Breakdown of هیچچیز از این حیوان خیالی باورنکردنیتر نیست.
این
this
بودنbudan
to be
ازaz
from
حیوانheyvân
animal
Questions & Answers about هیچچیز از این حیوان خیالی باورنکردنیتر نیست.
Applying this lesson's grammar, how would you change the sentence to say "...than such an imaginary animal"?
You would replace the demonstrative in (this) with chenin (such). To mean "such a", you must also attach the indefinite suffix -i to the very end of the noun phrase. The phrase would become az chenin heyvân-e khiyâli-i.
How is the adjective bâvar-nakardani (unbelievable) built?
It comes from the compound verb bâvar kardan (to believe). Adding the suffix -i to the verb stem creates an adjective meaning "capable of being done" (bâvar-kardani = believable). Adding the negative prefix na- before the verb stem creates bâvar-nakardani (unbelievable).
How does the comparative structure "more unbelievable than" work in this sentence?
Farsi forms comparatives by adding the suffix -tar to the adjective. To express "than", it uses the preposition az (from). The structure is az + [noun phrase] + [adjective]-tar. Here, that gives us az in heyvân-e khiyâli bâvar-nakardani-tar (literally: from this imaginary animal more unbelievable).
Why does the sentence use the negative verb nist (is not) when the English translation says "Nothing is"?
In Farsi, negative pronouns like hich-chiz (nothing) always require a negative verb. Therefore, "Nothing is" literally translates to "Nothing is not" (hich-chiz ... nist). This double negative is grammatically mandatory, which is a great refresher for B2 learners.