâr). This Ezafe acts like the English word "of", giving us the phrase "the time of the seminar".
Why does the object marker را appear after سمینار instead of right after زمان?
The word را (râ) must follow the entire specific direct object. Because the direct object is the whole phrase "the time of the seminar" (زمان سمینار), the marker را has to wait until the end of that complete noun phrase.
How would we change this sentence to mean "They are supposed to specify the time of the seminar" to practice this lesson's grammar?
You would introduce the sentence with قرار است که (gharâr ast ke - it is supposed that). Then, the main verb must shift into the Present Subjunctive. The Present Perfect مشخص کردهاند (moshakhas karde-and) becomes the Subjunctive (moshakhas konand). The full sentence would be: