Breakdown of گفته میشود که این تنگه در اثر زلزلهی شدید تشکیل شده است.
این
this
گفتنgoftan
to say / to tell
کهke
that (conjunction)
شدنshodan
to become
شدیدshadid
severe
زلزلهzelzele
earthquake
تنگهtange
gorge / canyon
در اثرdar asar-e
as a result of
تشکیل شدنtashkil shodan
to be formed
Questions & Answers about گفته میشود که این تنگه در اثر زلزلهی شدید تشکیل شده است.
How does the target phrase dar asar-e connect to the rest of the sentence?
The phrase dar asar-e (as a result of) acts as a compound preposition. To link it to the cause, you must use an Ezafe. Here, it connects directly to the noun phrase, making it dar asar-e zelzele-ye shadid (as a result of the severe earthquake).
Could we use the lesson's other expression, nâshi az, in this exact sentence instead?
Not directly without changing the grammar. While dar asar-e works as an adverbial preposition modifying how the canyon was formed, nâshi az (resulting from) behaves like an adjective. To use it, you would need to rephrase the sentence to describe a noun, such as: tashkil-e in tange nâshi az zelzele ast (The formation of this canyon is resulting from an earthquake).
Why does the sentence start with gofte mishavad?
This is an impersonal passive construction meaning 'it is said.' It combines the past participle of goftan (to say), which is gofte, with the present tense of the passive auxiliary shodan. It is the standard formal way in Farsi to report a fact or rumor without specifying who said it.
The translation says 'was formed', but isn't tashkil shodeh ast in the present perfect tense?
Yes, it literally translates to 'has been formed'. In Farsi, the present perfect tense is frequently used for past events whose physical results are still visible or relevant today. Since the canyon still stands, Farsi naturally prefers the present perfect, whereas English defaults to the simple past for ancient geological events.
Why is there an extra ی (ye) attached to zelzele?
The word zelzele (earthquake) ends in a silent 'heh' (ه), which produces an 'e' vowel sound. When adding an Ezafe to link it to the adjective shadid (severe), Farsi requires the consonant ی (ye) to act as a phonetic bridge to prevent two vowels from clashing.
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