Breakdown of شاهد جرم را ندید.
دیدنdidan
to see / to watch
راrâ
definite direct object marker
شاهدshâhed
witness
جرمjorm
crime
Questions & Answers about شاهد جرم را ندید.
Wait, this lesson is about the Negative Past Continuous. Why doesn't the verb have the می (mi) prefix?
The verb here is ندید (did not see), which is in the Simple Past tense, not the Past Continuous. If it were Past Continuous (was not seeing, or used to not see), it would indeed be نمیدید (ne-mi-did). This sentence helps you contrast a simple, completed past action with the continuous actions you are learning in this lesson.
How exactly is the negative verb ندید formed here?
It comes from the verb دیدن (to see). The past stem is دید (did). To make it negative, we simply add the نـ (na-) prefix to get ندید (nadid). Because the subject شاهد (the witness) is third-person singular (he/she), the verb doesn't need any extra personal endings.
Why do we need the word را (ra) right after جرم (crime)?
را is the definite direct object marker. The action of not seeing directly affects جرم (crime). Because the sentence specifies the crime (a specific, known crime) rather than just a crime, we must follow it with را.
How do we know شاهد means the witness and not a witness, since there is no word for the?
Farsi doesn't have a direct equivalent for the word the before a subject noun. Nouns used at the beginning of a sentence without any indefinite markers (like an added -ی at the end) are naturally understood as definite based on the context.