No. 137 in Persian
بودند
"Were" (third person plural, past tense of "to be").
In a sentence
آنها دوستان خوبی بودند.
They were good friends.
Here, «بودند» denotes the past tense form of 'to be' for the third person plural.
گیاهان به آب نیاز داشتند و به همین دلیل زنده بودند.
The plants needed water, and as a result, they were alive.
In this sentence, «بودند» is used to indicate a state of existence in the past for the third person plural.
شاگردان در کلاس خیلی زرنگ بودند.
The students in the class were very clever.
Here, «بودند» conveys a descriptive state of being in the past for the third person plural.
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