Personal Pronouns and Verb Conjugation ​

1. Person Markers and Conjugation Patterns ​

Maltese verbs change according to the person and number of the subject. Pronouns can usually be omitted because the verb form often identifies the person; use them for emphasis or contrast. hu (he) and hi (she) distinguish masculine and feminine third-person singular. inti (you, singular) is used for any gender.

A common pattern is “person prefix + verb stem”: first person often uses n-, second person t-, and third-person masculine j-. Third-person feminine often has the same form as second-person singular. Plural forms commonly use a plural stem or the ending -u. For example, kiteb (write):

This is a common template, not a mechanical rule for every verb. Stem type and stem changes must be learned for each verb.

Initial and Medial għ ​

• When a root begins with għ, the letters usually remain in the spelling after the person prefix, while the stem vowel may change: għen → ngħin, għex → ngħix.
• When għ occurs inside a root, it usually remains in the spelling; vowels or other parts of the stem may change: bagħat → nibgħat, qagħad → noqgħod, biegħ → nbigħ.
• Use “person prefix + the relevant stem pattern” as a guide. There is no single character-substitution formula for every għ verb; learn each verb's forms.

2. Full Conjugation of 15 Verbs ​

The table contains five common verbs, five verbs with initial għ, and five with medial għ. The glosses are given in English. Each of the seven persons has its own column. These are person forms only; tense is not discussed here.

Example Sentences ​

Each verb is illustrated with one person. Examples are shown in English and Maltese.

Maltese commonly omits a separate verb “to be” when stating identity, for example Jien student. (I am a student.)

3. Gender and Agreement ​

• hu and hi distinguish masculine and feminine; third-person verb forms may also differ, for example jikteb (he writes) and tikteb (she writes).
• Second-person singular inti is used for any gender; the verb forms in the examples above are the same.
• Nouns and adjectives may agree in gender and number: tifel tajjeb (a good boy), tifla tajba (a good girl).
• Plural verb forms often use their own endings. Do not generalize one verb's conjugation to every root.

4. Practice Patterns ​

Substitute a verb into the patterns below, then change the subject:

• Jien ___ il-ħobż.: I ___ bread.
• Hi ___ l-ilma.: She ___ water.
• Aħna ___ id-dar.: We ___ home / at home.

Learn a verb form together with an example. For irregular verbs and loan verbs, consult a full conjugation table.

5. Reference Entries ​

• Wiktionary: għamel
• Wiktionary: qagħad
• Wiktionary: bagħat
• Wiktionary: għen