Breakdown of مردی که گذرنامهاش را دزدیده بودند، به هتل برگشت.
بودنbudan
to be
مردmard
man
هتلhotel
hotel
گذرنامهgozarnâme
passport
بهbe
to
راrâ
definite direct object marker
کهke
that (conjunction)
دزدیدنdozdidan
to steal
برگشتنbargashtan
to return
Questions & Answers about مردی که گذرنامهاش را دزدیده بودند، به هتل برگشت.
How exactly does this sentence express "whose passport"?
Farsi doesn't have a single specific word for "whose". Instead, it uses ke (that/who) followed by the noun attached to a possessive ending. So, mardi ke gozarnâme-ash literally translates to "the man that his passport...". This is the standard pattern for possessive relative clauses.
Why is there an -i suffix at the end of mardi? Doesn't that usually mean "a man"?
Normally, yes! But when it appears right before a relative clause starting with ke, this -i acts as a "restrictive" marker. It points out the specific noun you are about to describe, telling the listener "I'm about to specify which man I mean." So here, mardi ke... means "the man who...", not "a man who...".
Why do we need the word râ right after gozarnâme-ash?
Because the passport is the specific item being stolen, making it the definite direct object of the verb dozdide budand (they had stolen). Even though it is tucked inside a relative clause, the grammatical rule still applies: specific objects need râ.
Who is the "they" in dozdide budand (they had stolen)?
There is no specific "they". Just like in English, Farsi often uses the 3rd-person plural to describe an action done by an unknown person. Using "they had stolen" is a very natural Farsi way to express the passive idea that his passport "had been stolen".
Why use the past perfect dozdide budand (had stolen) instead of the simple past?
The past perfect is used here to show the order of events in the past. The theft of the passport happened before the man returned (bargasht) to the hotel. Using the past perfect for the earlier action clarifies this timeline.
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