Breakdown of ما هنوز بچهدار نیستیم، ولی بچهها را دوست داریم.
ما
we
بودنbudan
to be
بچهbacheh
child
دوست داشتنdust dâshtan
to like / to love
Questions & Answers about ما هنوز بچهدار نیستیم، ولی بچهها را دوست داریم.
What exactly does the suffix -دار do in the word بچهدار?
It turns the noun بچه (child) into an adjective meaning "possessing children." The suffix -دار comes from the present stem of the verb داشتن (to have), so بچهدار literally describes someone as "child-possessing."
Why do we use نیستیم (we are not) instead of نداریم (we do not have) in the first half of the sentence?
Because بچهدار is an adjective, it must be paired with a "to be" verb like نیستیم. While you could grammatically say ما بچه نداریم (we do not have a child), saying ما بچهدار نیستیم (we are not "child-possessing") is a very natural, idiomatic way to state your family status in Farsi.
Why is the specific object marker را used in بچهها را if we are talking about children in general?
In Farsi, when you express a preference about an entire category of things using verbs like دوست داشتن (to like/love), you usually treat that plural category as a definite group. The را marks the whole concept of "children" as the specific direct object you are directing your feelings toward.
Are the suffix -دار and the verb داریم related?
Yes! Both come from the verb داشتن (to have). The suffix -دار is the present stem used as a building block for adjectives, while داریم is the fully conjugated "we" form of the verb, used here to build the compound verb .