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First an important piece of knowledge:
In dictionaries, Albanian verbs are listed
in the first person singular of the present indicative; this is the so-called
"forma pėrfaqėsuese," representative form. From now on, whenever a verb is
mentioned as an example, assume that it is in the first person singular
of the present indicative unless specified otherwise.
Moods
Albanian verbs have 6 'moods'. The Albanian word for 'mood' is 'mėnyrė''.
The indicative mood, mėnyra dėftore, is used for simple
statements, declarations, etc., such as 'My name is Albi' or 'I was born in Albania'.
Mėnyra habitore is used to make such statements as well, especially
in surprising or unexpected situations.
Mėnyra kushtore (conditional mood)
and mėnyra lidhore (subjunctive
mood) are used to express possibility.
Mėnyra dėshirore and mėnyra
urdhėrore are used to express desire.
Mėnyra dėshirore is used for wishes or for curses.
Mėnyra urdhėrore is used for orders, commands, or demands.
6 sentences -- one for each mood -- are given as examples below.
The verb 'mėsoj' is used in the present tense, second person,
singular, of each mood.
|
Mood |
Albanian |
Translation into English | |
Dėftore |
Ti po mėson shqip. |
You are learning Albanian; | |
Habitore |
Ti po mėsoke shqip. |
Oh, so you are learning Albanian! | |
Kushtore |
Do ia kaloje mė mirė po tė mėsoje shqip. |
You would enjoy it more if you were to learn Albanian. | |
Lidhore |
Ti po pėrpiqesh tė mėsosh shqip. |
You are trying to learn Albanian. | |
Dėshirore |
Mos e mėsofsh kurrė! |
I hope you never learn it! | |
Urdhėrore |
Mėsoje shpejt! |
Learn it quickly! |
|
Tenses
Each mood has several tenses. Albanian grammar books describe 8 tenses
for the indicative mood, 4 tenses for the subjunctive mood, 4 for the 'surprised'
moods, 2 tenses for the conditional mood, 2 for the 'desire' mood, and just 1 tense
for the imperative mood. The Albanian word for 'tense' is 'kohė'.
The two most important verbs
The verbs jam and kam are two very
important verbs and you need to know them well.
Please memorize the following 2 tables at this time:
The conjugation of 'jam' in the present indicative:
|
English |
Albanian | |
I am |
unė jam | |
you are |
ti je | |
he/she is |
ai/ajo ėshtė | |
we are |
ne jemi | |
you are |
ju jeni | |
they are |
ata/ato janė |
|
The conjugation of 'kam' in the present indicative
|
English |
Albanian | |
I have |
unė kam | |
you are |
ti ke | |
he/she has |
ai/ajo ka | |
we have |
ne kemi | |
you have |
ju keni | |
they have |
ata/ato kanė |
|
As you see, the difference between 'to be' and 'to have'
is that one has a 'j' and the other has a 'k' instead. ('ėshtė' is
another difference, but 'ėshtė' is probably a loan-word from Latin.)
July 18, 2002.
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