Question 1

Why do we use pāreh kardan here instead of pāreh shodan?

Accepted Answer

Pāreh kardan is the transitive form, meaning "to tear [something]". Because the subject "he" is actively doing the tearing to an object (the shirt), we use the kardan (to do) version. If you wanted to say the shirt tore on its own, you would use the intransitive pāreh shodan (to become torn).

Question 2

The sentence uses tamiz kardan (to clean). What would happen if I used tamiz shodan?

Accepted Answer

The meaning would change from an active action to a change of state. Tamiz kardan means "to clean [something]", which fits because he is cleaning the glass. Tamiz shodan means "to become clean". For example, shisheh tamiz shod means "the glass became clean".

Question 3

Why does the sentence use pirāhan-e khod rā instead of just adding the possessive ending to make pirāhanash rā?

Accepted Answer

Both are grammatically correct and mean "his shirt", but khod emphasizes that it was his own shirt. When the subject of the sentence (he) is also the owner of the object, Farsi often uses the reflexive khod (self/own) to avoid any ambiguity about whose shirt it was.

Question 4

What tense is pāreh kardeh bud and why is it used instead of the simple past pāreh kard?

Accepted Answer

It is the past perfect tense, meaning "had torn". It is formed using the past participle (pāreh kardeh) plus the past tense of "to be" (bud). It is used here to show that the action of tearing the shirt was fully completed in the past before the main focus of the story.

او برای تمیز کردن شیشه، پیراهن خود را پاره کرده بود.

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