(një) artikull an article
(disa) artikuj some articles
(një) papagall a parrot
(disa) papagaj some parrots
(një) konsull a consul
(disa) konsuj some consuls
6. Some masculine nouns have the same form in the singular and in the plural. These are typically nouns that end in - as, - (ë)s, - ues, or - yes:
(një) maqedonas a Macedonian
(disa) maqedonas some Macedonians
(një) nxënës a student
(disa) nxënës some students
(një) mësues a teacher
(disa) mësues some teachers
(një) përkthyes a translator (disa) përkthyes some translators
(një) studiues a researcher
(disa) studiues some researchers
7. Some nouns are irregular. You have already encountered several:
(një) baba a father
(disa) baballarë some fathers
(një) djalë a boy, son
(disa) djem some boys, sons
(një) gjysh a grandfather
(disa) gjyshër some grandfathers
(një) prind a parent
(disa) prindër some parents
(një) vëlla a brother
(disa) vëllezër some brothers
(një) zë a sound, voice
(disa) zëra some sounds, voices
With the exception of the nouns in groups 2, 4, 5, and 6, Albanian masculine nouns are a little er-ratic as to how they form their plural. You must memorize these forms! The plural form will be listed immediately after the defi nite form in the vocabulary lists and in the glossary. Thus, if you fi nd the following entries in the vocabulary list or in the glossary at the end of the book, you will know how to make the singular defi nite form as well as the plural indefi nite form:
Vocabulary Entry Singular Indefi nite Singular Defi nite Plural Indefi nite student, -i, -ë (student) student studenti studentë universitet, -i, -e (university) universitet universiteti universitete
fi lm, -i, -a (fi lm) fi lm fi lmi fi lma
lib/ ër, -ri, -ra (book) libër libri libra
nxënës, -i, - (pupil) nxënës nxënësi nxënës
burr/ ë, -i, -a (man) burrë burri burra
gjysh, -i, -ër (grandfather) gjysh gjyshi gjyshër
Indefi nites share the same form in the nominative as in the accusative, and thus they can be used either as subjects (where they bear the nominative case) or as direct objects (where they bear the accusative case):
Një student po shkruan në tabelë. A student is writing on the board.
Unë njoh një student. I know a student.
Disa studentë po shkruajnë tani. Some students are writing now.
Unë njoh disa studentë. I know some students.
§38 Nominative/ accusative plural defi nite nouns: masculine nouns
In §37 you learned how to form the plural indefi nite. To make the plural defi nite, simply add - t to the plural indefi nite form:
Singular Indefi nite Plural Indefi nite Plural Defi nite
student (student) studentë studentët (the students)
burrë (man) burra burrat (the men)
ushtrim (exercise) ushtrime ushtrimet (the exercises)
libër (book) libra librat (the books)
artikull (article) artikuj artikujt (the articles) If the plural form ends in a consonant, add - it:
Singular Indefi nite Plural Indefi nite Plural Defi nite maqedonas (Macedonian) maqedonas maqedonasit
nxënës (pupil) nxënës nxënësit
mësues (teacher) mësues mësuesit
përkthyes (translator) përkthyes përkthyesit
vëlla (brother) vëllezër vëllezërit
prind (parent) prindër prindërit
Unlike English, Albanian does not allow plain indefi nites to be used as subjects. Generic subjects (when we refer to an entity as a group) are typically used with a defi nite article in Albanian:
Studentët punojnë shumë. Students work hard.
If we want to refer to an indefi nite group, we must use the determiner disa ‘some’:
Disa studentë nuk mësojnë në shtëpi. Some students don’t study at home.
Masculine plural defi nite nouns have the same form in both the nominative and accusative cases;
therefore, just like the indefi nites discussed in §37, these plural defi nite forms can be used either as subjects (nominative) or as direct objects (accusative):1
Mësuesit lexojnë ushtrimet. The teachers read the exercises.
Ne shohim mësuesit. We see the teachers.
§39 Nationality and class 1 adjectives
We saw in §7 that class 1 adjectives are those adjectives that are used without a linking article.
Consider the following examples:
(1) një mësues shqiptar an Albanian (male) teacher (2) një mësuese shqiptare an Albanian (female) teacher (3) mësuesi shqiptar the Albanian (male) teacher (4) mësuesja shqiptare the Albanian (female) teacher Why do we fi nd shqiptar in examples (1) and (3) but shqiptare in (2) and (4)?2
_______________________________________________________________
1. Masculine singular defi nite nouns have different forms in the nominative and accusative (see §53).
2. If you cannot answer quickly, please review §7.
Consider now the corresponding plural forms:
(5) disa mësues shqiptarë some Albanian (male) teachers (6) disa mësuese shqiptare some Albanian (female) teachers (7) mësuesit shqiptarë the Albanian (male) teachers (8) mësueset shqiptare the Albanian (female) teachers
Why do we fi nd shqiptarë in examples (5) and (7) but shqiptare in (6) and (8)?
_______________________________________________________________
Now look at examples (1) through (8). Do the adjectives take a different form when they modify a defi nite or an indefi nite noun?
_______________________________________________________________
Write the corresponding forms for the adjective shqiptar ‘Albanian’:
masculine singular feminine singular masculine plural feminine plural
_____________ _____________ _____________ _____________
Adjectives must agree with the noun they modify. In general, nationality adjectives and adjectives that end in a consonant and that are stressed on the last syllable take an -ë to form the plural if they are masculine and an -e if they are feminine. The feminine forms are the same in the singular and in the plural. Class 1 adjectives remain the same whether they modify a defi nite or an indefi nite noun.
Masculine Feminine
Singular Plural Singular Plural
shqiptar shqiptarë shqiptare shqiptare
amerikan amerikanë amerikane amerikane
italian _________ _________ _________
anglez _________ _________ _________
interesant interesantë interesante interesante
kulturor kulturorë kulturore kulturore
informativ _________ _________ _________
fi llestar _________ _________ _________
Class 1 adjectives in Albanian are not infl ected for case, so the adjective will have the same form when it modifi es a nominative subject and an accusative direct object:
Studentët amerikanë fl asin mirë shqip.
The American students speak Albanian well.
Unë njoh disa studentë amerikanë.
I know some American students.
USHTRIMI 7.1
Indicate whether the following statements are true (T), false (F), or not mentioned (NM) in Dia-logu 7.1.
1. _____ Klasa ka 25 studentë.
2. _____ Ajo nuk është një klasë për fi llestarë.
3. _____ Studentët bëjnë shumë gabime kur fl asin shqip.
4. _____ Studentët bisedojnë për fi lma shqiptarë.
5. _____ Studentët mësojnë shqip për shumë arsye 6. _____ Ka tre përkthyes në klasë.
7. _____ Në klasë ka pesë studiues.
8. _____ Klasa është shumë interesante.
9. _____ Profesori shpjegon çdo gjë me hollësi, kur studentët nuk kuptojnë.
10. _____ Në klasë, studentët fl asin shqip, lexojnë tekste, bëjnë ushtrime dhe shpesh shohin në televizor emisione kulturore.
11. _____ Studentët nuk diskutojnë për fi lmat që shohin në klasë.
12. _____ Studentët fl asin shqip në klasë.
USHTRIMI 7.2
Answer the following questions based on Dialogu 7.1.
1. Sa studentë ka klasa?
____________________________________________________________
2. Studentët janë fi llestarë?
____________________________________________________________
3. Pse mësojnë shqip studentët?
____________________________________________________________
4. Ç’bëjnë studiuesit në Shqipëri?
____________________________________________________________
5. Ç’bëjnë studentët në klasë?
____________________________________________________________
6. A bëjnë shumë gabime kur fl asin?
____________________________________________________________
7. A shohin ata fi lma në klasë?
____________________________________________________________
8. A diskutojnë ata për fi lmat që shohin?
____________________________________________________________
9. A japin mendime për tekstet që lexojnë në klasë?
____________________________________________________________
10. Si duket klasa?
____________________________________________________________
USHTRIMI 7.3
Here are some nouns that appear in Dialogu 7.1. Write the corresponding forms, as in the ex-ample.
Singular Indefi nite Singular Defi nite Plural Indefi nite Plural Defi nite
student studenti studentë studentët
gabim përkthyes ushtrim televizor fi lm studiues kërkim mendim
USHTRIMI 7.4
Now let’s practice the plural of masculine nouns. Change the following sentences into the plural, making all necessary additional changes.