Breakdown of او به من گفت که چربی نخورم.
من
I
او
he/she
بهbe
to
خوردنkhordan
to eat / to drink
گفتنgoftan
to say / to tell
کهke
that (conjunction)
چربیcharbi
fat
Questions & Answers about او به من گفت که چربی نخورم.
Why does the second verb نخورم take an 'I' ending when the sentence starts with او (He)?
In Farsi reported commands, you literally say 'He told me that I should not eat fat.' The first verb گفت matches the subject او (He), but the commanded action applies to 'me', so the present subjunctive verb نخورم takes the first-person singular ending ـم.
How do we make the subjunctive verb negative in this sentence?
To make a present subjunctive verb negative, you simply replace the usual بـ prefix with the negative نـ prefix. For the verb خوردن (to eat), the positive subjunctive is بخورم (that I eat) and the negative becomes نخورم (that I not eat).
Why do we use the preposition به before من?
In Farsi, the verb گفتن (to say or to tell) doesn't take a direct object for the listener. You always 'say to someone.' Therefore, we must use the preposition به (to) to get به من گفت (He told me / He said to me).
Is it possible to drop the word که (that) in this sentence?
Yes! Just like in English, the conjunction که is very often dropped in spoken Farsi. You will frequently hear people say او به من گفت چربی نخورم.
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