Question 1

How does the word دیدار fit into the pattern of past stem plus the suffix -âr?

Accepted Answer

دیدار (visit or meeting) is built from the past stem دید (from the verb دیدن, to see) attached to the suffix ـار (-âr). This specific suffix turns a past stem into a noun representing the manifestation or result of that action. So, the act of seeing manifests as a visit.

Question 2

Why do we use the preposition از here when the English translation says visit 'to' the store?

Accepted Answer

While English uses 'to', the Farsi noun دیدار typically pairs with the preposition از (from) when referring to visiting a place or an exhibition. You can think of it literally as taking a viewing 'from' the store. Note that if you were meeting a person instead of a place, you would use the preposition با (with).

Question 3

The word مخفیانه usually means 'secretly' as an adverb. Is it acting as an adjective here?

Accepted Answer

Exactly. Words ending in the suffix ـانه (-âneh) are very frequently adverbs, but they can also function as adjectives. Here, it is linked to دیدار by an invisible ezafe (didâr-e makhfiyâneh), functioning perfectly as an adjective meaning 'secret' or 'clandestine'.

Question 4

Why is the direct object marker را placed all the way after فروشگاه instead of right after دیدار?

Accepted Answer

The marker را must follow the entire direct object phrase, not just the head noun. Because the direct object of what you started is the whole concept of the secret visit to the store (دیدار مخفیانه از فروشگاه), the را must wait until the very end of that complete phrase to appear.

من دیدار مخفیانه از فروشگاه را شروع کردم.

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