Hi everybody!
I've had this question for quite some time and before posting here I tried to find some rule about it, but I haven't been able to.
Also, I don't think this is specific to Afghan Farsi but is also the case with Iranian Farsi.
On several occasions I've read or heard sentences where either singular or plural verbs are used with inanimate nouns. From my experience, this phenomenon is not limited to the colloquial language -- I've found similar sentences in Afghan school books. I've encountered a similar phenomenon in Arabic, the Syrian colloquial in particular, but there I've come to realize that most of the time a singular verb (third person feminine) is used when the speaker refers to a class of items, let's say history books, and a plural verb when reference is made to some specific items, e.g. some person's history books. I'm not sure whether this rule also applies to Farsi/Dari.
I'd appreciate your help.
Thanks in advance!
I've had this question for quite some time and before posting here I tried to find some rule about it, but I haven't been able to.
Also, I don't think this is specific to Afghan Farsi but is also the case with Iranian Farsi.
On several occasions I've read or heard sentences where either singular or plural verbs are used with inanimate nouns. From my experience, this phenomenon is not limited to the colloquial language -- I've found similar sentences in Afghan school books. I've encountered a similar phenomenon in Arabic, the Syrian colloquial in particular, but there I've come to realize that most of the time a singular verb (third person feminine) is used when the speaker refers to a class of items, let's say history books, and a plural verb when reference is made to some specific items, e.g. some person's history books. I'm not sure whether this rule also applies to Farsi/Dari.
I'd appreciate your help.
Thanks in advance!