Breakdown of او تختهنرد خوب بازی میکند، اما شاید ترفند شما را حدس نزند.
او
he/she
شما
you (plural)
اماammâ
but
بازی کردنbâzi kardan
to play
Questions & Answers about او تختهنرد خوب بازی میکند، اما شاید ترفند شما را حدس نزند.
Why do we use نزند instead of the regular present tense نمیزند here?
Because of the word شاید (perhaps / might). In Farsi, when you express doubt or possibility using شاید, the verb that follows must be in the subjunctive form. So, instead of the regular present indicative نمیزند (he does not guess), we use the subjunctive نزند (he might not guess).
Doesn't the present subjunctive usually start with the prefix بـ? Why is it missing in حدس نزند?
You are exactly right that the present subjunctive normally adds a بـ prefix to the verb stem. However, this verb is negative (he will not guess). To make a subjunctive verb negative, you replace the بـ prefix with the negative prefix نـ. You never use both prefixes at the same time!
Since شاید is in the sentence, why isn't the first verb بازی میکند also in the subjunctive?
The first part of the sentence is stating a concrete fact (He plays backgammon well), so it uses the standard present indicative tense. The uncertainty introduced by شاید only applies to the second part of the sentence after اما (but). Therefore, only the second verb needs to be in the subjunctive mood.
Why does the object marker را come after شما instead of right after ترفند?
را always comes at the very end of the entire noun phrase that acts as the specific direct object. Here, the object isn't just the trick, but your trick (), which is linked together by an unseen ezâfe vowel (). Because they act as a single unit, is placed at the very end, after .