Breakdown of من میبایست دو قطره از این عصاره را به عطر اضافه میکردم.
من
I
این
this
بهbe
to
ازaz
from
دوdo
two
راrâ
definite direct object marker
بایدbâyad
must
اضافه کردنezâfe kardan
to add
عطرetr
perfume / fragrance
قطرهghatre
drop (of liquid)
عصارهosâre
extract
Questions & Answers about من میبایست دو قطره از این عصاره را به عطر اضافه میکردم.
Why does this sentence use the past continuous verb اضافه میکردم instead of the subjunctive?
To express an unfulfilled past obligation (something you should have done but didn't), Farsi pairs میبایست (mi-bâyast) with either the Past Continuous or the Perfect Subjunctive. Here, the Past Continuous اضافه میکردم (ezâfe mi-kardam) is used to mean 'should have added'.
Could I just use باید (bâyad) instead of میبایست (mi-bâyast) to say 'I should have'?
Yes. In everyday spoken Farsi, people often use the present tense باید (bâyad) followed by the past continuous to mean 'should have'. However, میبایست is the strictly correct, traditional form for past obligations and is very common in written or careful speech.
Why does the object marker را (râ) come after این عصاره (this extract) rather than right after دو قطره (two drops)?
The entire phrase دو قطره از این عصاره (two drops of this extract) acts as the specific direct object of the verb. In Farsi, را must always go at the very end of the complete noun phrase it is marking.
How is the verb اضافه میکردم formed here?
The infinitive is the compound verb اضافه کردن (ezâfe kardan), meaning 'to add'. To form the past continuous for 'I', you take the non-verbal part اضافه, add the continuous prefix می (mi-) to the past stem کرد (kard), and finish with the 'I' ending م (-am).
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