Learn Farsi: ممکن است به نظر برسد که بدون آنها، همه چیز غیرممکن و بی‌فایده است. - It might seem that without them, everything is impossible and useless.

ممکن است به نظر برسد که بدون آنها، همه چیز غیرممکن و بی‌فایده است.momken ast be nazar beresad ke bedun-e ânhâ, hame chiz gheyr-e momken va bifâyede ast.

It might seem that without them, everything is impossible and useless.

Breakdown of ممکن است به نظر برسد که بدون آنها، همه چیز غیرممکن و بی‌فایده است.

Questions & Answers about ممکن است به نظر برسد که بدون آنها، همه چیز غیرممکن و بی‌فایده است.

Why is the verb for 'to seem' (berasad) in the subjunctive form here instead of the usual mi-rasad?

In this lesson, you learned be nazar mi-rasad (it seems). However, in this sentence, it comes right after momken ast (it is possible / it might). Phrases expressing possibility always require the following verb to be in the subjunctive, so mi-rasad changes to berasad.

Since the sentence starts with 'it might seem', why is the final verb ast (is) in the indicative rather than the subjunctive?

The verb ast belongs to the clause after ke (that). When you say 'it seems that...', the inner statement describes what is being perceived. Because the perception itself is stated as a fact within that thought ('everything is impossible'), the indicative ast is used. The feeling of doubt is already fully handled by the main clause (momken ast be nazar berasad).

What is the difference between the negative prefixes in gheyr-e-momken and bi-fāyede?

Both negate a word, but they work slightly differently. bi- attaches directly to a noun to mean 'without' or '-less' (bi-fāyede = useless). gheyr- means 'un-' or 'non-', and it always requires an ezafe (the 'e' sound) to connect to the next word, which is why it is pronounced gheyr-e-momken (impossible).

Why does hame chiz (everything) use the singular form of 'thing' instead of a plural?