Breakdown of آنها زیبایی دریا را دیدند.
آنها
they
دیدنdidan
to see / to watch
راrâ
definite direct object marker
دریاdaryâ
sea
زیباییzibâyi
beauty
Questions & Answers about آنها زیبایی دریا را دیدند.
How is the abstract noun zibâyi (beauty) formed from the adjective zibâ (beautiful)?
To make an abstract noun from an adjective, Farsi adds the suffix -i. However, because zibâ ends in the long vowel â, a y consonant is inserted to prevent two vowels from clashing. This gives us zibâ + y + i, resulting in zibâyi.
Where is the word 'of' in the Farsi translation for 'beauty of the sea'?
It is expressed through the Ezafe particle, which links the two nouns as zibâyi-ye daryâ. Because zibâyi ends in a vowel sound, the Ezafe is pronounced as -ye. As is typical in Farsi script, this Ezafe is not written as a separate letter here, but you must pronounce it to link the words together.
Why does the object marker râ come after daryâ instead of right after zibâyi?
The marker râ must follow the entire specific direct object. The object of their seeing isn't just 'beauty' but the whole phrase 'the beauty of the sea' (zibâyi-ye daryâ). Therefore, râ is placed at the very end of that complete noun phrase.
Why doesn't the verb didand (they saw) have a prefix like mi-?
This is the simple past tense, which indicates a single, completed action in the past. In Farsi, simple past verbs do not take the mi- prefix (which is reserved for continuous or habitual actions). It is formed simply by taking the past stem did (from didan, to see) and adding the 'they' ending -and.
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