ËSHTË

Èshtë is the Albanian verb form meaning “is” in the present tense, used as the third-person singular of the verb to be. In standard Albanian orthography, this word is written as ësht ë, with the letter ë (e with a diaeresis). The uppercase form is ËSHTË. If you see Èshtë with a grave accent on the initial E, it is not a distinct standard form and is usually a typographical variant or encoding error rather than a separate word.

Usage and grammar

është functions as the copular verb that links a subject with a predicate, such as an adjective or a noun. The present-tense forms of to be in Albanian are irregular and must be memorized: unë jam, ti je, ai/ajo është, ne jemi, ju jeni, ata/ato janë. Examples: Ai është mësues. Kjo është një ditë e bukur. Është e nevojshme të kuptojmë këtë raport.

Pronunciation and orthography

The Albanian letter ë represents a mid-central vowel (roughly a schwa). The word is pronounced roughly as [ˈəʃtə], with the stress on the first syllable. Proper capitalization for a sentence-initial form is Është, or more commonly at the beginning of a sentence, the full form in uppercase would be ËSHTË.

Relation to Albanian orthography

është is part of the standard Albanian alphabet, which includes the diacritic ë. Accurate spelling matters for meaning, as replacing ë with e or other diacritics can change or obscure the word. The form Èshtë is not listed as a distinct Albanian spelling in standard usage and is typically regarded as a typographical variant.

See also

Albanian language, Albanian orthography, the letter ë, copular verbs.