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Questions & Answers about چند نفر میآیند؟
Why is the singular noun nafar used here instead of a plural word for people?
In Farsi, any noun that comes right after a number or a quantity word like chand (how many) must stay in its singular form. You never make the noun plural in this structure, even though it translates to a plural word in English.
What exactly does nafar mean, and could I just use âdam (person)?
nafar is a counting word used specifically for human beings. While you might sometimes hear people say chand âdam, using chand nafar is the standard, most natural way to ask "how many people" in Farsi.
If chand nafar is grammatically singular, why does the verb میآیند have the plural ending?
Great catch! Even though nouns after numbers remain singular, Farsi often uses a plural verb when the subject is human and logically refers to more than one person. Since "how many people" refers to multiple humans, the verb takes the "they" ending (-and).
How is the verb میآیند built?
To make the present tense, you take the present stem of the infinitive âmadan (to come), which is ây. Then you add the continuous prefix mi- to the front, and the "they" personal ending -and to the end, giving you mi-âyand.