Q: Why does میخواستیم translate to "We were going to" instead of "We wanted to"?

The past continuous of خواستن (میخواستیم) is the standard way to express an unfulfilled past intention in Farsi. While "we wanted to" is also an accurate translation, "we were going to" captures that "interrupted plan" feeling perfectly, which fits the context of being followed by اما (but).

Q: How would we apply this lesson's double negation rule to say "We couldn't not infiltrate the group"?

You would replace the first clause with نمیتوانستیم به گروه نفوذ نکنیم. This combines a negative modal verb (نمیتوانستیم) with a negative subjunctive main verb (نفوذ نکنیم) to create a strong affirmation, meaning infiltrating the group was an absolute necessity or unavoidable.

Question 1

Why does می‌خواستیم translate to "We were going to" instead of "We wanted to"?

Accepted Answer

The past continuous of خواستن (می‌خواستیم) is the standard way to express an unfulfilled past intention in Farsi. While "we wanted to" is also an accurate translation, "we were going to" captures that "interrupted plan" feeling perfectly, which fits the context of being followed by اما (but).

Question 2

Why is the preposition به used before گروه?

Accepted Answer

The compound verb نفوذ کردن (to infiltrate / to penetrate) requires the preposition به to show what is being infiltrated. In English, "infiltrate" takes a direct object, but in Farsi, you literally "do penetration to/into" a target.

Question 3

How would we apply this lesson's double negation rule to say "We couldn't not infiltrate the group"?

Accepted Answer

You would replace the first clause with نمی‌توانستیم به گروه نفوذ نکنیم. This combines a negative modal verb (نمی‌توانستیم) with a negative subjunctive main verb (نفوذ نکنیم) to create a strong affirmation, meaning infiltrating the group was an absolute necessity or unavoidable.

Question 4

What kind of prefix is غیر in غیرممکن? Could I use ناممکن instead?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can! غیر (usually connected to the next word with an e sound, making it غیرِ) is an Arabic-derived prefix meaning "non-" or "un-". ناممکن uses the native Persian negative prefix نا- and means exactly the same thing. Both are very commonly used to mean "impossible."

می‌خواستیم به گروه نفوذ کنیم، اما غیرممکن بود.

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