Breakdown of قبل از آغاز، هیچکس به تراشیدن یخ نپرداخت.
هیچکسhichkas
nobody
قبل ازqabl az
before
تراشیدنtarâshidan
to cut / to carve (by shaving or scraping)
یخyakh
ice
پرداختن بهpardâkhtan be
to set about / to engage in
آغازâghâz
beginning / start
Questions & Answers about قبل از آغاز، هیچکس به تراشیدن یخ نپرداخت.
How does the verb pardâkhtan mean "to set about" here instead of "to pay"?
When pardâkhtan is paired with the preposition be, its meaning changes from "to pay" (money) to "to engage in" or "to set about" an activity.
How is the action of "carving" grammatically structured with pardâkhtan be in this sentence?
The verb pardâkhtan be takes a noun or a long infinitive. Here, it uses the long infinitive tarâshidan (to carve/carving). The preposition be comes right before it, making the frame be tarâshidan ... napardâkht.
Why do we need the ezafe between tarâshidan and yakh?
Since tarâshidan acts as a verbal noun here (meaning "the carving"), it connects to its object (yakh, "ice") using the ezafe. You pronounce it as tarâshidan-e yakh (the carving of the ice).
Why is the main verb negative (napardâkht) if the sentence already says "no one" (hich-kas)?
Farsi uses double negation. Whenever you use a negative word like hich-kas (no one) or hich-chiz (nothing), the main verb must also take a negative prefix. Also note that hich-kas takes a third-person singular verb, exactly like "no one" does in English.
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