Breakdown of حتی اگر دوست بودند، همیشه دعوا میکردند.
دوستdust
friend
بودنbudan
to be
همیشهhamishe
always
دعوا کردنda'vâ kardan
to fight
اگرagar
if
حتیhattâ
even
Questions & Answers about حتی اگر دوست بودند، همیشه دعوا میکردند.
Why do we use the past tense بودند (were) and میکردند (would fight) when talking about an imaginary present situation?
In Farsi, just like in English, we use past tenses to show that a situation is unreal or hypothetical right now. The 'if' part uses the simple past (بودند), and the 'then' part uses the past continuous (میکردند) to mean 'they would fight'.
Why is the word for friend, دوست, in the singular form here instead of the plural دوستان?
When describing what people are, such as their relationship or profession, Farsi often uses the singular form of the noun. Saying they were 'friend' (دوست بودند) sounds more natural here because it focuses on the category of their relationship rather than counting the individuals.
Does دعوا میکردند always mean 'they would fight'?
Not always! Outside of an اگر (if) sentence, the past continuous دعوا میکردند usually means 'they were fighting' or 'they used to fight'. It translates to 'would fight' here specifically because it is the result part of a second conditional sentence.
How does حتی change the conditional clause?
حتی means 'even'. Placing it before اگر creates حتی اگر (even if), which emphasizes that the hypothetical condition would not change the outcome. The grammar rules for the second conditional remain exactly the same.
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