Question 1

Why does the verb use the past continuous form می‌کرد if the sentence translates to 'had to make'?

Accepted Answer

In Farsi, the word for 'must' or 'should' (باید) doesn't change for the past tense. Instead, to express a past obligation ('had to'), you use باید followed by the past continuous form of the main verb. So, combining باید with the past continuous می‌کرد gives us 'had to do'.

Question 2

How does the compound verb وصیت کردن (to make a will) work here?

Accepted Answer

Like many Farsi verbs, it is made of a noun (وصیت, meaning 'will' or 'testament') and a helper verb (کردن, meaning 'to do'). When conjugating with the continuous prefix می, the prefix attaches only to the helper verb, giving us وصیت می‌کرد.

Question 3

Could we place دیروز (yesterday) at the very beginning of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Time words like دیروز are very flexible in Farsi. You can say دیروز او باید وصیت می‌کرد to put more emphasis on the fact that the deadline was yesterday, or keep it after the subject (او) as it is in this sentence.

Question 4

I don't see a Farsi word for 'a' (as in 'a will'). Why is it missing?

Accepted Answer

Because وصیت کردن is a fixed compound verb meaning 'to make a will' or 'to bequeath', the noun وصیت doesn't take an indefinite article. The entire phrase acts as a single action, rather than an action performed on a specific, countable physical object.

او باید دیروز وصیت می‌کرد.

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