Breakdown of اگر آنها زمین را شخم زده بودند، خاک حاصلخیز شده بود.
آنها
they
بودنbudan
to be
راrâ
definite direct object marker
زمینzamin
ground
شدنshodan
to become
خاکkhâk
dust / clay / soil
اگرagar
if
شخم زدنshokhm zadan
to plow
حاصلخیزhâselkhiz
fertile
Questions & Answers about اگر آنها زمین را شخم زده بودند، خاک حاصلخیز شده بود.
How does this sentence form the third conditional (unreal past)?
It uses agar (if) followed by the Past Perfect tense in the condition clause: شخم زده بودند (had plowed). The main clause also uses the Past Perfect: شده بود (literally: had become). Using Past Perfect in both halves is the standard way to talk about unreal past situations in Farsi.
Why is شده بود translated as "would have been" instead of "had become"?
Literally, it does mean "had become." In Farsi, the main result clause of a third conditional usually takes the Past Perfect. While English introduces the conditional "would have," Farsi keeps it simple by matching the past perfect tense of the "if" clause.
How is the verb for "plow" formed here?
It uses the compound verb شخم زدن (shokhm zadan), combining شخم (plowing) and زدن (to hit/strike). To make the past perfect, the main part stays the same and only the helper verb changes, giving us شخم زده بودند (they had plowed).
Why does زمین take the را marker, but خاک does not?
زمین (land) is the specific direct object being acted upon by the verb "plowed," so it requires the direct object marker را. On the other hand, خاک (soil) is the subject of the second clause, and subjects never take را.
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