ata / ato

Plural Far Demonstratives

Level 1

In Albanian, 'those' is expressed by ata for masculine or mixed groups and ato for exclusively feminine groups. They usually come before an indefinite noun, as in ata libra.

How It Works

The plural far demonstratives ata and ato are used to point out people or objects that are physically or metaphorically distant from the speaker.

1. Gender Agreement:
Unlike English 'those', you must choose the form based on the gender of the noun:

2. Position and Definiteness:
When these words modify a noun (acting as adjectives), they usually come before the noun. Crucially, the noun is in its indefinite form. For example, to say 'those books', you use ata + libra (books) = ata libra.

3. Case Changes:
While ata and ato are used in the Nominative and Accusative cases, they change to atyre when used in the Dative, Genitive, or Ablative cases for both genders. When using atyre, the noun it modifies must also be in the plural oblique form (usually ending in -ve), such as atyre librave (to those books).

4. Pronoun vs. Adjective:
These forms are identical to the plural personal pronouns ('they'). Context determines if they mean 'they' or 'those'.

Examples (5)

  1. Ata janë shokët e mi.

    Those are my friends.

    Word by Word: Those are friends-the of mine.

    Here 'ata' acts as a demonstrative pronoun referring to a masculine or mixed group of friends.

  2. Ato shtëpi janë të bukura.

    Those houses are beautiful.

    Word by Word: Those houses are [link] beautiful.

    'Ato' is used because 'shtëpi' (houses) is a feminine noun. The noun stays in its indefinite form after the demonstrative.

  3. I shikon ata djem atje?

    Do you see those boys over there?

    Word by Word: [clitic] see those boys there?

    The noun stays indefinite after the demonstrative 'ata': 'djem', not 'djemtë'.

  4. Ato janë lulet e kopshtit.

    Those are the flowers of the garden.

    Word by Word: Those are flowers-the of garden-the.

    'Ato' is used for the feminine plural noun 'lulet'.

  5. Ata libra janë shumë interesantë.

    Those books are very interesting.

    Word by Word: Those books are very interesting.

    'Ata' modifies the masculine plural noun 'libra' (books), which stays in its indefinite form.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'ata' for an exclusively feminine group.

    Ata vajza janë këtu.
    Ato vajza janë këtu.

    Since 'vajzat' (the girls) is feminine, you must use 'ato'. 'Ata' is only for masculine or mixed groups.

  • Using a definite noun after the demonstrative.

    ata librat
    ata libra

    In Standard Albanian, a demonstrative is followed by the indefinite noun (libra), not the definite one (librat).

  • Confusing 'ata/ato' (those) with 'këta/këto' (these).

    Ata libra këtu.
    Këta libra këtu.

    'Ata/ato' refers to things far away. If the object is 'këtu' (here), you must use the near demonstratives 'këta/këto'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ata / atoLevel 1Plural Far Demonstratives

Learn This First

To understand the plural far demonstratives 'ata' (those, m.) and 'ato' (those, f.), learners should first be familiar with the singular far demonstratives and the third-person plural personal pronouns, as they share the same forms. Understanding the concept of plural demonstratives in general is also helpful.

Words in This Pattern

ataato