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The Aorist


The Aorist describes, similar to the Imperfect, a past tense but the Aorist is used more often.
It is built different for the three conjugations:

Aorist 1st conjugation:

Verb stem + ending vowel +«v»+ Aorist ending

  • Rule 1: There are differences in the 3rd person singular, whose ending can be «-i» or «-u», depending on the preceding vowel.
    After «a, e, i, y», the ending in the 3rd person singular is «-u», otherwise «-i».
  • Rule 2: There are differences in the persons of the plural. Verbs ending in «-o» or «-e» in the singular change this vowel to «-ua» or «-ye».
jetoj ('to live')

Singular
Plural
1st person
jeto-j
jeto-jmë
2nd person
jeto-n
jeto-ni
3rd person
jeto-n
jeto-jnë

In this verb, the 3rd person singular ends in «-i» because the vowel «o» comes after the stem. (see rule number 1)

«jetoj» is a verb whose vowel at the end of the stem is an «o». Therefore, in the plural, this verb changes this vowel to «ua». (see rule number 2)

Aorist 2nd conjugation:

Verb stem + Aorist ending


The main characteristic of the verbs in this group is that the consonant «v» is not inserted between the stem and the ending.
The endings are somewhat different in the plural, but in the singular they are mostly identical to those of the 1st conjugation.

In the following table we compiled some of the most common verbs of the second conjugation and how the Aorist is formed:


kam
(to have)
jam
(to be)
dua
(to want)
them
(to say)
jap
(to give)
vij
(to come)
Singular
1st
pata
qeshë
desha
thashë
dhashë
erdha
2nd
pate
qe
deshe
the
dhe
erdhe
3rd
pati
qe
deshi
tha
dha
erdhi
Plural
1st
patëm
qemë
deshëm
thamë
dhamë
erdhëm
2nd
patët
qetë
deshët
thatë
dhatë
erdhët
3rd
patën
qenë
deshën
thanë
dhanë
erdhën

Aorist 3rd Conjugation:
For the third conjugation, no scheme can be found so it is best to learn the forms as you learn the verbs.