Breakdown of زمانی او اینجا بود.
او
he/she
اینجاinjâ
here
بودنbudan
to be
زمانیzamâni
at one time, sometime (zamâni ke = when)
Questions & Answers about زمانی او اینجا بود.
We are learning about zamâni ke (the time when). Why is there no ke after zamâni here?
Because there is no relative clause in this sentence. The phrase zamâni ke introduces a descriptive clause (the time when something happened). Here, zamâni simply stands alone as an adverb meaning "at one time" or "once."
What is the exact breakdown of the word zamâni?
It is the noun zamân (time) plus the indefinite suffix -i (a, one, or some). While you might expect it to mean literally "a time," in this context it acts as an adverb meaning "at one time" in the past.
Why isn't there a preposition like dar (in or at) before zamâni?
In Farsi, time expressions frequently do not require prepositions. Just like we say "yesterday" rather than "on yesterday" in English, Farsi uses words like zamâni directly to mean "at one time."
Could I translate zamâni here as "sometimes"?
No, "sometimes" refers to recurring events and is usually translated as gâhi. Zamâni refers to a single, unspecified block of time in the past, which is why "at one time" or "formerly" is the best translation here.