Conjugation classes

Albanian verbs fall into six conjugation classes. The class is read from the verb's citation form, the unë form of the present indicative. Knowing the class tells you the shape of the endings: the present, the simple past and the participle all follow a pattern per class. Inside a class many verbs still change a vowel or a consonant, which is why every verb on this site records its own principal parts.

How to recognise the class

Class	The unë present ends in	Examples
1	-j	punoj "work", mësoj "learn", laj "wash"
2	a consonant	hap "open", flas "speak", dal "go out", marr "take"
3	a vowel	ha "eat", pi "drink", rri "stay", di "know", fle "sleep"
4	-i (only three verbs)	iki "leave", eci "walk", hipi "get on"
5	irregular verbs	jam "be", kam "have", dua "want", jap "give", them "say"
6	-em / -hem	quhem "be called", zgjohem "wake up", nisem "depart"

The classes at a glance

The simple past and the participle are where the classes differ most. Each pattern is explained on the page linked in the heading.

Class	Present: the endings after the stem	Simple past (unë)	Participle
1	-n, -n, -jmë, -ni, -jnë	-va or -ova (laj, lava; punoj, punova)	-uar, -yer, or -rë (punuar, larë)
2	none, none, -im, -ni, -in	-a (hap, hapa); some -ta or an -o- stem (shes, shita; dal, dola)	-ur (hapur); some -ë (dalë, marrë)
3	none, none, -më, -ni, -në	-va (pi, piva); some irregular (di, dita)	-në (vë, vënë) or irregular (fle, fjetur)
4	-ën, -ën, -im, -ni, -in	-a (eci, eca)	-ur (ecur)
5	irregular	irregular (jam, qeshë; kam, pata)	irregular (qenë, pasur)
6	-esh, -et, -emi, -eni, -en (with -h- after a vowel stem)	u + the active verb's simple past (u lava)	the active verb's participle (larë)

The present endings are listed for ti, ai/ajo, ne, ju and ata/ato; unë is the citation form itself. "None" means the bare stem, identical to the unë form; Class 2 verbs that change their stem vowel are the exception, see Class 2 below.

Class 1: verbs in -j

The regular pattern covers verbs ending in -oj, -ëj, -ij, -yj, -uaj, -aj and -ej. vij "come" ends in -j but has an irregular stem: vij, vjen, vjen, vijmë, vini, vijnë.

	punoj	mësoj	gatuaj
unë	punoj	mësoj	gatuaj
ti	punon	mëson	gatuan
ai, ajo	punon	mëson	gatuan
ne	punojmë	mësojmë	gatuajmë
ju	punoni	mësoni	gatuani
ata, ato	punojnë	mësojnë	gatuajnë

Class 2: consonant-final verbs

Class 2 has several subtypes, and they must not be mixed up. In the plainest one the stem never changes:

	hap	mbyll
unë	hap	mbyll
ti	hap	mbyll
ai, ajo	hap	mbyll
ne	hapim	mbyllim
ju	hapni	mbyllni
ata, ato	hapin	mbyllin

In the other subtypes the stem vowel changes, and ti and ai/ajo share the changed stem while unë, ne and ata/ato keep the original one. Flas and dal change a to e, and ju takes a third vowel (a to i). Marr is the named exception: ju keeps the e of ti (merrni).

	flas	dal	marr
unë	flas	dal	marr
ti	flet	del	merr
ai, ajo	flet	del	merr
ne	flasim	dalim	marrim
ju	flitni	dilni	merrni
ata, ato	flasin	dalin	marrin

Verbs in -s such as pres "wait" and shes "sell" change the s to t in ti and ai/ajo together:

	pres	shes
unë	pres	shes
ti	pret	shet
ai, ajo	pret	shet
ne	presim	shesim
ju	pritni	shisni
ata, ato	presin	shesin

The verbs njoh "know (a person)" and shoh "see" change o to e (ti, ai/ajo) and to i (ju): njoh, njeh, njeh, njohim, njihni, njohin; shoh, sheh, sheh, shohim, shihni, shohin.

The ju form is the key to a Class 2 verb: the imperfect and the imperative are built from it, so a verb with a changed vowel there (dilni) has the same changed vowel in dilja and dil!

Class 3: verbs ending in a vowel

In unë, ti and ai/ajo the verb is just its bare stem. The other persons add -më (ne), -ni (ju) and -në (ata/ato).

	ha	pi	fle
unë, ti, ai, ajo	ha	pi	fle
ne	hamë	pimë	flemë
ju	hani	pini	flini
ata, ato	hanë	pinë	flenë

Notice flini: in fle the stem vowel e becomes i before -ni.

Class 4: verbs in -i

Only three verbs belong here: iki, eci and hipi. ti and ai/ajo end in -ën.

	iki	eci	hipi
unë	iki	eci	hipi
ti, ai, ajo	ikën	ecën	hipën
ne	ikim	ecim	hipim
ju	ikni	ecni	hipni
ata, ato	ikin	ecin	hipin

Class 5: irregular verbs

These verbs follow no pattern and are learned one by one. Most of them are among the most frequent verbs of the language.

	jam	kam	dua	jap	them
unë	jam	kam	dua	jap	them
ti	je	ke	do	jep	thua
ai, ajo	është	ka	do	jep	thotë
ne	jemi	kemi	duam	japim	themi
ju	jeni	keni	doni	jepni	thoni
ata, ato	janë	kanë	duan	japin	thonë

Jam and kam are also the two auxiliaries of the compound tenses (present perfect, pluperfect, future perfect). Their own full paradigms, including the admirative and optative, are in the conjugation tables.

Class 6: the -(h)em verbs

Class 6 verbs are reflexive, mediopassive or passive. To form one, take the verb's 2nd person plural (ju) present, drop -ni, and add -em if the stem ends in a consonant or -hem if it ends in a vowel. If the stem changes in the 2nd plural, the changed stem is used throughout: vesh has vishni in the 2nd plural, so its Class 6 verb is vishem.

	zgjohem "wake up"	nisem "depart"
unë	zgjohem	nisem
ti	zgjohesh	nisesh
ai, ajo	zgjohet	niset
ne	zgjohemi	nisemi
ju	zgjoheni	niseni
ata, ato	zgjohen	nisen

Class 6 verbs fall into three groups of meaning:

Reflexive: the action is done to oneself: lahem "wash oneself" (laj), krihem "comb one's hair" (kreh), vishem "get dressed" (vesh).
A shift in meaning, to be learned separately: bëj "do" becomes bëhem "become"; kthej "return something" becomes kthehem "come back"; takoj "meet someone" becomes takohem "meet with"; marr "take" becomes merrem "be engaged with".
No active counterpart: ankohem "complain", dukem "seem", përgjigjem "answer", përpiqem "try".

Three things set Class 6 apart from the others:

In the subjunctive and the future, ti and ai/ajo keep their present-indicative form: do të zgjohesh, do të zgjohet.
The simple past is the active verb's simple past with the particle u in front, and the third person singular loses its ending: u lava, u lave, u la, u lamë, u latë, u lanë.
In the compound tenses Class 6 uses jam as the auxiliary and the participle of the active verb: jam larë.