Breakdown of چند ساعت طول میکشد تا زایمان تمام شود؟
چندchand
how many / several / a few
ساعتsâ'at
o'clock (the hour)
تاtâ
so that
طول کشیدنtul keshidan
to take (time) / to last
تمام شدنtamâm shodan
to run out / to finish (intransitive)
زایمانzâyemân
childbirth / delivery
طولtul
length; duration (dar tul-e = during)
Questions & Answers about چند ساعت طول میکشد تا زایمان تمام شود؟
How does the "tul kashidan" structure work when asking a question like "how many hours"?
It works exactly the same as a statement! Instead of a specific duration like do sâ'at (two hours), you just plug the question phrase chand sâ'at (how many hours) into the time slot at the beginning. Then you follow it with the fixed phrase tul mi-kashad tâ (it takes until) and your subjunctive verb.
Why is tul mi-kashad in the 3rd person singular? Who or what is doing the "taking"?
It is an impersonal expression. Just like we say "it takes" in English with an abstract "it", Farsi uses the 3rd person singular tul mi-kashad to express that an action takes time, without attaching it to a specific person or noun.
In this sentence, does tâ translate to "until" or "to"?
Literally, it means "until". The Farsi phrasing translates closely to "How many hours does it take until childbirth finishes?" While we say "for childbirth to finish" in natural English, remembering the literal translation "until" helps explain why the following verb, tamâm shaved, must be in the subjunctive mood—it represents an anticipated future event.
Why does this sentence use tamâm shaved instead of tamâm konad for "finish"?
Farsi uses two different compound verbs for "to finish". Tamâm kardan is transitive, meaning someone finishes something (like finishing homework). Tamâm shodan is intransitive, meaning something comes to an end or is finished. Since zâyemân (childbirth) is coming to an end rather than acting on an object, we use the present subjunctive form of shodan, which is shaved.
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