Breakdown of کنار شمعدان چه گذاشتی؟
کنارkenâr
beside, next to
چهche
what
گذاشتنgozâshtan
to put
شمعدانsham'dân
candlestick
Questions & Answers about کنار شمعدان چه گذاشتی؟
The translation says 'the candlestick'. How would I change this to 'next to a candlestick' using the grammar from this lesson?
You would use yek before the noun and add the indefinite -i suffix to the end: kenār-e yek sham'dāni. Because this sentence does not use these, sham'dān is understood as definite (the candlestick).
Is there a hidden sound between kenār (next to) and sham'dān (candlestick)?
Yes, they are connected by the ezafe vowel -e, making it kenār-e sham'dān. Prepositions of place like kenār (beside), ru (on), and zir (under) act like nouns in Farsi and need the ezafe to link to the following word.
Why does the question word che (what) go right before the verb?
In Farsi, question words go exactly where the answer would go in a normal sentence. Since che asks for the direct object (the thing you put), and objects typically go before the verb, it sits right in front of gozāshti.
What are the parts that make up the word sham'dān?
It is made of sham' (candle) and the suffix -dān, which means holder or container. You will see this same suffix in other everyday words like namak-dān (salt shaker) and yakh-dān (cooler).