Question 1

Why is منصرف بشویم (monsaref beshavim) in the present subjunctive when the English translation says "we almost gave up" in the past tense?

Accepted Answer

In Farsi, the phrase نزدیک بود که (nazdik bud ke), meaning "it was close that" or "almost," triggers the present subjunctive for the action that almost happened. Even though the near-miss occurred in the past (hence the past tense بود), the action itself is treated as a hypothetical or unfulfilled event, which requires the subjunctive بشویم (beshavim).

Question 2

Why is صبر کنیم (sabr konim) also in the present subjunctive?

Accepted Answer

Similar to the second half of the sentence, the first half uses a structure of obligation: مجبور شدیم که (we were forced to / we had to). Verbs expressing obligation, necessity, or forcing someone to do something always take the subjunctive for the secondary verb. So, "we were forced that we wait" requires the present subjunctive صبر کنیم.

Question 3

Does منصرف شدن (monsaref shodan) literally mean "to give up"?

Accepted Answer

Not exactly. منصرف شدن specifically means "to change one's mind," "to withdraw," or "to abandon an intention." It implies deciding not to do something you previously planned to do (like waiting in this sentence). If you meant "give up" in the sense of surrendering or losing hope entirely, you would use a different verb like تسلیم شدن (taslim shodan).

Question 4

Is it mandatory to include که (ke) twice in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

No, in everyday spoken Farsi, the conjunction که is very often dropped. You will frequently hear this sentence simply as مجبور شدیم خیلی صبر کنیم و نزدیک بود منصرف بشویم. Keeping the که just makes the sentence sound a bit more formal or deliberate.

مجبور شدیم که خیلی صبر کنیم و نزدیک بود که منصرف بشویم.

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