Breakdown of آنها شعارهای زیبایی روی پلاکاردها نوشتند.
آنها
they
رویruye
on
زیباzibâ
beautiful
نوشتنneveshtan
to write
Questions & Answers about آنها شعارهای زیبایی روی پلاکاردها نوشتند.
Why is the indefinite 'i' attached to زیبایی instead of شعارها?
In Farsi, when a noun is modified by an adjective, the indefinite marker -i (ی) usually attaches to the very end of the noun phrase rather than to the noun itself. So, instead of saying شعارهایی زیبا (which is grammatically correct but feels a bit more formal), the standard everyday phrasing is شعارهای زیبایی (slogans + ezafe + beautiful + i).
Why is there a ی between شعارها and زیبایی?
This is the Ezafe linking the noun to its adjective. When a plural noun ending in ها (hâ) is followed by an adjective, you need a 'y' sound to bridge the two vowel sounds. In writing, this is represented by adding the letter ی to the end of the plural noun, creating شعارهای (sho'âr-hâ-ye).
Since 'beautiful slogans' is the direct object of what they wrote, why isn't the object marker را (râ) used here?
The object marker را is strictly used for definite direct objects (as in, 'they wrote the beautiful slogans'). Because 'beautiful slogans' is indefinite in this sentence (as shown by the -i ending on زیبایی), it cannot take the را marker.
Where does the word پلاکارد (pelâkârd) come from?
It is a loanword from the French 'placard'. Farsi adopted many French words during the 19th and 20th centuries, especially for modern political, legal, and administrative concepts. As you can see with , these loanwords follow standard Farsi grammar rules, such as taking the regular plural suffix .