ishtë

Ishtë is a form of the Albanian verb “to be” used to express past tense in certain dialects. In standard Albanian, which is based on the Tosk variety, the past imperfect of “to be” is expressed with the forms hewa? actually isha, ishe, ishte, ishim, ishit, ishin, with the third-person singular “ishte.” The form ishtë is commonly associated with Gheg dialects, where it functions as the equivalent of “was” in English.

In practice, ishtë appears primarily in Northern Albanian speech and in writings that reflect Gheg usage. It is typically understood by speakers as the dialectal counterpart of the standard “ishte.” The standard form ishete? No; correct is “ishte.” Thus, ishtë and ishte convey the same meaning in their respective varieties, but they are not interchangeable in formal writing that follows standard Albanian orthography.

Examples:

- Standard: Ai ishte i lodhur. (He was tired.)

- Gheg variant: Ai ishtë i lodhur. (He was tired.)

- Standard: Kur ishte natë? (When it was night?)

- Gheg variant: Kur ishtë natë? (When it was night?)

Etymology and orthography: ishtë represents a dialectal spelling of the same verb root that yields the standard form ishte. The presence of diacritical marks like ë in some dialectal writings reflects regional pronunciation differences rather than a separate word with a distinct meaning.

See also: Albanian verbs, Albanian dialects, Istorik forms of to be.