Learn Farsi: اگه لاغر بودم، اون لباسو می‌پوشیدم.

اگه لاغر بودم، اون لباسو می‌پوشیدم.age lâghar budam, un lebâso mipushidam.

If I were thin, I would wear that dress.

Breakdown of اگه لاغر بودم، اون لباسو می‌پوشیدم.

Questions & Answers about اگه لاغر بودم، اون لباسو می‌پوشیدم.

Why does this sentence use past tense verbs (بودم and می‌پوشیدم) when talking about a present situation?

In Farsi, to express an imaginary or unreal situation in the present (the second conditional), we shift the verbs back to the past tense. The 'if' clause uses the simple past or past continuous (here, بودم meaning 'I was'), and the result clause uses the past continuous (here, می‌پوشیدم). Together, they translate to 'If I were... I would...'.

I usually see اگر for 'if'. Is اگه the same thing?

Yes, اگه is simply the everyday spoken version of اگر. Because second conditionals are often used in casual conversation, it is very common to see and hear اگه.

Why is there an extra و at the end of لباسو?

That و (pronounced 'o') is the spoken, conversational version of the direct object marker را. In spoken Farsi, when a word ends in a consonant like لباس, the را shrinks down to an '-o' sound attached directly to the end of the noun.

The verb می‌پوشیدم has the prefix می. Doesn't that usually make a verb present tense?

The prefix می is used to build the simple present tense, but when you attach it to a past tense stem, it creates the past continuous tense (which translates literally to 'I was wearing'). In conditional sentences like this one, using the past continuous in the result clause gives it the meaning of 'I would wear'.