Possessives: im, yt, i tij, i saj
A possessive comes after a definite noun and agrees with it in gender, number and case: libri im — "my book", shtëpia ime — "my house", librat e mi — "my books". "His" and "her" depend on the owner: i tij — "his", i saj — "her"; the article depends on the thing owned.
Nominative
Columns are the gender and number of the noun: shoku im — "my friend", shoqja ime — "my friend" (f.), shokët e mi — "my friends", shoqet e mia — "my friends" (f.).
| whose | m. sg. | f. sg. | m. pl. | f. pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| my | im | ime | e mi | e mia |
| your | yt | jote | e tu | e tua |
| his | i tij | e tij | e tij | e tij |
| her | i saj | e saj | e saj | e saj |
| our | ynë | jonë | tanë | tona |
| your (pl.) | juaj | juaj | tuaj | tuaja |
| their | i tyre | e tyre | e tyre | e tyre |
By case: "my" as an example
In the accusative singular both genders get t-: tim, time, tënd, tënde, tonë, tuaj; the masculine keeps t- in the dative too: shokut tim. In the dative and genitive the feminine singular gets s-: sime, sate, sonë, suaj, së tij, së saj, së tyre.
| case | m. sg. | f. sg. | m. pl. | f. pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | shoku im | shoqja ime | shokët e mi | shoqet e mia |
| Acc. | shokun tim | shoqen time | shokët e mi | shoqet e mia |
| Dat. | shokut tim | shoqes sime | shokëve të mi | shoqeve të mia |
"His", "her", "their" — with an article
With tij, saj, tyre the article changes like the linking article: shoku i tij, shokun e tij, shokut të tij, shoqes së tij. The choice between tij and saj depends on the owner: libri i tij — "his book", libri i saj — "her book".
"My friend" and "a friend of mine"
The possessive follows the definite form: shoku im, not shok im. "A friend of mine" is një shok i imi: here the possessive takes an article and an ending, like an adjective.