Breakdown of ما لولهها را عوض نکردهایم، ولی میخواهیم حمام را تعمیر کنیم.
ما
we
راrâ
definite direct object marker
خواستنkhâstan
to want / to ask (request from someone)
تعمیر کردنta'mir kardan
to repair
ولیvali
but
حمامhammâm
bathroom / bath
عوض کردنavaz kardan
to replace / to change (exchange, substitute)
لولهlule
pipe
Questions & Answers about ما لولهها را عوض نکردهایم، ولی میخواهیم حمام را تعمیر کنیم.
How exactly is the negative present perfect formed in عوض نکردهایم?
It comes from the compound verb عوض کردن (to replace/change). To make it negative present perfect, we take the first word عوض (avaz), then add the negative prefix نـ (na-) to the past stem کرد (kard) plus ه (e) to make the past participle نکرده (nakarde). Finally, we add the short "to be" ending for "we", which is ایم (im). Put together, we get عوض نکردهایم (avaz nakarde-im - we have not replaced).
Why does the negative نـ (na-) go in the middle of عوض نکردهایم rather than at the very beginning?
Because عوض کردن is a compound verb made of a non-verb word (عوض) and a "light verb" (کردن). In Farsi, verb prefixes like the negative نـ (na-) always attach to the verbal part of the compound. So the نـ attaches directly to the start of the participle نکرده, leaving عوض as a separate word.
Why is را (ra) used twice in this sentence?
را is the specific direct object marker. Because both "the pipes" (لولهها) and "the bathroom" (حمام) are specific things receiving the action of the verbs (being replaced and repaired), Farsi requires را right after each of them.
Why is the last verb تعمیر کنیم (ta'mir konim) instead of تعمیر میکنیم (ta'mir mikonim)?
After verbs expressing a wish or desire, like میخواهیم (we want), the following verb must be in the subjunctive mood. For the compound verb تعمیر کردن (to repair), the present subjunctive drops the indicative می (mi-) prefix. The verbal part simply becomes کنیم (konim) for "we", giving us the subjunctive form تعمیر کنیم.
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