Breakdown of قاضی به حبس محکومشان کرد.
آنها
they
بهbe
to
قاضیqâzi
judge
محکوم کردنmahkum kardan
to convict
حبسhabs
imprisonment
Questions & Answers about قاضی به حبس محکومشان کرد.
Where is the word for "them" in محکومشان کرد?
It is the suffix شان (-shân). Instead of using a separate pronoun like آنها (ânhâ), Farsi often uses these short pronominal enclitics attached to words to show who receives the action. Here, شان acts directly as the object "them".
Why is the enclitic شان attached to محکوم instead of the verb کرد?
محکوم کردن (to sentence) is a compound verb made of a non-verbal part (محکوم) and a light verb (کردن). When using object enclitics with compound verbs, the suffix almost always attaches to the first, non-verbal part rather than the light verb itself. This is why we say محکومشان کرد instead of محکوم کردشان.
Why isn't there a را (râ) in this sentence if "them" is a definite direct object?
You only use the object marker را with independent nouns or standalone pronouns. Because the enclitic شان already functions as a definite direct object, adding را is unnecessary and grammatically incorrect. If you wanted to use را, you would have to use the standalone pronoun instead: قاضی آنها را به حبس محکوم کرد.
What exactly does محکوم mean on its own?
On its own, محکوم means "condemned" or "convicted." When paired with کرد (did/made), the compound literally translates to "made condemned," which is the standard Farsi way of saying "sentenced."
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