Breakdown of قبل از جایزه، شاعر معروف نبود، اگرچه شعرهای خوبی مینوشت.
بودنbudan
to be
نوشتنneveshtan
to write
خوبkhub
well / good
معروفma'ruf
famous
قبل ازqabl az
before
اگرچهagarche
although
شاعرshâ'er
poet
شعرshe'r
poetry
جایزهjâyeze
prize
Questions & Answers about قبل از جایزه، شاعر معروف نبود، اگرچه شعرهای خوبی مینوشت.
Why does agarche take the normal past tense minevesht instead of a subjunctive verb?
Concessive conjunctions like agarche (although) state actual facts or events, so they are followed by indicative tenses (normal past, present, etc.). Because it was a fact that he wrote good poems, we use the indicative minevesht rather than a subjunctive form.
Why do we use the past continuous minevesht instead of the simple past nevesht?
Adding the prefix mi- to a past tense verb shows a continuous or habitual action in the past. While the English translation just says 'wrote', the Farsi specifies that he 'used to write' or 'was writing' those good poems over a period of time.
Why is there an extra i at the end of khubi in she'rhā-ye khubi?
That is the indefinite suffix -i, which gives the meaning of 'a' or 'some'. When a noun is followed by an adjective connected by the ezafe (here, -ye), this indefinite -i attaches to the very end of the phrase. So it translates to 'some good poems'.
Could the agarche clause go at the beginning of the sentence?
Yes, the word order is flexible! Just like in English, you can start with the 'although' clause: agarche she'rhā-ye khubi minevesht... (Although he wrote good poems...).
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