Word
آهنربا میتواند وسایل فلزی را حرکت دهد.
Meaning
A magnet can move metallic items.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of آهنربا میتواند وسایل فلزی را حرکت دهد.
راrâ
definite direct object marker
توانستنtavânestan
to be able to
وسایلvasâyel
things
حرکت دادنharekat dâdan
to move (something)
Questions & Answers about آهنربا میتواند وسایل فلزی را حرکت دهد.
What is the literal meaning of the word for magnet, آهنربا?
It literally means iron-stealer or iron-attractor. It is a compound made of آهن (iron) and ربا (the present stem of ربودن, which means to steal, snatch, or draw in).
Why is move translated here as حرکت دهد instead of حرکت کند?
English uses the same word move for both actions, but Farsi distinguishes between moving something else and moving oneself. Since the magnet is moving the items, we use the transitive compound verb حرکت دادن (literally to give movement). If the items were moving on their own, you would use حرکت کردن (to do movement).
Why is the final verb دهد instead of its indicative form میدهد?
It follows the modal verb میتواند (can). In Farsi, the second verb following can, must, or want must drop into the subjunctive mood. For the compound verb حرکت دادن, the subjunctive is formed by changing the auxiliary part to دهد. While the subjunctive usually takes a بـ prefix, compound verbs formed with دادن and کردن often drop it.
How would I apply this lesson's grammar to say metallic items such as coins?