Learn Farsi: آیا تو از سرسره‌ی بزرگ می‌ترسیدی؟

آیا تو از سرسره‌ی بزرگ می‌ترسیدی؟âyâ to az sorsore-ye bozorg mitarsidi?

Were you afraid of the big slide?

Breakdown of آیا تو از سرسره‌ی بزرگ می‌ترسیدی؟

whether (question particle)

ازaz

from

Questions & Answers about آیا تو از سرسره‌ی بزرگ می‌ترسیدی؟

How is the verb می‌ترسیدی put together?

It is in the Past Continuous tense! It is made of the continuous prefix می (mi-), the past stem ترسید (tarsid) from the verb ترسیدن (tarsidan, to fear), and the ending ی (-i) which matches the pronoun تو (to, you).

The English translation is "Were you afraid." Why does Farsi use the Past Continuous tense instead of the simple past?

In Farsi, verbs that describe feelings or mental states (like being afraid, knowing, or wanting) usually use the continuous form in the past. This shows that the feeling was an ongoing state over a period of time, rather than a single, quick action. Literally, it translates closer to "were you fearing."

Why is the word از (from) used before the slide?

Prepositions don't always match up perfectly between languages. While in English you are afraid of something, in Farsi you always fear from something. The verb ترسیدن is almost always paired with از.

Why is there an extra ی at the end of سرسره (slide)?

That is the written form of the Ezâfe, which is the grammatical link connecting the noun (slide) to its adjective (big). Because سرسره (sorsore) ends in a silent ه, you must add a written ی to bridge the vowels together. It is pronounced "sorsore-ye bozorg".