Breakdown of چون او خوب شطرنج بازی میکند، شاید شما نتوانید برنده را حدس بزنید.
او
he/she
شما
you (plural)
بازی کردنbâzi kardan
to play
راrâ
definite direct object marker
Questions & Answers about چون او خوب شطرنج بازی میکند، شاید شما نتوانید برنده را حدس بزنید.
Why does the verb for "cannot" (natavânid) look different than usual here?
Because of this lesson's focus word, shâyad (perhaps/might). shâyad requires the following verb to be in the present subjunctive form. The normal present tense for "you can" is mitavânid, but the subjunctive is betavânid. To make it negative, the be- prefix changes to na-, giving us natavânid.
Wait, why is the final verb hads bezanid (to guess) also in the subjunctive form?
Farsi allows "chains" of subjunctive verbs! The word shâyad (perhaps) forces the first verb, "can" (natavânid), into the subjunctive. Then, the verb "can" (tavânestan) acts as a second trigger that forces the next verb into the subjunctive as well. So, hads zadan (to guess) takes the be- prefix and becomes hads bezanid.
Why is khub (well) placed before shatranj (chess) instead of at the end of the sentence?
In Farsi, adverbs of manner like khub typically come before the object and the verb. While English puts it at the end ("plays chess well"), Farsi groups the adverb earlier: khub shatranj bâzi mikonad (literally: "well chess play does").
Just to review, why is râ added after the word barande (winner)?