Breakdown of به خاطر برف احتیاط کن مبادا تصادف کنی.
برفbarf
snow
تصادف کردنtasâdof kardan
to have an accident
به خاطرbe khâter-e
because of / for the sake of (often for a person's sake)
احتیاط کردنehtiyât kardan
to take precaution / to be careful (exercising caution)
مباداmabâdâ
lest / so that not
Questions & Answers about به خاطر برف احتیاط کن مبادا تصادف کنی.
If "mabâdâ" means "so that not", why is the verb "tasâdof koni" in the positive form?
The negative meaning is already built into the word mabâdâ. Just like the English word "lest", it requires a positive verb. Saying mabâdâ tasâdof nakoni would create a double negative, meaning "lest you do not crash."
Why is the verb after "mabâdâ" in the present subjunctive form?
Conjunctions of purpose like mabâdâ are always followed by the subjunctive mood. This is because crashing is a potential future event that you are trying to avoid, not a confirmed fact.
Why doesn't the subjunctive verb "tasâdof koni" have the usual "be-" prefix?
Tasâdof kardan (to crash) is a compound verb. In modern Farsi, when making the subjunctive for compound verbs ending in kardan, the prefix be- (or bo-) is frequently dropped, leaving just koni instead of bokoni.
What connects "be khâter" to "barf" (snow) in the first half of the sentence?
They are connected by the ezafe vowel. The phrase is pronounced be khâter-e barf. The word khâter needs this invisible linking vowel to attach to the noun it modifies, creating the meaning "because of the snow".
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