Question 1

How exactly is the passive verb bāfteh mi-shod formed in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

It is built using the past participle of the main verb, bāfteh (woven), followed by the past continuous form of the auxiliary verb shodan (to become). Here, mi-shod means "it used to become" or "it was becoming," creating the past continuous passive meaning "it used to be woven."

Question 2

Why does the translation say "used to be woven" instead of just "was woven"?

Accepted Answer

The prefix mi- on mi-shod indicates a continuous or habitual action in the past. If the sentence was about a single completed action ("the carpet was woven"), it would drop the mi- and use the simple past passive: bāfteh shod. Because of the mi-, it shows that weaving with wool was a standard practice or an ongoing process.

Question 3

In English, we might say a carpet is made "of" or "from" wool. Why does Farsi use bā (with) here?

Accepted Answer

In Farsi, bā is often used to show the material or tool used to create something. While you can sometimes use az (from/of) for materials, using bā (with) is very natural for a verb like weaving, as it highlights the wool as the material being actively worked with.

Question 4

Why does the phrase bā pashm (with wool) come before the verb, rather than at the end like in English?

Accepted Answer

Farsi has a strict Subject-Object-Verb word order, meaning the main verb block always comes at the very end of the sentence. Prepositional phrases like bā pashm sit comfortably in the middle, between the subject qāli (carpet) and the final passive verb bāfteh mi-shod.

قالی با پشم بافته می‌شد.

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