Learn Farsi: من در خواب، بدون اینکه چشمانم را باز کنم، غلت می‌زنم. - I roll over in my sleep without opening my eyes.

The phrase bedun-e inke (without doing something) literally translates to 'without this that'. In Farsi, this conjunction introduces a negative condition or manner and always requires the following verb to be in the present subjunctive. So, instead of using a gerund like 'without opening' in English, Farsi says 'without this that I open' using the subjunctive baaz konam.

Why does the sentence use cheshmaan-am for 'my eyes' instead of the regular plural cheshm-haa-yam?

Both are correct, but -aan is an older plural suffix that is still heavily used for paired body parts. Words like eyes (cheshmaan), hands (dastaan), and lips (labaan) often take this suffix instead of -haa. It sounds very natural and slightly more elegant, though you will hear cheshm-haa in casual speech too. The -am at the end is just the possessive suffix for 'my'.

How does the verb for 'I roll over' work in Farsi?

The verb used here is ghalt zadan (to roll or tumble). Like many Farsi verbs, it is a compound made of a noun ghalt (a roll) and the helper verb zadan (to hit/strike). To say 'I roll over' in the present tense, you only conjugate the helper verb, which gives us ghalt mizanam.

English says 'without opening', but Farsi says bedun-e inke... baaz konam. Does the second verb always have to match the subject 'I'?