Breakdown of آیا هنر او واقعا بیهمتا است؟
است
is
او
he/she
آیاâyâ
whether (question particle)
واقعاvâghe'an
really
Questions & Answers about آیا هنر او واقعا بیهمتا است؟
Since this lesson is about superlatives, why isn't there a superlative suffix like -tarin used here?
The word بیهمتا (peerless or matchless) is an absolute adjective. Because its meaning inherently implies having no equal, it does not need a superlative suffix or a partitive construction (like 'the best of...') to convey the highest possible degree.
Why does واقعا end with an alef, and how is it pronounced?
The word واقعا is an Arabic loanword that uses a 'tanvin' marker. The alef at the end isn't pronounced as an 'â' vowel; instead, the ending is pronounced as '-an', making the word sound like 'vâqe'an'. In B2 texts, you are expected to recognize this common adverbial ending even when the double-dash diacritic isn't written.
Is there an Ezafe between هنر and او?
Yes! It is pronounced 'honar-e u'. The Ezafe is required here to link the noun هنر (art) to the pronoun او (him/her) to show possession ('his art'). Even though it is not physically written in the Persian alphabet, you must smoothly insert it in speech.
How is the adjective بیهمتا constructed?
It is made of the prefix بی (without) and the noun همتا (peer, equal, or match). Together they literally mean 'without equal'. You will see بی used frequently as a prefix to create negative adjectives, functioning exactly like the English suffix '-less'.