Breakdown of آیا توتهای این بوته خوردنی هستند؟
این
this
بودنbudan
to be
آیاâyâ
whether (question particle)
توتtut
berry
بوتهbote
bush
خوردنیkhordani
edible
Questions & Answers about آیا توتهای این بوته خوردنی هستند؟
How does the suffix -ی change the meaning of خوردن in this sentence?
By attaching the suffix -ی to the full infinitive خوردن (to eat), we get خوردنی. This pattern turns a verb into an adjective describing something that is capable of or worth having that action done to it. Here, it means 'capable of being eaten,' or simply 'edible.'
Why is the ezāfe written with a ی in توتهای?
The plural marker ها ends in a long vowel. When you need to connect a word ending in a vowel to the next word using an ezāfe (which links nouns together, translating roughly to 'of'), you must bridge the vowel gap with the consonant ی (the 'y' sound). So, توتها (berries) plus the ezāfe becomes توتهای (tut-hā-ye).
Since berries are inanimate objects, shouldn't the verb be the singular است instead of the plural هستند?
You remembered the rule correctly! In everyday Farsi, inanimate plural subjects usually take a singular verb. However, using the plural verb هستند isn't grammatically wrong; it just sounds a bit more formal or written. In casual speech, you'd likely hear خوردنی است (or its spoken shortcut, خوردنیه).
Do I have to use آیا to make this a question?
No, you do not. The word آیا is a formal question marker. In spoken Farsi, people almost always drop it and just raise the pitch of their voice at the end of the sentence to show they are asking a question.
Learn آیا توتهای این بوته خوردنی هستند؟ and more in Farsi
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free