Learn Farsi: نه تنها بالن اوج می‌گیرد، بلکه آرام فرود می‌آید. - Not only does the hot air balloon gain altitude, but it also lands calmly.

نه تنها بالن اوج می‌گیرد، بلکه آرام فرود می‌آید.na tanhâ bâlon owj migirad, balke ârâm forud mi'âyad.

Not only does the hot air balloon gain altitude, but it also lands calmly.

Breakdown of نه تنها بالن اوج می‌گیرد، بلکه آرام فرود می‌آید.

نهna

آرامârâm

quietly / slowly / calmly

تنهاtanhâ

only (alone)

بلکهbalke

but also / but rather

Questions & Answers about نه تنها بالن اوج می‌گیرد، بلکه آرام فرود می‌آید.

How does the "not only... but also" structure work in this sentence?

It uses the pairing na tanhâ (not only) in the first half of the sentence, and balke (but / rather) in the second half. While English typically adds "also", Farsi often just uses balke on its own to make the connection, as seen here.

Since we've been learning about the subjunctive for probability, why are the verbs owj migirad and forud miâyad in the normal present tense?

Because this sentence is stating definite facts about the balloon, not possibilities. Expressions like momken ast (it is possible) trigger the subjunctive because the action isn't certain. However, na tanhâ ... balke simply connects two real, factual statements, so we stick to the regular present indicative tense (using the mi- prefix).

What is the infinitive form of the verb for "gain altitude"?

The infinitive is owj gereftan, which is a compound verb literally meaning "to take the peak" or "to catch the zenith". Because it's a compound verb, only the second part (gereftan) is conjugated for the balloon, becoming migirad.

The word ârâm usually means the adjective "calm". How do we know it means "calmly" here?

Farsi often uses the exact same word for both the adjective (calm) and the adverb (calmly). You can tell ârâm is acting as an adverb here because of its placement right before the verb forud miâyad (lands), describing how the action happens rather than describing a noun.