Breakdown of در حالی که در پارک پرجنبوجوش قدم میزدیم، بچهها را دیدیم که داشتند تردستی میکردند.
پارکpârk
park
درdar
in
داشتنdâshtan
to have
دیدنdidan
to see / to watch
Questions & Answers about در حالی که در پارک پرجنبوجوش قدم میزدیم، بچهها را دیدیم که داشتند تردستی میکردند.
Why does Farsi use ke and the past continuous verb (داشتند تردستی میکردند) instead of an "-ing" form like "doing"?
In Farsi, there isn't a direct equivalent to the English "-ing" participle used after perception verbs like seeing or hearing. Instead, Farsi uses a "pseudo-relative clause." You state the object being seen with را (بچهها را دیدیم - we saw the children), add the connecting word که (that/who), and then use a fully conjugated continuous tense to describe the action in progress: که داشتند تردستی میکردند (...who were doing sleight of hand).
Could I put the object marker را at the very end of the sentence, after the که clause?
No, you cannot. In this structure, the object marker را must immediately follow the direct object of the sensing verb, before the که clause begins. The required order is Object + را + Perception Verb + که + Ongoing Action. It has to be بچهها را دیدیم که (We saw the children that...).
Why is the first continuous action just قدم میزدیم while the second one uses the auxiliary verb داشتند?
Both refer to ongoing past actions, but the first is part of a background setup introduced by در حالی که (while). Following در حالی که, the standard past imperfective (قدم میزدیم) is enough to show continuous action. For the second verb, adding the auxiliary داشتن to form the full past continuous (داشتند تردستی میکردند) puts a strong, vivid spotlight on the fact that the magic tricks were actively in progress at the exact moment they were seen.