Word
ظاهراً وقتی که پاپاراتزیها میرسیدند، او از پنجره فرار میکرده است.
Meaning
Apparently, when the paparazzi arrived, he used to escape through the window.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of ظاهراً وقتی که پاپاراتزیها میرسیدند، او از پنجره فرار میکرده است.
او
he/she
پنجره
window
ازaz
from
رسیدنrasidan
to arrive
Questions & Answers about ظاهراً وقتی که پاپاراتزیها میرسیدند، او از پنجره فرار میکرده است.
Why does the main verb use the form فرار میکرده است instead of the standard past continuous فرار میکرد?
This is the Evidential Past Continuous, which is the focus of this lesson. It is formed with می + the past participle (کرده) + the present copula (است). It is used here instead of the standard past continuous because the speaker is reporting a recurring past action they did not witness directly. The word ظاهراً (apparently) is a strong trigger for this hearsay or inferred tense.
Why is میرسیدند in the regular past continuous rather than the evidential form, even though it is part of the same rumor?
In complex sentences, the evidential mood usually only needs to be marked on the main clause's verb (فرار میکرده است). The dependent time clause (وقتی که) simply establishes the timeframe using the standard past continuous to show it was a repeated background event.
The English translation says "when the paparazzi arrived" (simple past). Why does Farsi use the continuous verb میرسیدند?
Because this was a habitual, recurring situation. In English, we often just say "when they arrived" to mean "whenever they arrived." In Farsi, if the main action is habitual (he used to escape), the trigger condition is also treated as a recurring habit, which requires the past continuous prefix می.
How does the word ظاهراً give away the verb tense we need to use?
ظاهراً means apparently, created by adding the Arabic adverb suffix ـاً (pronounced "-an") to a root word. Adverbs that express uncertainty, hearsay, or deduction almost always signal that you will need an evidential verb tense later in the sentence.