Breakdown of آنها چک را توقیف کردند.
آنها
they
کردنkardan
to do / to make
راrâ
definite direct object marker
توقیفtowqif
seizure / confiscation
Questions & Answers about آنها چک را توقیف کردند.
How can I rewrite this sentence using the current lesson's structure, 'eqdâm be', to mean 'They took action to seize the cheque'?
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.
The lesson mentions using the 'Long Infinitive' with 'eqdâm be'. Could I use the full infinitive 'towqif kardan' here?
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.
Can 'towqif kardan' be used for arresting people, or is it only for seizing items?
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).
As a quick review, how would I change this sentence into the passive voice ('The cheque was seized')?