Observing Actions in the Past
When describing an ongoing action you witnessed in the past, Farsi uses a perception verb (like دیدن or شنیدن) paired with a descriptive clause introduced by که.
Because the action was happening at the exact moment you perceived it, the verb following که must be in the Past Continuous tense.
- [Observer] + [Object observed] + را + [Perception verb] + که + [Action in Past Continuous]
| We saw the clown doing pantomime in the lively street. | ما دلقک را دیدیم که داشت در خیابان پرجنبوجوش پانتومیم اجرا میکرد.mâ dalqak râ didim ke dâsht dar khiyâbân porjonbojoosh pântomim ejrâ mikard. |
Notice how the perception verb (دیدیم) comes before که, while the ongoing action (داشت اجرا میکرد) follows it.
This same structure applies to hearing actions as well:
| Did you hear the puppeteer singing on the platform? | آیا صدای عروسکگردان را شنیدی که داشت روی سکو آواز میخواند؟âyâ sedâ-ye arusak-gardân râ shenidi ke dâsht ru-ye sakku âvâz mikhând? |
| I saw that man playing the harmonica and begging. | من آن مرد را دیدم که داشت سازدهنی میزد و گدایی میکرد.man ân mard râ didam ke dâsht sâzdahani mizad o gedâyi mikard. |
| While we were walking in the lively park, we saw the children doing sleight of hand. | در حالی که در پارک پرجنبوجوش قدم میزدیم، بچهها را دیدیم که داشتند تردستی میکردند.dar hâli ke dar pârk por-jonb-o-jush qadam mizadim, bache-hâ râ didim ke dâshtand tardasti mikardand. |
Moving the Perception Verb to the End
Because Farsi strongly prefers placing main verbs at the very end of a sentence, you will frequently encounter an alternative word order. The perception verb gets pushed to the absolute end of the sentence, and the descriptive clause directly follows the object:
- [Observer] + [Object observed] + را + که + [Action in Past Continuous] + [Perception verb]
| I saw the passionate young man playing the setar. | مرد جوان پرشور را که داشت سهتار میزد دیدم.mard-e javân-e porshur râ ke dâsht setâr mizad didam. |
| We heard the passionate crowd clapping. | ما جمعیت پرشور را که داشتند کف میزدند شنیدیم.mâ jam'iyyat-e porshur râ ke dâshtand kaf mizadand shenidim. |
Both word orders are perfectly natural and used interchangeably to vividly describe unfolding events.