Merged forms: ma, ta, ia, jua, ua
When a sentence has two short forms — "to whom" and "what" — they merge into one word: më + e = ma: Ma jep — "Give it to me". The merged form goes where a short form goes — before the verb.
The table
Rows show to whom, columns show what. For "to him, to her", "to you" (pl.) and "to them" one form covers both "it" and "them". With na there is no merging: na e, na i.
| to whom | + him, her, it (e) | + them (i) |
|---|---|---|
| to me (më) | ma | m'i |
| to you (të) | ta | t'i |
| to him, to her (i) | ia | ia |
| to us (na) | na e | na i |
| to you, pl. (ju) | jua | jua |
| to them (u) | ua | ua |
With the particle të: ta, t'i, t'ia
In the future and after dua të, mund të the particle të merges too: të + e = ta, të + i = t'i, të + u = t'u, të + ia = t'ia, të + ua = t'ua: Do ta blej — "I'll buy it", Dua t'ia jap — "I want to give it to him". So there are two kinds of ta: Ta dhashë — "I gave it to you" (të "to you" + e), Dua ta shoh — "I want to see it" (particle të + e).
With the particle u: m'u, iu
With the particle u of reflexive verbs in the past: më + u = m'u, të + u = t'u, i + u = iu (also for "to them"): M'u duk e vështirë — "It seemed difficult to me", Iu duk e çuditshme — "It seemed strange to him". There is no merging with na and ju: na u duk, ju u duk.