Word
آنها ترجیح میدهند که ما یک میانوعدهی سالم آماده کنیم.
Meaning
They prefer that we prepare a healthy snack.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of آنها ترجیح میدهند که ما یک میانوعدهی سالم آماده کنیم.
ما
we
آنها
they
سالمsâlem
healthy
یکyek
one / a, an
Questions & Answers about آنها ترجیح میدهند که ما یک میانوعدهی سالم آماده کنیم.
Why is the second verb in the subjunctive form (آماده کنیم)?
When expressing a preference for an action, Farsi uses ترجیح دادن (to prefer) followed by the connector که (that) and the second verb in the present subjunctive. Just like verbs of wishing or wanting, verbs of preference trigger the subjunctive for the action being preferred.
I know the subjunctive usually has a ب (be-) prefix. Why doesn't آماده کنیم have one?
آماده کردن (to prepare) is a compound verb made of an adjective (آماده, meaning ready or prepared) and a light verb (کردن, to do or make). In the subjunctive, the light verb drops its indicative می prefix, but it usually does not take the ب (be-) prefix when paired with an adjective. So, it simply becomes آماده کنیم.
How exactly does the word میانوعده translate to "snack"?
It is a compound noun. میان means "middle" or "between", and وعده refers to a "meal" or a scheduled time. Put together, a میانوعده is a "between-meal", which is the standard Farsi word for a snack.
The lesson mentions using the preposition به with ترجیح دادن. Could we use that structure in this sentence?
No, because you are preferring an action here, not comparing two objects. You only use به when comparing nouns, like "I prefer tea to coffee" (چای را به قهوه ترجیح میدهم). For actions, you must use the + subjunctive structure shown in this sentence.