Breakdown of ما پروژه را عقب انداختهایم.
ما
we
پروژهporozhe
project
راrâ
definite direct object marker
عقب انداختنaghab andâkhtan
to postpone
Questions & Answers about ما پروژه را عقب انداختهایم.
What is the literal meaning of the compound verb عقب انداختهایم?
The infinitive is عقب انداختن, which literally translates to "to throw back" (عقب means "back" or "behind", and انداختن means "to throw" or "to drop"). In everyday Farsi, this is the standard way to say "to postpone" or "to delay".
What tense is انداختهایم in, and how is it formed here?
It is in the Present Perfect tense ("we have postponed"). It is built by taking the past stem of the verb (انداخت), adding the suffix ـه (-e) to make the past participle, and then attaching the present "to be" ending for "we" (ایم). Because it is a compound verb, only the second part (انداختن) changes.
The word پروژه sounds Western. Is it a loanword?
Yes! Like many modern administrative, academic, and technical words in Farsi, پروژه (prozhe) is borrowed directly from French ("projet"). It is pronounced with a "zh" sound, exactly like the 's' in the English word "measure".
How would we apply this lesson's grammar to say "We are supposed to postpone the project"?
You would introduce the sentence with قرار است (it is planned / supposed to), optionally use که (that), and change the main verb to the Present Subjunctive. It becomes: قرار است که ما پروژه را عقب بیندازیم. Notice how the subjunctive prefix بـ attaches only to the verbal part (بیندازیم).