Breakdown of راهبها عهد سکوت خودشان را نمیشکنند.
راrâ
definite direct object marker
شکستنshekastan
to break
سکوتsokut
silence
خودkhod
self
راهبrâheb
monk
عهد'ahd
vow / covenant
Questions & Answers about راهبها عهد سکوت خودشان را نمیشکنند.
Could we use a negative infinitive like حرف نزدن instead of سکوت here, since that's what the current lesson is about?
Yes, grammatically you could say عهد حرف نزدن (the vow of not speaking) to use a negative infinitive as a verbal noun. However, عهد سکوت is the standard, fixed expression for a "vow of silence" in Farsi, so it sounds much more natural and precise in this specific context.
Why use خودشان instead of just adding the possessive suffix ـشان to the phrase?
While saying عهد سکوتشان is grammatically correct, using the reflexive pronoun خودشان (their own) is the preferred way in Farsi to show that the object belongs to the subject of the sentence (the monks). It emphasizes that it is their own vow and sounds much more natural to native speakers.
Why does را come all the way after خودشان?
The definite object marker را must always follow the entire noun phrase that acts as the direct object. The complete object being acted upon here is the full Ezafe chain عهد سکوت خودشان (their own vow of silence), so را anchors the very end of that chain.
What is the infinitive for نمیشکنند, and how is this tense formed?
The infinitive is شکستن (to break). Like many Farsi verbs, it has an irregular present stem that must be memorized: شکن. The word is formed using the negative present prefix نمی, the stem شکن, and the third-person plural ending ند.
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