Question 1

In this lesson, we learned qabl az for 'before'. Why does this sentence use qablan without az?

Accepted Answer

You use qabl az when you want to say 'before' a specific thing or event, like 'before lunch' (qabl az nahar). But qablan is a standalone word meaning 'previously' or 'in the past'. Since we aren't saying 'before [something]', we just use qablan.

Question 2

What does the ending on qablan mean?

Accepted Answer

The -an ending is a suffix borrowed from Arabic that turns a word into an adverb (a word that describes how or when something happens). Here, it changes qabl (before) into qablan (previously). You might recognize this same ending from words like lotfan (please) and hatman (definitely).

Question 3

Where is the word for 'there' in 'there was a school'?

Accepted Answer

Farsi doesn't use a filler word like 'there' to show that something exists. Instead, you just state the location, the object, and the verb 'to be'. So inja yek madrese bud literally translates to 'here a school was'.

Question 4

Does qablan have to go at the very beginning of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

Time words in Farsi usually go at the very beginning of the sentence to set the scene. While you could technically say inja qablan yek madrese bud, putting qablan first is the most natural way to emphasize that this was true in the past.

قبلا اینجا یک مدرسه بود.

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