Breakdown of باستانشناس قبل از سفر، ویرانه را دیده بود.
سفرsafar
trip
دیدنdidan
to see / to watch
راrâ
definite direct object marker
قبل ازqabl az
before
Questions & Answers about باستانشناس قبل از سفر، ویرانه را دیده بود.
How is the past perfect tense formed in the phrase dide bud?
It is made by taking the past participle of the verb to see, which is dide, and adding the simple past tense of the verb to be. Since the archaeologist is a third-person singular subject, we use bud. Together, dide bud means had seen.
Why is the word rā placed after virāne?
The word rā is the specific direct object marker in Farsi. Since the archaeologist saw a specific ruin, we put rā directly after virāne to show that it is the receiver of the action.
Does qabl always need to be followed by az when meaning before?
Yes, when you are saying before a specific noun or event, like the trip (safar) in this sentence, you must use the preposition az to connect them. qabl az safar translates to before the trip.
What are the two parts that make up the word bāstān-šenās?
It is a compound word made of bāstān, which means ancient or antiquity, and šenās, which is the present stem of the verb to know or recognize. Literally, an ancient-knower is an archaeologist.