Q: How do you change this sentence to fit the exclamatory structure taught in this lesson ("What mysterious stories we heard about it!")?

You simply add چه (what) before the noun phrase: دربارهاش چه داستانهای اسرارآمیزی شنیدیم! Notice that the structure of the noun phrase itself does not change—the indefinite -i stays attached to the end of the adjective.

Q: Could I say درباره آن instead of دربارهاش?

Yes, درباره آن is perfectly correct, but دربارهاش is much more common in everyday Farsi. Attaching the possessive ending ـَش directly to prepositions like درباره (about) or برای (for) makes your speech flow much more naturally.

Question 1

Why is the indefinite -i attached to the adjective (اسرارآمیزی) instead of the noun (داستان‌ها)?

Accepted Answer

When a noun is modified by an adjective using the Ezāfe connector, the indefinite suffix -i (meaning "a" or "some") attaches to the very end of the whole phrase. That is why we say داستان‌های اسرارآمیزی instead of داستان‌هایی اسرارآمیز. You will see this exact same placement in the exclamatory چه structures from this lesson.

Question 2

How do you change this sentence to fit the exclamatory structure taught in this lesson ("What mysterious stories we heard about it!")?

Accepted Answer

You simply add چه (what) before the noun phrase: درباره‌اش چه داستان‌های اسرارآمیزی شنیدیم! Notice that the structure of the noun phrase itself does not change—the indefinite -i stays attached to the end of the adjective.

Question 3

Let us break down the word اسرارآمیز (mysterious). Where does it come from?

Accepted Answer

It is a compound word. اسرار means "secrets" (it is the Arabic broken plural of سر). آمیز is the present stem of the verb آمیختن (to mix or mingle). Together, they literally mean "mixed with secrets" or "full of secrets."

Question 4

Could I say درباره آن instead of درباره‌اش?

Accepted Answer

Yes, درباره آن is perfectly correct, but درباره‌اش is much more common in everyday Farsi. Attaching the possessive ending ـَش directly to prepositions like درباره (about) or برای (for) makes your speech flow much more naturally.

درباره‌اش داستان‌های اسرارآمیزی شنیدیم.

Breakdown of درباره‌اش داستان‌های اسرارآمیزی شنیدیم.

Questions & Answers about درباره‌اش داستان‌های اسرارآمیزی شنیدیم.

Learn درباره‌اش داستان‌های اسرارآمیزی شنیدیم and more in Farsi