Breakdown of آنها همیشه در پی یک هدف خاصی هستند.
آنها
they
بودنbudan
to be
یکyek
one / a, an
همیشهhamishe
always
خاصkhâss
special
هدفhadaf
goal
در پیdar peye
in pursuit of / following
Questions & Answers about آنها همیشه در پی یک هدف خاصی هستند.
How exactly does the complex preposition dar pey-e work in this sentence?
dar pey-e translates to "in pursuit of" or "following." The word pey literally means "footstep" or "track," so you are literally saying "in the tracks of a specific goal." Notice that it requires an ezafe (-e) to connect to the noun phrase that follows it.
Can I use dar pey-e for physical chasing, like a dog chasing a cat?
While dar pey-e literally implies following tracks, it is generally used for more abstract pursuits, like a goal, an answer, or a consequence (such as "following the recent events"). For physically running after something, you would more commonly use a verb like donbâl kardan.
Why is there a yek before the noun and also an -i suffix at the end of the adjective (yek hadaf-e khâsi)?
This is a common way to emphasize a single, indefinite but specific item in Farsi (meaning "a certain" or "a specific"). You are wrapping the noun phrase with yek at the front and the indefinite -i at the end. While yek hadaf-e khâs (without the -i) is also perfectly correct, adding the -i stresses that it is "some specific goal" they have in mind.
Where exactly do the hidden ezafe vowels appear in the second half of this sentence?
There are two unseen ezafe vowels here. The first connects the preposition to its object: dar pey-e (which then leads into the noun phrase). The second connects the noun to its adjective: hadaf-e khâsi.
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