Breakdown of کارگردان داشت نمایشنامه را میخواند.
داشتنdâshtan
to have
خواندنkhândan
to read / to study (a subject)
راrâ
definite direct object marker
کارگردانkârgardân
director
Questions & Answers about کارگردان داشت نمایشنامه را میخواند.
How does this sentence form the 'was reading' past progressive tense?
It uses a two-verb structure. The auxiliary verb dâsht (he/she had) is paired with the past continuous main verb mi-khând (he/she was reading). In Farsi, you conjugate dâshtan in the simple past, put it near the start of the sentence, and match it with the main verb in the past continuous at the end. Both verbs are in the third-person singular to match kârgardân (the director).
Why are the two verbs dâsht and mi-khând separated by the object?
This is the standard word order for this tense. The auxiliary dâsht sits early in the sentence, usually right after the subject. The direct object (namâyesh-nâmeh) and its definite marker (râ) are placed between this auxiliary verb and the main verb (mi-khând).
Is the word râ required here?
Yes, because the English translation is 'the' script. The word râ is the definite direct object marker in Farsi. It shows that the director was reading a specific script. If they were just reading 'a' script or doing script-reading in general, you would leave râ out.
How is the word namâyesh-nâmeh (script) built?
It is a compound word made of two parts you might already know. namâyesh means 'play', 'show', or 'performance', and nâmeh means 'letter', 'book', or 'document'. Put them together, and you get a document for a play: a script!