Word
دو ساعت طول کشید تا ما آن صحنهی نفسگیر را ببینیم.
Meaning
It took two hours for us to see that breathtaking scene.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of دو ساعت طول کشید تا ما آن صحنهی نفسگیر را ببینیم.
ما
we
آن
that
دوdo
two
ساعتsâ'at
o'clock (the hour)
Questions & Answers about دو ساعت طول کشید تا ما آن صحنهی نفسگیر را ببینیم.
Why is the verb ببینیم (bebinim) in the present subjunctive if the sentence is about something that happened in the past?
The word تا (tâ) here means "for us to" or "until". It connects the main action to an anticipated goal, which requires the subjunctive. Just like when you use ممکن بود (momken bud) followed by the subjunctive to show a past possibility, Farsi often uses the present subjunctive after تا even when the main verb (طول کشید) is in the past tense, because the "seeing" was still a future goal at the start of those two hours.
How does طول کشید (tul keshid) translate to "it took"?
The compound verb طول کشیدن literally translates to "to pull length" (طول means length, and کشیدن means to pull or draw). It is the standard Farsi idiom used when talking about how long a process or activity lasts.
How is the word نفسگیر (nafas-gir) formed?
It is a compound adjective that mirrors the English word "breathtaking" almost perfectly. It combines نفس (nafas), meaning "breath", with گیر (gir), which is the present stem of the verb گرفتن (gereftan - to take or to catch).
Why does the object marker را (râ) come after نفسگیر instead of right after صحنه (sahne)?