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