Irregular verbs in the present
A2
The most common verbs change their stem: flas — flet — flisni, dua — do, vij — vjen. There aren't many, but they come up in every conversation — they're easiest to learn from a table.
The stem changes
In these verbs the stem in the "you" and "he" forms and in the "you" (pl.) form differs from the "I" form: a and o become e or i, and in flas the s also becomes t: flet. The "we" and "they" forms are built on the "I" form: flasim, flasin.
| meaning | unë | ti, ai | ju |
|---|---|---|---|
| to speak | flas | flet | flisni |
| to take | marr | merr | merrni |
| to give | jap | jep | jepni |
| to go out | dal | del | dilni |
| to see | shoh | sheh | shihni |
| to know (someone) | njoh | njeh | njihni |
Special forms: dua, them, vij
dua — "to want; to love", them — "to say", vij — "to come". Do means "you want" and "he wants", and it is also the future particle: do të vij — "I'll come". Jam and kam are in the topic "Jam and kam".
| person | dua | them | vij |
|---|---|---|---|
| unë | dua | them | vij |
| ti | do | thua | vjen |
| ai, ajo | do | thotë | vjen |
| ne | duam | themi | vijmë |
| ju | doni | thoni | vini |
| ata, ato | duan | thonë | vijnë |
Examples
Flisni shqip?
Do you speak Albanian?
Çfarë thua?
What do you say?
Ai vjen nesër.
He's coming tomorrow.
Ajo do një kafe.
She wants a coffee.
E sheh atë shtëpi?
Do you see that house?
Common mistakes
Ai flas shqip.
✓ Ai flet shqip.
"He" is flet.
Ju flasni shqip?
✓ Ju flisni shqip?
"You" (pl.) is flisni.
Ajo dua një kafe.
✓ Ajo do një kafe.
"He, she" is do.
💡 Tip. Learn an irregular verb by three forms — "I", "he", "you" (pl.): flas — flet — flisni, marr — merr — merrni. The rest follows the rules.
🎯 Practise this topic