Breakdown of بعید است که کسی او را مسموم کرده بوده باشد تا خودکشی به نظر برسد.
است
is
او
he/she
بودنbudan
to be
راrâ
definite direct object marker
تاtâ
so that
کهke
that (conjunction)
کسیkasi
someone, anyone
به نظر رسیدنbe nazar rasidan
to seem
خودکشیkhodkoshi
suicide
بعیدba'id
unlikely
مسموم کردنmasmum kardan
to poison
Questions & Answers about بعید است که کسی او را مسموم کرده بوده باشد تا خودکشی به نظر برسد.
The verb form مسموم کرده بوده باشد looks incredibly long! Why use this Past Perfect Subjunctive instead of just the standard Past Subjunctive (مسموم کرده باشد)?
This is the core of your current lesson! The phrase بعید است (it is unlikely) triggers a subjunctive because it introduces doubt. While the regular Past Subjunctive (مسموم کرده باشد) simply means "that someone poisoned him," adding that extra بوده to make it the Past Perfect Subjunctive emphasizes profound, deep doubt. It signals to the listener that the speaker thinks this past scenario is highly improbable or purely hypothetical.
Since the hypothetical poisoning happened in the past, why is the final verb برسد in the Present Subjunctive instead of a past tense?
The conjunction تا (meaning "so that" or "in order to") introduces a purpose or intention, and in Farsi, purpose clauses always take the Present Subjunctive. This rule holds true regardless of whether the main action happened in the past, present, or future. From the perspective of the hypothetical poisoner in the past, the goal of making it look like suicide was a future intention.
How exactly does the phrase به نظر برسد translate to "it would look like"?
به نظر رسیدن is a highly useful compound verb meaning "to seem," "to appear," or "to look like." Literally, it translates to "to arrive to the view" (به = to, نظر = view or sight, رسیدن = to arrive). Conjugated here in the third-person singular Present Subjunctive, it literally means "so that it arrives to the view [as] suicide."
The English translation uses "someone" for کسی. Given the doubtful context, could it also translate to "anyone"?
Yes, absolutely. In negative contexts or sentences expressing strong doubt like this one (starting with بعید است که), the word کسی functions essentially like "anyone" in English. The speaker is doubting that anyone at all went to these lengths to poison him.
Learn بعید است که کسی او را مسموم کرده بوده باشد تا خودکشی به نظر برسد and more in Farsi
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