Breakdown of مسافران چنان عجله داشتند که به یکدیگر تنه میزدند.
بهbe
to
مسافرmosâfer
passenger
کهke
that (conjunction)
عجله داشتن'ajale dâshtan
to be in a hurry
یکدیگرyekdigar
each other
چنانchonân
so (to such a degree)
تنه زدنtane zadan
to bump into
Questions & Answers about مسافران چنان عجله داشتند که به یکدیگر تنه میزدند.
Why does the second clause use the indicative verb تنه میزدند instead of the subjunctive?
The structure چنان ... که (so ... that) can take either the indicative or subjunctive depending on the meaning. Because the passengers actually did bump into each other as a real, factual result of their hurry, the indicative (here, the past continuous) is used. If the result was only an intended or hypothetical outcome, you would use the subjunctive.
Why is عجله داشتند translated as "were in a hurry" instead of using the past continuous prefix می?
The compound verb عجله داشتن literally means "to have a hurry". In Farsi, the verb داشتن (to have) describes a continuous state by default, so it doesn't normally take the continuous prefix می in the past tense, even when describing an ongoing situation like "they were in a hurry".
What is the literal meaning of تنه میزدند?
The noun تنه means "torso" or "tree trunk", and زدن means "to hit" or "to strike". So تنه زدن literally translates to "hitting torsos", which is the standard Farsi idiom for jostling, shoving, or bumping into someone in a crowded space.
Why do we need the preposition به before یکدیگر (each other)?
The compound verb تنه زدن requires the preposition به to introduce the person being bumped into. You are literally hitting your torso to someone else. Therefore, "bumping into each other" is constructed as به یکدیگر تنه زدن.
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