Question 1

Why is kam konam in the present subjunctive when the doctor's command happened in the past (goft)?

Accepted Answer

In Farsi reported commands, the main verb is in the tense it actually happened (here, the past tense goft for "said" or "told"), but the action being commanded is always put in the present subjunctive. You can think of it literally as "The doctor said that I should lose..."

Question 2

The English translation says "the doctor told me", but there is no be man (to me) in the Farsi sentence. Is it hidden?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is implied! Because the subjunctive verb kam konam ends with the first-person suffix -am (meaning "I lose"), it is completely obvious to a Farsi speaker that the doctor was talking to you. You can add be man before goft, but leaving it out sounds very natural and common.

Question 3

How do you say "to lose weight" in Farsi, and why is it structured this way here?

Accepted Answer

The phrase is vazn kam kardan, which literally means "to make weight less." It is a compound verb. Here, the specific amount to lose (hodud-e dah kilu) is placed right before vazn, so the sequence reads as "about ten kilos weight that I make less."

Question 4

How does the linking work in ghand-e khun-e man?

Accepted Answer

This uses a chain of the ezâfe (the hidden "e" sound that connects words to show relationships or possession). It literally translates to "sugar of blood of me." The first ezâfe connects ghand (sugar) to khun (blood) to create the concept of blood sugar, and the second connects it to man (my).

قند خون من بالا است و دکتر گفت که حدود ده کیلو وزن کم کنم.

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