Breakdown of او بازوان و زانوان خسته را نوازش میکند.
او
he/she
و
and
خسته
tired
راrâ
definite direct object marker
انân
literary plural suffix for paired body parts (e.g. -ân / -vân / -gân)
نوازش کردنnavâzesh kardan
to caress
زانوzânu
knee
بازوbâzu
arm
Questions & Answers about او بازوان و زانوان خسته را نوازش میکند.
Why do بازو (arm) and زانو (knee) use the ان plural suffix instead of the standard ها?
In formal or literary Farsi, paired body parts like arms, knees, eyes, and lips often take the plural suffix ان instead of ها. While you would hear بازوها and زانوها in everyday conversation, using بازوان and زانوان gives this sentence a more poetic, elevated, or classical tone.
How do you pronounce the plural suffix here, and why isn't an extra letter added for spelling?
When a word ends in the vowel u (written as و), Farsi avoids a vowel clash when adding ان (-ân). Instead of adding an extra letter, the existing و transitions into a consonant v sound to bridge the gap. Therefore, بازوان is pronounced bâzuvân and زانوان is pronounced zânuvân.
Why does the direct object marker را come directly after the adjective خسته instead of after the nouns?
The definite object marker را must always follow the entire noun phrase, not just the core nouns. Here, the complete direct object is the whole cluster بازوان و زانوان خسته (the tired arms and knees). Therefore, را attaches to the very end of that cluster, right after the adjective.
Does the adjective خسته need to be pluralized since it describes multiple plural nouns?
No. In Farsi, adjectives generally do not agree in number with the nouns they modify. Even though بازوان and زانوان are plural nouns representing multiple things, the adjective خسته remains in its singular, base form.
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