Past subjunctives

Besides the present subjunctive, Albanian has three more subjunctive tenses. They are used after the same words, but they place the action in the past or before another action. All of them are built with të and a form you already know, so there are no new endings to learn.

How they are formed

Tense	Built from	Example
Imperfect subjunctive	të + the imperfect	të punoja
Perfect subjunctive	të + the subjunctive of kam + participle	të kem punuar
Past perfect subjunctive	të + the imperfect of kam + participle	të kisha punuar

Class 6 verbs use jam in the two compound forms: të jem larë "that I have washed myself", të isha larë "that I had washed myself".

The imperfect subjunctive, by class

Since it is just të before the imperfect, every class follows its own imperfect pattern:

	Class 1 punoj	Class 2 marr	Class 5 jam	Class 5 kam
unë	të punoja	të merrja	të isha	të kisha
ti	të punoje	të merrje	të ishe	të kishe
ai, ajo	të punonte	të merrte	të ishte	të kishte
ne	të punonim	të merrnim	të ishim	të kishim
ju	të punonit	të merrnit	të ishit	të kishit
ata, ato	të punonin	të merrnin	të ishin	të kishin

The perfect subjunctive

	fle (kam)	lahem (jam)
unë	të kem fjetur	të jem larë
ti	të kesh fjetur	të jesh larë
ai, ajo	të ketë fjetur	të jetë larë
ne	të kemi fjetur	të jemi larë
ju	të keni fjetur	të jeni larë
ata, ato	të kenë fjetur	të jenë larë

Which tense after which verb

The tense of the subjunctive follows the tense of the verb it depends on, or the time of the action in relation to it:

Main verb	Action at the same time or later	Action already done
present or future	present subjunctive: Dua të flas. "I want to speak."	perfect subjunctive: Mund të kem punuar. "I may have worked."
past	imperfect subjunctive: Doja të flisja. "I wanted to speak."	past perfect subjunctive: Mund të kisha punuar. "I could have worked."

When to use them

1. Imperfect subjunctive: after a past verb

After a verb that is in the imperfect, the simple past or the pluperfect (a past tense not tied to the moment of speaking), the dependent verb takes the imperfect subjunctive. English often shows it with "might", "could" or "should":

Doja të flisja. "I wanted to speak."
Duhej të punonim. "We had to work."
Ai donte të vinte. "He wanted to come."

Note that in everyday speech, and sometimes in writing, the present subjunctive can replace the imperfect one after a past verb; the imperfect form is the careful, standard choice.

2. Possibility and obligation in the past

With the past of mund and duhet, the imperfect subjunctive expresses what was possible or necessary:

Nuk mund të hapte derën. "He could not open the door."

3. Questions and exclamations of surprise or protest

Si të flinte ai këtu? "How could he sleep here?"

4. Hypotheses: after po and sikur

An "if" clause about something that is improbable, or no longer possible, uses the imperfect or the past perfect subjunctive. This is the heart of the conditional sentences: Po të isha në shtëpi, do të punoja. "If I were at home, I would work."

5. Perfect subjunctive: "may have", "must have"

With mund the perfect subjunctive says that something may have happened; with duhet that it must have happened:

Duhet të kenë ardhur. "They must have come."
Të ketë qenë ai? "Could it have been him?" (a doubting question)

6. Perfect subjunctive: before a future moment

After time conjunctions such as kur, pasi and sa, the perfect subjunctive marks an action that will be finished before the main action in the future:

Do të vij pasi të kem punuar. "I will come after I have worked."

7. Past perfect subjunctive: "could have", "should have"

With mund or duhet in the past, it expresses what was possible or required but did not happen:

Mund të kishe ardhur. "You could have come."

It is also the form of the "if" clause for what did not happen in the past (po të kisha ditur...), together with the perfect conditional (do të kisha...) in the main clause.

Watch out: the perfect subjunctive and the future perfect look alike apart from do: të kem punuar and do të kem punuar. The first depends on something before it; the second is a statement on its own.