Learn Farsi: کدام حریف برنده‌ی تخته‌نرد است؟ شاید ما نتوانیم حدس بزنیم. - Which opponent is the winner of backgammon? Perhaps we cannot guess.

This sentence stacks two rules! First, the word shâyad (perhaps/might) forces the verb immediately following it into the subjunctive, which gives us natavânim. Second, the verb tavânestan (to be able to) also forces the main action verb that follows it into the subjunctive, giving us hads bezanim.

How is the negative subjunctive natavânim formed? Where did the be- prefix go?

For the present subjunctive, we usually add the prefix be-. However, when making a subjunctive verb negative, the negative prefix na- completely replaces the be- prefix. So the affirmative betavânim (we can) simply becomes natavânim (we cannot).

How does the subjunctive work with the compound verb hads zadan (to guess)?

In Farsi compound verbs, only the verbal part (the second word) changes form. The non-verbal part hads (guess) stays exactly the same, while zadan (to hit) takes the subjunctive prefix be- and the "we" ending -im, becoming bezanim.

Why is there a ی added to the end of barande (winner) to make barande-ye?

This is the Ezafe linking "winner" to "backgammon" (winner of backgammon). Because ends in a silent "he" (), which acts as a vowel sound, we must add an actual (y) letter to bridge the gap before the Ezafe sound. It is pronounced .