Breakdown of او به اندازهی برادرش شجاع است.
است
is
او
he/she
برادرbarâdar
brother
شجاعshojâ'
brave
به اندازهیbe andâze-ye
as much as, as ... as
Questions & Answers about او به اندازهی برادرش شجاع است.
How does be andâze-ye work to mean "as... as" here?
Literally, be andâze-ye means "to the size of" or "to the extent of". In Farsi, to say someone is "as brave as" someone else, you actually say they are brave "to the extent of" that person. This is the standard way to show two things are equal in a certain quality.
Why is there a -ye sound at the end of andâze?
This is the ezâfe (the grammatical linking vowel). Because andâze (extent/measure) ends in a silent 'h' that makes an 'e' sound, the ezâfe is written with the letter ye (ی) and pronounced as -ye to smoothly link it to the next word, barâdar-ash.
Why does the English translation say "as brave as", but the Farsi word for brave (shojâ') is at the end of the sentence?
In English, the adjective goes in the middle of the comparison ("as brave as his brother"). In Farsi, the comparison block (be andâze-ye barâdar-ash) comes first, and the adjective (shojâ') is placed right before the verb (ast) at the end of the sentence.
How is "his brother" formed in the word barâdar-ash?
It uses the possessive suffix -ash (his/her) attached directly to the noun barâdar (brother). While you could technically say barâdar-e u, attaching the suffix is much more natural and common in everyday Farsi.
The English translation says "He is", but could this also mean "She is"?
Yes! The pronoun u (او) is gender-neutral and means both "he" and "she". The translation says "he" just to pick one, but without extra context, this sentence could perfectly mean "She is as brave as her brother."
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