Question 1

How does ke mean "whose" here?

Accepted Answer

Farsi doesn't have a specific word for "whose". Instead, you use ke (who/that) and add a possessive ending to the noun being owned. Here, ke gozâresh-ash literally translates to "that his/her report". Combined, this structure gives you the meaning of "whose report".

Question 2

Why is there an -i at the end of modiri if the translation says "the" manager, not "a" manager?

Accepted Answer

This -i suffix is acting as a restrictive marker, not the indefinite article (a/an). It appears right before a relative clause to signal that the following phrase will single out exactly which person or thing we mean. It essentially points forward to the description starting with ke.

Question 3

Since gozâresh ends in "sh" and the suffix -ash has a "sh", how do I pronounce gozâresh-ash?

Accepted Answer

You pronounce both! Because the suffix -ash starts with a vowel, the sounds flow together smoothly as a distinct extra syllable: go-zâ-resh-ash.

Question 4

Why is the verb ast in the middle of the sentence, while nist is at the very end?

Accepted Answer

In Farsi, verbs go at the end of their respective clauses. ast (is) is the verb for the internal relative clause (ruy-e miz ast = is on the desk). nist (is not) is the verb for the main sentence (modiri... injâ nist = the manager... is not here). The descriptive clause is simply tucked inside the main sentence right after the noun it modifies.

مدیری که گزارشش روی میز است، اینجا نیست.

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