Breakdown of اینان مهمانان خارجی هستند.
اینانinân
these people
بودنbudan
to be
مهمانmehmân
guest
خارجیkhâreji
foreign
Questions & Answers about اینان مهمانان خارجی هستند.
What is the difference between اینان and اینها for "these"?
اینان is a formal demonstrative pronoun used exclusively for people or animate nouns. In everyday spoken Farsi, you would usually just hear اینها or اینا, which can be used for both people and things. Because this sentence has a formal tone, اینان is the right choice.
Why is the plural of guest written as مهمانان instead of مهمانها?
Both mean guests, but the -ان suffix is a formal plural marker used primarily for living things. It perfectly matches the formal, respectful tone set by the pronoun اینان at the start of the sentence. In casual speech, you would typically use مهمانها.
Is there a hidden Ezafe connecting the words in this sentence?
Yes! To connect the noun guests (مهمانان) to the describing adjective foreign (خارجی), you need an Ezafe. It is not written in the Persian script here, but you must pronounce it as a short 'e' sound at the end of the noun, making it mehmânân-e khâreji.
Since there are multiple guests, why doesn't the adjective خارجی also take a plural marker?
In Farsi, adjectives never change to match the plural status of the noun they describe. The plural marker goes only on the noun itself (مهمانان), while the adjective (خارجی) always stays in its singular dictionary form.
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