Word
او بیشتر اوقات مجله میخواند.
Meaning
Most times, he reads magazines.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of او بیشتر اوقات مجله میخواند.
او
he/she
خواندنkhândan
to read / to study (a subject)
مجلهmajalle
magazine
بیشترbishtar
more / most (of)
Questions & Answers about او بیشتر اوقات مجله میخواند.
The word for times here is ouqât. How does that relate to the normal word for time, vaqt?
ouqât is an Arabic broken plural of vaqt. Instead of adding a regular Persian plural ending like -hâ, the internal vowels change and syllables are added. Persian uses many of these inherited Arabic plurals for common words, especially in set phrases like bishtar-e ouqât (most of the time).
Do I need to pronounce an Ezafe (the hidden linking vowel) between bishtar and ouqât?
Yes, it is pronounced bishtar-e ouqât. The Ezafe links the word bishtar (more/most) to the noun it quantifies, literally translating to the greater part of times.
Can I just say bishtar-e vaqt-hâ using the regular Persian plural instead?
Yes, bishtar-e vaqt-hâ is grammatically correct and perfectly understood. However, bishtar-e ouqât is a very frequent fixed expression, so learning this specific broken plural is essential for understanding native speakers.
The English translation says he reads magazines, but majalle does not have a plural ending here. Why?
In Farsi, when you refer to a general category of things or a general habit rather than specific individual items, you use the singular form. Because he is just reading magazines in general, majalle remains singular.