Emphasizing with Cleft Sentences
When playing a trivia game or discussing history, you often want to highlight exactly who did what. To put the focus on a specific person or thing, Farsi uses a structure very similar to English cleft sentences ("It was [X] who...").
The formula is straightforward: start with این (literally "this," acting as "it"), followed by the noun you want to emphasize, then است (is) or بود (was), and finally که (that/who/which).
| It was the king who conquered the east and the west. | این پادشاه بود که شرق و غرب را فتح کرد.in pâdeshâh bud ke sharq o gharb râ fath kard. |
| It was the ancient empire that conquered the south. | این امپراتوری باستانی بود که جنوب را فتح کرد.in emperâturi bâstâni bud ke jonub râ fath kard. |
Asking and Answering Trivia
This pattern is perfect for clarifying facts, such as identifying the true discoverer of something.
| Who was the discoverer of this strange microbe? | چه کسی کاشف این میکروب عجیب بود؟che kasi kâshef-e in mikrob-e ajib bud? |
| It was the French scientist who discovered the microbe. | این دانشمند فرانسوی بود که میکروب را کشف کرد.in dâneshmand-e farânsavi bud ke mikrob râ kashf kard. |
| It was the discoverer who explained the reason for the defeat. | این کاشف بود که دلیل شکست را توضیح داد.in kâshef bud ke dalil shekast râ towzih dâd. |
Emphasizing Events and Places
You are not limited to emphasizing people. You can place anything in the spotlight using this exact same pattern, whether it is a specific region, a victory, or a defeat. You can also add words like همان (that same) before the noun for even more precision.
| It was the victory that became an important event. | این پیروزی بود که یک واقعهی مهم شد.in pirouzi boud ke yek vâghe'e-ye mohem shod. |
| It was the north that was destroyed before the east. | این شمال بود که پیش از شرق ویران شد.in shomâl bud ke pish az sharq virân shod. |
| It was that same event that ruined our victory. | این همان واقعه بود که پیروزی ما را خراب کرد.in hamân vâghe'e bud ke pirouzi mâ râ kharâb kard. |
Emphasizing Pronouns
You can also emphasize pronouns, such as saying "It was us who did it." However, there is an important grammatical rule when you do this: the verb "to be" and the main verb in the second half of the sentence must conjugate to match that pronoun.
For example, if you emphasize ما (we/us), you must use بودیم (we were) instead of بود (it was), and the final verb must also take the "we" ending.
| It was us who conquered the west and the south. | این ما بودیم که غرب و جنوب را فتح کردیم.in mâ budim ke gharb o jonub râ fath kardim. |