Question 1

How is the verb می‌ترسیدی put together?

Accepted Answer

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).

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

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."

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

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".

Question 5

Do I always need to use آیا at the start of a yes/no question like this?

Accepted Answer

Not at all! The word آیا is actually quite formal and mostly used in writing. In everyday spoken Farsi, you can just drop it and ask تو از سرسره‌ی بزرگ می‌ترسیدی؟ simply by raising the pitch of your voice at the end of the sentence.

آیا تو از سرسره‌ی بزرگ می‌ترسیدی؟

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