Question 1

Why does râ come before ke rather than at the end of the relative clause?

Accepted Answer

When the antecedent of a relative clause (here, mehvar) is the direct object of the main sentence, the definite object marker râ attaches directly to it, right before the relative pronoun ke. It groups the object and its marker together before introducing the descriptive clause.

Question 2

If râ makes the object definite ("the axis"), why does mehvar have the indefinite suffix -i (mehvari)?

Accepted Answer

Here, the -i suffix is not the indefinite article meaning "a" or "an". It is the "restrictive -i", which Farsi uses to link a noun to a relative clause, signaling "the specific one that...". Because it refers to a specific axis, it is grammatically definite and still requires râ, leading to the standard combination -i râ ke.

Question 3

Why is the verb charkhândand used here instead of charkhidand?

Accepted Answer

charkhidan is an intransitive verb meaning "to turn" or "to revolve" on its own (like a wheel spinning). To say someone turned something else, Farsi adds the causative suffix -ând to the verb root, creating the transitive verb charkhândan. Since an outside force is actively turning the axis, this transitive form is required.

Question 4

Who is the subject of charkhândand ("they turned") since no pronoun is written in the main clause?

Accepted Answer

The sentence omits a specific subject for the main verb. In Farsi, an impersonal third-person plural is frequently used to express a general, unspecified "they." It often functions exactly like the passive voice in English, so this can easily be translated as "The axis... was turned."

محوری را که مهندس ساخت، چرخاندند.

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