Question 1

How do we form the negative past perfect "had not lost" in از دست نداده بود?

Accepted Answer

The compound verb here is از دست دادن (literally "to give from hand", meaning "to lose"). To make it negative past perfect, we take the past participle of the verbal part, which is داده (given), add the negative prefix نـ to make نداده, and then add the simple past of "to be" for "it", which is بود (was/had). Together, نداده بود makes "had not lost".

Question 2

I thought the verb for "to lose" was gom kardan. Why are we using از دست دادن here?

Accepted Answer

Farsi has two different ways to say "to lose". You use گم کردن when you misplace a physical object, like your keys or your wallet. You use از دست دادن when losing something intangible, like validity, time, an opportunity, or a loved one.

Question 3

Why is there a ش attached to اعتبار (validity)?

Accepted Answer

The suffix ش acts as the possessive pronoun "its" (it can also mean his/her). So اعتبارش means "its validity", referring back to the ticket.

Question 4

Why does را come after اعتبارش instead of after بلیت?

Accepted Answer

The word را always follows the specific, direct object of the sentence—the thing receiving the action. In this sentence, the ticket (بلیت) is the subject doing the action, while "its validity" (اعتبارش) is the specific thing that was not lost. Therefore, را marks the validity, not the ticket.

این بلیت اعتبارش را از دست نداده بود.

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