Breakdown of ما میدانستیم که ماشینها با دست ساخته میشدند.
ما
we
ماشینmâshin
car
دستdast
hand
باbâ
with
کهke
that (conjunction)
شدنshodan
to become
ساختنsâkhtan
to build
دانستنdânestan
to know (facts)
Questions & Answers about ما میدانستیم که ماشینها با دست ساخته میشدند.
How is the Past Continuous Passive formed in ساخته میشدند?
It combines the past participle of the main verb (ساخته from ساختن, to build) with the past continuous form of the auxiliary verb شدن (to become). Since the subject ماشینها (cars) is plural, the auxiliary verb takes the third-person plural ending, becoming میشدند.
The translation says "used to be built". Could ساخته میشدند also mean "were being built"?
Yes, it absolutely can. The Farsi past continuous tense covers both habitual actions in the past ("used to be built") and ongoing actions at a specific time in the past ("were being built"). You rely on context to know which one fits best.
Why is "we knew" written with the continuous prefix as میدانستیم instead of just the simple past دانستیم?
Verbs describing a mental state—like knowing (دانستن), wanting (خواستن), or having (داشتن)—usually take the می- prefix in the past tense. This shows that the state of "knowing" was ongoing, rather than an action that happened once and finished.
Why do we use با (with) in با دست for "by hand", rather than a word like توسط (by)?
In passive sentences, توسط or به وسیله is used for the agent who did the action (like "by the mechanics"). However, when you are talking about the tool or method used, Farsi prefers با (with). So "by hand" naturally translates to با دست (with hand).
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