Breakdown of بانک محاصره شده بود، ولی غارت نشده بود.
بانکbânk
bank
ولیvali
but
غارت کردنghârat kardan
to loot
محاصره کردنmohâsere kardan
to surround
Questions & Answers about بانک محاصره شده بود، ولی غارت نشده بود.
How is the past perfect passive formed in the phrase محاصره شده بود?
In Farsi, passive voice uses the auxiliary verb شدن (to become). To say something had been done (past perfect), you combine the noun part of the compound verb (محاصره meaning siege) with the past perfect form of شدن, which is شده بود. Literally, it implies the bank 'had become a siege'.
Where does the negative marker go in غارت نشده بود?
The negative prefix نـ (na-) attaches directly to the participle of the auxiliary verb, changing شده to نشده. In compound verbs, the negative prefix never attaches to the non-verb part (like غارت), and it does not attach to بود in this tense.
If محاصره شدن means 'to be surrounded', how would I say someone surrounded the bank?
You would switch the auxiliary verb from شدن (to become) to کردن (to do) to make it active. The active past perfect would be محاصره کرده بود (had surrounded). For example: The police had surrounded the bank (پلیس بانک را محاصره کرده بود).
Why doesn't the sentence say who didn't loot the bank, like 'by the robbers'?
Farsi strongly prefers to leave out the doer in passive sentences. While you can technically use the word توسط (by) to introduce who did it, it usually sounds clunky or like a direct translation from English. If you want to include the doer, it is almost always better to just use the active voice.
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