Breakdown of اگر یک بیگانه حمله میکرد، هیچکس به جز تو ما را نجات نمیداد.
تو
you (singular)
ما
we
یکyek
one / a, an
راrâ
definite direct object marker
هیچکسhichkas
nobody
نجات دادنnejât dâdan
to rescue
اگرagar
if
حمله کردنhamle kardan
to attack
به جزbe joz
except
بیگانهbigâne
alien
حملهhamle
attack (noun)
Questions & Answers about اگر یک بیگانه حمله میکرد، هیچکس به جز تو ما را نجات نمیداد.
Why is "attacked" written as حمله میکرد (past continuous) instead of the simple past?
In Farsi second conditionals (unreal or imagined situations in the present), the "if" clause starting with اگر can use either the simple past or the past continuous. Using the past continuous (حمله میکرد) instead of the simple past (حمله کرد) is very common here and simply emphasizes the hypothetical nature of the event.
How does Farsi express the "would" in "would save"?
Farsi doesn't have a separate word for "would". Instead, in these unreal conditional sentences, the result clause uses the past continuous tense to mean "would do" something. The prefix می added to the past stem creates this meaning. So, نجات میداد means "would save", and adding the negative نـ gives us نجات نمیداد (would not save).
Why is the verb negative (نجات نمیداد) when the English translation says "no one ... would save us"?
Farsi requires double negatives! Whenever you use a negative pronoun like هیچکس (no one / nobody), the main verb of that sentence must also be negative. A literal English translation of the Farsi structure would be "No one would not save us."
Why is را attached to ما?
را is the specific direct object marker. Because "we" (ما) are the ones receiving the action of being saved, and we are a specific, known group of people, Farsi requires را right after ما to show it is the direct object of the verb نجات دادن (to save).
What does به جز mean in this sentence?
به جز is a fixed phrase meaning "except" or "other than". Here, به جز تو directly translates to "except you". In everyday conversation, you will often hear it shortened to just جز.
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