Breakdown of دشمن شکنجهاش کرد، اما او مخفیگاه را فاش نکرد.
او
he/she
اماammâ
but
راrâ
definite direct object marker
دشمنdoshman
enemy
فاش کردنfâsh kardan
to reveal / to disclose
مخفیگاهmakhfigâh
hideout
شکنجه کردنshekanje kardan
to torture
Questions & Answers about دشمن شکنجهاش کرد، اما او مخفیگاه را فاش نکرد.
Why is the pronoun "him" attached to the middle of the verb as shekanjeh-ash kard instead of using u râ?
This is a perfect example of inserting a pronominal enclitic into a compound verb. Instead of writing u râ shekanjeh kard (which is grammatically fine but can feel a bit formal), native speakers often attach the object pronoun suffix -ash (him/her) directly to the noun half of the compound verb (shekanjeh). This is extremely common and makes the sentence flow more naturally.
How does the spelling work when attaching -ash to shekanjeh?
The word for torture, shekanjeh, ends in a "silent heh" which represents the short "e" vowel. When attaching a suffix that starts with a vowel, like -ash, Farsi spelling rules require an independent alef to act as a bridge. That's why it is written as شکنجهاش with an isolated alef rather than connecting the letters directly.
Could we use this same enclitic insertion in the second half of the sentence to say "he didn't reveal it"?
Yes! If the hideout had already been mentioned in a previous sentence and you didn't want to repeat the noun, you could drop makhfigâh râ and say fâsh-ash nakard (he didn't reveal it). In this sentence, because we are specifically introducing "the hideout", we use the full noun followed by the specific direct object marker râ.
How is the word makhfigâh (hideout) formed?
It is built using the suffix -gâh, which indicates a place or location. Added to the adjective makhfi (hidden or secret), it creates a "hidden place" or "hideout". You might remember this same suffix from earlier vocabulary like dâneshgâh (university/place of knowledge) and forudgâh (airport/place of descending).
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