Breakdown of ساقهی این گیاه ماندنی نیست، ولی برگ آن خوردنی است.
است
is
این
this
آن
that
بودنbudan
to be
ولیvali
but
برگbarg
leaf
گیاهgiyâh
plant
خوردنیkhordani
edible
ساقهsâghe
stem
ماندنیmândani
lasting
Questions & Answers about ساقهی این گیاه ماندنی نیست، ولی برگ آن خوردنی است.
How does adding the suffix -i (ی) to infinitives like khordan (خوردن) and māndan (ماندن) work in this sentence?
By adding -i (ی) to a full infinitive, you create an adjective that describes worth, capability, or fitness. Here, khordan (to eat) becomes khordani (خوردنی), meaning edible or fit to be eaten. Similarly, māndan (to stay/remain) becomes māndani (ماندنی), meaning capable of lasting or worth keeping.
The verb māndan (ماندن) usually means to stay or remain. Why does māndani nist (ماندنی نیست) translate to "not worth keeping"?
While māndan means "to stay," its adjective form māndani (ماندنی) implies something has the durability to last or stick around. In the context of a plant's stem, saying it is māndani nist means it won't last, which is naturally translated into English as "not worth keeping."
Why does sāqe (ساقه) have the letter ye (ی) attached to it in sāqe-ye (ساقهی)?
This is the Ezafe, the grammatical link used to connect a noun to its possessor or adjective. Because sāqe (stem) ends in a "silent heh" (ه) which makes an "e" sound, we must add a visible ye (ی) to act as a bridge before pronouncing the Ezafe.
The English translation says "its leaf". Why does the sentence use barg-e ān (برگ آن) instead of the possessive suffix barg-ash (برگش)?
Both options are completely correct. barg-e ān literally means "the leaf of that." Using the independent pronoun ān (آن) instead of the attached suffix -ash (ـَش) is a bit more formal. It is very common in descriptive writing, especially here where we are drawing a contrast between the stem and the leaf.
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