Breakdown of خواهر من قبل از اینکه کیک را ببرد، به آرایشگاه میرود.
من
I
خواهرkhâhar
sister
بهbe
to
رفتنraftan
to go
راrâ
definite direct object marker
قبل ازqabl az
before
اینکهin-ke
that (conjunction)
کیکkeik
cake
بریدنboridan
to cut
آرایشگاهârâyeshgâh
beauty salon / barbershop
Questions & Answers about خواهر من قبل از اینکه کیک را ببرد، به آرایشگاه میرود.
Why is the verb for cuts in the subjunctive form (beborad) instead of the normal present tense?
This is the main rule for ghabl az inke (before). Whenever you use it to say "before doing something", the action that follows must be in the present subjunctive because it hasn't happened yet. You form this by adding the prefix be- to the present stem bor (from boridan, to cut) and attaching the personal ending -ad.
Is beborad related to the verb for "to take" or "to win"? They look very similar!
They are close but different! The verb for "to cut" is boridan (present stem: bor), making the subjunctive beborad. The verb for "to take" is bordan (present stem: bar), making its subjunctive bebarad. Without written short vowels they look identical, so you have to use the context of the sentence to know she is cutting a cake, not carrying it.
Why is the word ra placed right after keyk?
The word ra is the specific direct object marker. Because the sister is cutting "the cake" (a specific, known cake for an event) rather than just cutting "cake" in general, we must place ra immediately after the noun.
Can I flip the two halves of this sentence so that the salon part comes first?
Yes, Farsi is flexible with clause order just like English. You can swap them, but the "before" phrase and its subjunctive verb must stick together. You could say: khahar-e man be arayeshgah miravad, ghabl az inke keyk ra beborad.
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