Breakdown of در شطرنج، شاید تو مهره را اشتباه حرکت بدهی و او تو را مات کند.
تو
you (singular)
او
he/she
و
and
درdar
in
راrâ
definite direct object marker
شایدshâyad
maybe
اشتباهeshtebâh
mistake / wrong / incorrect / wrongly
شطرنجshatranj
chess
مهرهmohre
piece (in a game)
حرکت دادنharekat dâdan
to move (something)
مات کردنmât kardan
to checkmate
Questions & Answers about در شطرنج، شاید تو مهره را اشتباه حرکت بدهی و او تو را مات کند.
Why are both verbs in this sentence in the present subjunctive form?
Because of the word شاید (shâyad), meaning "perhaps" or "might". In Farsi, expressing a possibility or uncertainty triggers the present subjunctive. Notice that both حرکت بدهی (you might move) and مات کند (he might checkmate) take the subjunctive because they are both actions that might happen as part of the same scenario.
What is the infinitive of حرکت بدهی (harkat bedahi), and how is the subjunctive formed here?
It comes from the compound verb حرکت دادن (harkat dâdan), which means "to give movement" or "to move (something)". To make the subjunctive, we take the present stem of دادن (which is ده / dah), add the subjunctive prefix بـ (be-), and the "you" ending ـی (-i). This gives us the subjunctive verb part بدهی (bedahi).
Why doesn't the second verb, مات کند (mât konad), have the بـ (be-) prefix like the first one?
مات کند comes from the compound verb مات کردن (mât kardan - to checkmate). For compound verbs formed with کردن (kardan - to do/make), it is very common in modern Farsi to drop the subjunctive بـ (be-) prefix. So, instead of مات بکند, native speakers usually just say مات کند.
The word اشتباه (eshtebâh) is usually a noun meaning "mistake". How is it being used to mean "wrongly"?
In Farsi, you don't need a special ending (like "-ly" in English) to turn a noun or adjective into an adverb. You can often just place a word like اشتباه right before the verb to describe how the action is done. So اشتباه حرکت بدهی literally means "you move [it] by mistake" or "you move [it] wrongly".
Why do we see the object marker را (râ) used twice in this sentence?
را marks a specific direct object, and there are two separate actions happening here, each with its own specific target. First, مهره را (the piece) is the specific object you are moving. Second, تو را (you) is the specific object your opponent is checkmating.
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