Short forms and object doubling
Short forms (trajtat e shkurtra) are unstressed object pronouns: më, të, e, i, na, ju, u. They go before the verb: E di — "I know it", Më pëlqen — "I like it". Native speakers use them all the time — even when the object itself is there: E pashë Anën — "I saw Ana".
The table
For "me", "you", "us" and "you" (pl.) the accusative and the dative are the same. Only the 3rd person differs: e is "him, her, it", i is "to him, to her"; i is "them", u is "to them". This is the main source of mistakes.
| person | acc. — whom? | dat. — to whom? | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | më | më | Më pa. · Më tha. |
| you | të | të | Të pashë. · Të thashë. |
| he, she, it | e | i | E pashë. · I thashë. |
| we | na | na | Na pa. · Na tha. |
| you (pl.) | ju | ju | Ju pashë. · Ju thashë. |
| they | i | u | I pashë. · U thashë. |
Position in the sentence
The short form goes right before the verb, after nuk: Nuk e di — "I don't know". In the future and after të it goes between të and the verb: Do të të telefonoj — "I'll call you". With the imperative, in speech it also goes before the verb: Më jep ujë — "Give me some water"; e usually attaches to the end: Merre! — "Take it!". With the particle të they merge: të + e = ta, të + i = t'i, të + ju = t'ju: Dua ta shoh — "I want to see it".
Doubling: E pashë Anën
An Albanian object is often repeated by a short form — like saying "I saw her, Ana". The rules: a dative object almost always comes with a short form: I dhashë Anës një libër — "I gave Ana a book"; a definite direct object usually does too: E pashë Anën, E lexova librin; if the object comes before the verb, the short form is obligatory: Librin e lexova; an indefinite object has none: Lexova një libër.
Verbs with the dative: "I like"
Many frequent verbs take a dative: Më pëlqen kafeja — "I like coffee", Më duket — "It seems to me", Më dhemb koka — "I have a headache", Më vjen keq — "I'm sorry", Më duhet — "I need". The verb agrees with the thing liked: Më pëlqejnë këto këpucë — "I like these shoes".