Learn Farsi: حریف حرفه‌ای می‌توانست در مسابقه پیروز شود. - The professional opponent could win the match.

It uses the past continuous form of 'to be able to' (mi-tavânest) followed by the present subjunctive of the main verb 'to win' (piruz shavad). Because the subject, the opponent, is third-person singular, both verbs use the third-person singular endings.

Why does the word for professional, herfe'i, end in that 'i' sound?

The base noun is herfe, which means 'profession' or 'trade'. In Farsi, adding the suffix -i to a noun often turns it into an adjective. So, adding it to 'profession' gives us 'professional'.

The English translation says 'win the match', but the Farsi uses the preposition dar (in). Why is that?

The Farsi verb for 'to win' is the compound verb piruz shodan, which literally translates to 'to become victorious'. Because of this, you don't win a match directly; instead, you become victorious in a match (dar mosâbeqe).

How are the words for 'opponent' (harif) and 'professional' (herfe'i) linked together?

They are connected by the 'ezâfe' vowel. It is pronounced as harif-e herfe'i. This short 'e' sound links the noun to the adjective that describes it, even though it isn't typically written as a separate letter in the Farsi script.