The pluperfect: kisha punuar
The pluperfect is an action that happened before another past event: Kur arrita, treni kishte ikur — "When I arrived, the train had already left". It is built like the perfect, but with kisha instead of kam: kisha punuar.
Forms
Kisha in the right person + the participle. Reflexive verbs take isha: isha ngritur — "I had (already) got up", ishte nisur — "he had (already) left".
| person | punoj | ngrihem |
|---|---|---|
| unë | kisha punuar | isha ngritur |
| ti | kishe punuar | ishe ngritur |
| ai, ajo | kishte punuar | ishte ngritur |
| ne | kishim punuar | ishim ngritur |
| ju | kishit punuar | ishit ngritur |
| ata, ato | kishin punuar | ishin ngritur |
When to use it
When you are talking about the past and need to say that something had happened even earlier: Kur u ktheva, ata kishin ngrënë — "When I came back, they had already eaten". Often with tashmë "already": Filmi kishte filluar tashmë — "The film had already started". And "never before then": Para asaj vere nuk kisha qenë kurrë në Shqipëri — "Before that summer I had never been to Albania".
In reported speech
After më tha që "he told me that" the pluperfect shows the event came before the words: Më tha që e kishte lexuar librin — "He told me he had read the book".