Learn Farsi: تو می‌توانی آب این چشمه را بنوشی زیرا نوشیدنی است. - You can drink the water of this spring because it is drinkable.

تو می‌توانی آب این چشمه را بنوشی زیرا نوشیدنی است.to mitavâni âb-e in cheshme râ benushi zirâ nushidani ast.

You can drink the water of this spring because it is drinkable.

Breakdown of تو می‌توانی آب این چشمه را بنوشی زیرا نوشیدنی است.

Questions & Answers about تو می‌توانی آب این چشمه را بنوشی زیرا نوشیدنی است.

How does the word نوشیدنی mean "drinkable"?

It is built by taking the full infinitive نوشیدن (to drink) and adding the suffix ی. This suffix creates an adjective meaning "capable of" or "worth" doing the action. So, نوشیدن plus ی becomes نوشیدنی (drinkable). Note that it can also be used as a noun meaning "a beverage".

Why is the verb for "drink" written as بنوشی instead of its indicative form?

It follows the modal verb می‌توانی (you can). In Farsi, when using a modal verb, the main verb that follows must be in the subjunctive form. We take the present stem of "to drink" (نوش) and add the subjunctive prefix بـ and the "you" ending ی to make بنوشی.

Why is the object marker را placed after چشمه rather than right after آب (water)?

The marker را must follow the entire specific direct object phrase, not just the head noun. The object here is the whole Ezafe chain آب این چشمه (the water of this spring), so را attaches at the very end of that phrase.

Is زیرا the most common word for "because"?

It is very common in written or slightly formal Farsi. In casual everyday speech, you will more frequently hear چون or برای اینکه used instead of زیرا, though all of them mean exactly the same thing in this context.