Learn Farsi: اگر این گربه کمتر می‌خوابید، لاغر می‌ماند. - If this cat slept less, it would stay thin.

In Farsi second conditionals, the 'if' clause can use the Past Continuous to describe an ongoing or habitual unreal action. Because we are talking about the cat's general habit of sleeping, می‌خوابید is used to mean 'if it slept less (in general).'

How does می‌ماند translate to 'would stay'?

In the result clause of an unreal conditional, Farsi uses the Past Continuous tense to mean 'would do something'. It is formed by adding the continuous prefix می to the past stem ماند (from ماندن, to stay) along with the third-person singular ending. Together, it gives the meaning 'it would stay.'

How is the word کمتر (less) formed?

کمتر is the comparative form of the word کم (little or few). Just like adding '-er' to adjectives in English, adding the suffix ـتر (-tar) to a Farsi adjective makes it comparative. Here, it acts as an adverb meaning 'less.'

Why is there no word for 'it' before لاغر می‌ماند (would stay thin)?

Farsi verbs include the subject directly in their endings, so subject pronouns are usually dropped. Since این گربه (this cat) is established as the subject in the first clause, the third-person singular ending on می‌ماند is all you need to show we are still talking about the cat.