Breakdown of پیکرتراش با اسکنه به تراشیدن مکعب یخ پرداخت.
باbâ
with
تراشیدنtarâshidan
to cut / to carve (by shaving or scraping)
یخyakh
ice
پیکرتراشpeykartarâsh
sculptor (of figures/statues)
پرداختن بهpardâkhtan be
to set about / to engage in
مکعبmoka'ab
cube
اسکنهeskane
chisel
Questions & Answers about پیکرتراش با اسکنه به تراشیدن مکعب یخ پرداخت.
The verb pardâkhtan usually means "to pay." How does it mean "set about" in this sentence?
When paired with the preposition be (به), the verb pardâkhtan (پرداختن) becomes a formal verb of engagement meaning "to engage in," "to address," or "to set about" an activity. Here, pardâkht is in the simple past tense, meaning the sculptor "set about" the carving.
Why do we use the full infinitive tarâshidan (تراشیدن) here instead of a conjugated subjunctive verb?
The structure pardâkhtan be requires a noun or a long infinitive (the standard dictionary form ending in -dan or -tan) right after the preposition be. In Persian, infinitives act like verbal nouns (similar to the English "-ing" gerund, like "carving"). You cannot use a conjugated subjunctive verb after this specific phrase.
I notice tarâsh in the word for sculptor (peykar-tarâsh) and the verb for carving (tarâshidan). How are they related?
Great catch! Tarâsh (تراش) is the present stem of tarâshidan (تراشیدن). Persian frequently creates occupational nouns by combining a noun like peykar (figure or body) with the present stem of a verb. So a peykar-tarâsh (پیکرتراش) is literally a "figure-carver."
Could the phrase bâ eskane (with a chisel) go somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes, Persian word order is quite flexible with prepositional phrases. While placing bâ eskane (با اسکنه) right after the subject is very natural, it could also comfortably go after the object phrase, making it: peykar-tarâsh be tarâshidan-e moka'ab-e yakh bâ eskane pardâkht.
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