Breakdown of امروز نه قطعهساز و نه ابزارساز در کارگاه نبودند.
و
and
بودنbudan
to be
امروزemruz
today
درdar
in
Questions & Answers about امروز نه قطعهساز و نه ابزارساز در کارگاه نبودند.
How exactly does the suffix -sâz work in قطعهساز and ابزارساز?
The suffix -sâz comes from the present stem of ساختن (to make, to build). When added to a noun, it creates a new noun meaning "maker" or "manufacturer" of that thing. So, قطعه (piece/part) + ساز becomes "parts manufacturer", and ابزار (tool) + ساز becomes "toolmaker".
Why is the verb نبودند (were not) negative when the sentence already says نه ... و نه ... (neither ... nor ...)?
Unlike standard English, Farsi requires a negative verb when using نه ... و نه .... You are literally saying "Neither A and nor B were not in the workshop." If you used a positive verb (بودند), it would sound grammatically incomplete to a native speaker.
In English, we say "Neither the parts manufacturer nor the toolmaker was" (singular). Why does Farsi use the plural verb نبودند here?
In Farsi, when you have two or more animate subjects joined by the نه... و نه... structure, they are treated as a combined plural group. Therefore, the verb must take the plural ending -ند (نبودند instead of the singular نبود).
Since we are learning about compound words, how is the word کارگاه (workshop) formed in this sentence?
کارگاه is made of کار (work) plus the suffix -گاه (-gâh). The suffix is attached to nouns to indicate a place or location where that specific activity happens, making it literally the "work-place".