Learn Farsi: آیا بچه‌ها در کلاس حاضر بودند؟

بودند is the past tense of the verb 'to be' for the 'they' form. Because the subject is بچه‌ها (the children), we must use the plural 'they' ending -and. It is attached to the past stem bud-, giving us the meaning 'they were'.

Do I always have to start a yes/no question with آیا (âyâ)?

Not always! In formal or written Farsi, آیا is used to clearly signal that a yes/no question is coming. In everyday spoken Farsi, it is usually dropped. You can simply say بچه‌ها در کلاس حاضر بودند؟ and raise the pitch of your voice at the end, just like in English.

Why do the words for 'present' and 'were' come at the very end of the sentence?

Farsi sentences usually follow a Subject-Object-Verb order, which means the main verb almost always goes at the very end. Here, the verb is بودند (were), so it takes the final spot. The descriptive word حاضر (present) comes right before it, making the literal word order: 'Question-word children in class present were?'

How does بچه‌ها (bachche-hâ) translate to 'the children' when there is no word for 'the' in the sentence?

Farsi does not have a direct equivalent for the definite article 'the'. Whether a noun translates with 'a', 'the', or nothing at all depends entirely on the context. Since the speaker is asking about specific children being in class, بچه‌ها naturally translates to 'the children' in English.