Breakdown of خبرنگار از رادار تعریف کرد.
ازaz
from
خبرنگارkhabarnegâr
reporter
رادارrâdâr
radar
تعریف کردنta'rif kardan
to recount, to tell; (with az) to praise
Questions & Answers about خبرنگار از رادار تعریف کرد.
Why does تعریف کرد translate to 'praised' here instead of 'recounted' or 'told'?
The meaning of the compound verb تعریف کردن changes depending on the preposition used with it. When used on its own or with برای (for), it means 'to tell' or 'to recount' a story. But when it is paired with the preposition از (from), as in از رادار تعریف کرد, the meaning changes completely to 'to praise' someone or something.
Since this lesson is about reported statements, how would we use this verb to actually report what the reporter said?
To use this verb for reported speech, you must drop the preposition از so the meaning reverts to 'recounted.' You would then add the conjunction که (that) followed by the reported statement. For example: خبرنگار تعریف کرد که... (The reporter recounted that...). True to this lesson's focus, the tense inside the که clause would stay exactly the same as when it was originally spoken!
How is the word خبرنگار (reporter) constructed?
It is a compound word made of two parts: خبر (khabar) meaning 'news,' and نگار (negar), which is the present stem of a literary verb meaning 'to write' or 'to depict.' Put together, a 'news-writer' is a reporter or journalist. Farsi uses this نگار root for other related professions, such as روزنامهنگار (newspaper journalist).
The radar is a specific thing being praised. Why isn't the specific direct object marker را (ra) used here?