Question 1

How can I rewrite this sentence using the current lesson's structure, 'eqdâm be', to mean 'They took action to seize the cheque'?

Accepted Answer

To do this, make اقدام کردند (eqdâm kardand) your main verb and link it to the action using به. The action noun is توقیف. This gives us آنها اقدام به توقیف چک کردند (ânhâ eqdâm be towqif-e ček kardand). Notice that the direct object marker را disappears because چک now connects to توقیف with an ezafe.

Question 2

The lesson mentions using the 'Long Infinitive' with 'eqdâm be'. Could I use the full infinitive 'towqif kardan' here?

Accepted Answer

Yes, grammatically you could say آنها اقدام به توقیف کردن چک کردند. However, with compound verbs like توقیف کردن, native speakers heavily prefer dropping the کردن (kardan) and just using the Arabic-derived noun (توقیف) linked directly to the object with an ezafe.

Question 3

Can 'towqif kardan' be used for arresting people, or is it only for seizing items?

Accepted Answer

While توقیف کردن generally means 'to seize' or 'to detain', it is mostly used in legal or official contexts for confiscating property, seizing assets, or banning a publication (like a newspaper). For arresting a person, it's much more natural to use دستگیر کردن (dastgir kardan) or بازداشت کردن (bâzdâšt kardan).

Question 4

As a quick review, how would I change this sentence into the passive voice ('The cheque was seized')?

Accepted Answer

To form the passive of a compound verb that uses کردن (kardan), you replace it with شدن (šodan) and drop the subject. The sentence becomes چک توقیف شد (ček towqif šod). Notice that را (râ) is also dropped because چک is now the subject of the passive sentence, rather than the direct object.

آنها چک را توقیف کردند.

Breakdown of آنها چک را توقیف کردند.

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