Question 1

Why is the past continuous verb mi-kharidand used after mi-bâyast?

Accepted Answer

To express an unfulfilled past obligation like "should have bought", Farsi pairs mi-bâyast (or bâyast) with either the past continuous or the present subjunctive. Using the past continuous here emphasizes that the action was expected but did not actually happen.

Question 2

I thought che meant "what". How does it mean "whether" here?

Accepted Answer

When che is repeated in a che ... che ... structure, it changes meaning to "whether ... or ...". So che formul arzân bud che gerân is a very natural way to say "whether the formula was cheap or expensive".

Question 3

Why is there no verb after gerân (expensive)?

Accepted Answer

The verb bud (was) is already stated after arzân (cheap). In Farsi parallel structures, the second verb is often dropped to avoid sounding repetitive, exactly as it is in the English translation.

Question 4

Could I just use the normal present tense bâyad instead of mi-bâyast?

Accepted Answer

No, because bâyad implies a present obligation. To express a missed obligation in the past ("should have"), you need the past forms bâyast or mi-bâyast. If you used bâyad with a past tense verb, it would mean "they must have bought it" (a guess about what happened), rather than "they should have bought it".

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