Syntax and Sentence Construction
Syntax questions ask you to build or repair sentences: reorder, join with ke, turn into a question, make conditional, or correct agreement. Persian allows more word-order freedom than English or Odia, but its unmarked order is Subject–Object–Verb, and the verb must agree with the subject in person and number.
Core rules
- Unmarked order: subject, object (+rā), adverbial phrase, verb.
- Adjectives and possessors follow their noun via ezāfe: ketāb-e dastur-e zabān-e fārsi.
- Relative clauses are introduced by ke and placed after the noun: mard-i ke āmad.
- Conditionals: agar + past (or be- subjunctive) in the if-clause, mi- past or present in the result.
- Questions: intonation alone, or āyā at the front.
- There is no indefinite article; -i does the work, and rā marks definiteness of the object.
Worked example
Build: 'The book that my brother bought is on the table.' Steps: identify head noun ketāb; attach the relative clause with ke; the subject of the clause is barādar-am; the main predicate is a copula, so ast. Result: Ketāb-i ke barādar-am kharid ruye miz ast. Note that the relative clause's verb stays at the end of its own clause.
Traps
Copying English SVO order and putting the verb early; omitting ke and producing two loose sentences; placing rā after the subject; making adjectives agree in number; inserting ast after a full present-tense verb.