Learn Farsi: بازیگر قبل از نمایش استراحت می‌کند، چون خسته است. - The actor rests before the show because he is tired.

In Farsi, the concept of 'before' an event is usually expressed with ghabl az (literally 'before from' or 'prior to'). You place it right before the noun, just like in English. Here, it sits directly in front of namāyesh (show) to mean 'before the show'.

Is 'rests' really two words here (esterāhat mikonad)?

Yes! This is a compound verb, which is extremely common in Farsi. Instead of having a single verb for 'to rest', Farsi combines the noun esterāhat (rest) with the helper verb kardan (to do). Here it is conjugated in the present tense as mikonad (he/she does), so it literally translates as 'does rest'.

The English translation says 'because he is tired', but I don't see a word for 'he' in the Farsi sentence. Where is it?

Farsi verbs have endings that tell us exactly who the subject is, so independent pronouns are often dropped. Both mikonad and ast (is) are in the third-person singular form. Also, remember that Farsi is gender-neutral! Depending on who the actor is, this could perfectly translate to 'because she is tired'.

Can I also use ghabl az to say an object physically comes 'before' something else?

No, ghabl az and its opposite, ba'd az (after), are strictly used for time and sequence. You use them before events like namāyesh (show), meals, or times of day. To talk about physical space (like standing before or in front of a building), you would use a different preposition like .