Word
هم ابریشم هم پشم گران هستند.
Meaning
Both silk and wool are expensive.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of هم ابریشم هم پشم گران هستند.
بودنbudan
to be
گرانgerân
expensive
ابریشمabrisham
silk
پشمpashm
wool
Questions & Answers about هم ابریشم هم پشم گران هستند.
The word ham usually means "also" or "too". How does it mean "both... and..." here?
When you repeat ham before two different words, like ham abrisham ham pashm, it creates a pair meaning "both... and...". Literally it feels like saying "also silk also wool", but in Farsi, this is the standard way to express "both silk and wool".
Since silk (abrisham) and wool (pashm) are things, not people, why is the verb hastand (plural) used instead of ast (singular)?
You might remember that plural inanimate objects usually take a singular verb in Farsi. However, when you have a compound subject made of two distinct things linked together, especially with a structure like ham... ham..., it is very common to use a plural verb to emphasize that you are talking about two separate items. Using the singular ast would also be grammatically acceptable here.
Do I need to use the word va (and) between the two items?
No, you do not need to use va (and) when using this structure. The second ham naturally links the two words together, so saying ham abrisham va ham pashm is unnecessary and uncommon.
Can I use this same ham... ham... pattern to connect adjectives, instead of just nouns?
Yes! While this sentence connects two nouns, you can absolutely use it to connect adjectives. For example, you could say lebas ham ghashang ham geran ast (The dress is both beautiful and expensive).