Breakdown of ما داشتیم به همهمه بزرگ گوش میدادیم.
ما
we
بزرگbozorg
big / large
بهbe
to
داشتنdâshtan
to have
گوش دادنgush dâdan
to listen
همهمهhamhame
commotion / noise
Questions & Answers about ما داشتیم به همهمه بزرگ گوش میدادیم.
How do داشتیم and گوش میدادیم work together in this sentence?
They form the past progressive tense to mean "we were listening." The helper verb داشتیم (we had) matches the subject and comes early in the sentence, while the main continuous verb گوش میدادیم (we were listening) is placed at the very end. The rest of the sentence is sandwiched in between.
Why is there a به right before همهمه بزرگ?
The Farsi verb for "to listen" is گوش دادن, which literally means "to give ear." Just like in English where you listen to something, in Farsi you give your ear to something, so it always requires the preposition به (to) before the object.
How is the adjective بزرگ (big) linked to the noun همهمه (commotion)?
They are linked using an ezafe. Because the noun همهمه ends in a silent "h", the ezafe is pronounced as "-ye", creating همهمهی بزرگ (hamhame-ye bozorg) when spoken. It connects the noun directly to its describing adjective.
Why does the می go in the middle of گوش میدادیم?
گوش دادن is a compound verb made of a noun (گوش) and a verb (دادن). Tense prefixes like می, which show continuous action, are only attached to the verbal part. Therefore, می goes directly before دادیم (we gave), leaving گوش separate.
Learn ما داشتیم به همهمه بزرگ گوش میدادیم and more in Farsi
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free