Meaning: something unpleasant that must be accepted.
Kuptimi: një situatë e pakëndshme që duhet pranuar.
Albanian equivalent:
Një realitet i hidhur / një pilulë e hidhur për ta pranuar.
Examples
Losing the final match was a bitter pill to swallow.
Humbja e ndeshjes finale ishte një pilulë e hidhur për t’u pranuar.
The salary cut was a bitter pill for the workers.
Ulja e pagës ishte një realitet i hidhur për punëtorët.
44. Determiners
44. Përcaktuesit (Determiners)
Articles (a/an, the), possessives (my, your, his, her, their, our etc.) and demonstratives (this, that, these and those) are called Group A determiners.
Artikujt (a/an, the), përemrat pronorë (my, your, his, her, their, our etj.) dhe përemrat dëftorë (this, that, these dhe those) quhen përcaktues të Grupit A.
Note that we cannot put two Group A determiners together.
Vini re se nuk mund të vendosim dy përcaktues të Grupit A së bashku.
We can say my cat, the cat or that cat, but not the my cat or my that cat.
Mund të themi my cat, the cat ose that cat, por jo the my cat ose my that cat.
In order to put together the meanings of a possessive and an article or a demonstrative, we use a structure with of.
Për të bashkuar kuptimin e një pronori me një artikull ose me një dëftor, përdorim një strukturë me of.
• He is a friend of mine. (NOT He is a my friend.)
• Ai është një mik i imi. (JO: He is a my friend.)
• These shoes of mine pinch me terribly. (NOT These my shoes pinch me terribly.)
• Këto këpucët e mia më shtrëngojnë shumë. (JO: These my shoes pinch me terribly.)
• Those dirty fingers of yours have stained the walls. (NOT Those your dirty fingers have ...)
• Ata gishta të tu të ndotur kanë njollosur muret. (JO: Those your dirty fingers have ...)
Today we are starting something interesting.
By the end of June 2026 we will learn 100 English idioms.
But why should we learn idioms?
Because idioms are the salt of the English language.
Without salt, food is tasteless.
Without idioms, language sounds dry and mechanical.
For example, a student may say:
“The exam was very easy.”
A native speaker often says:
“The exam was a piece of cake.”
Both sentences are correct, but the second one sounds alive and natural.
Let’s look at another example.
Instead of saying:
“Please stop talking indirectly and tell me the truth.”
A native speaker will say:
“Stop beating around the bush.”
Just a few words, but everyone understands immediately.
Idioms make language shorter, clearer and more colorful.
So our plan is simple.
Every lesson we will learn two idioms.
Two idioms a day means:
2 idioms × 50 lessons = 100 idioms.
And by the end of this semester, you will understand many expressions that native speakers use every day.
And remember:
If you know idioms, you understand the real language.
43. Dead and died
43. Dead dhe died
Dead is an adjective.
Dead është një mbiemër.
It is used to modify a noun.
Përdoret për të përcaktuar një emër.
• He is dead. (NOT He is died.)
• Ai është i vdekur. (JO: He is died.)
• A dead man (NOT A died man)
• Një njeri i vdekur (JO: A died man)
Died is the past tense and the past participle of the verb die.
Died është koha e shkuar dhe pjesorja e shkuar e foljes die.
• He has died. (NOT He has dead.)
• Ai ka vdekur. (JO: He has dead.)
• He died last year. (NOT He dead last year.)
• Ai vdiq vitin e kaluar. (JO: He dead last year.)
42. Correlatives
42. Lidhëza korrelative (Correlatives)
When the correlatives either...or, neither...nor, both...and, not only...but also are used, you must see that they are placed before words of the same part of speech.
Kur përdoren lidhëzat korrelative either...or, neither...nor, both...and, not only...but also, duhet të siguroheni që ato vendosen përpara fjalëve të së njëjtës pjesë të ligjëratës.
• Incorrect: The car either dashed against a dog or a goat. (verb-noun)
• Gabim: Makina ose u përplas me një qen ose një dhi. (folje–emër)
• Correct: The car dashed against either a dog or a goat. (noun-noun)
• Saktë: Makina u përplas ose me një qen ose me një dhi. (emër–emër)
• Incorrect: Neither he would eat nor allow us to eat. (noun-verb)
• Gabim: As ai nuk do të hante as do të na lejonte të hanim. (emër–folje)
• Correct: He would neither eat nor allow us to eat. (verb-verb)
• Saktë: Ai as nuk do të hante as nuk do të na lejonte të hanim. (folje–folje)
• Incorrect: Neither he smokes nor drinks. (noun-verb)
• Gabim: As ai nuk pi duhan as pi pije alkoolike. (emër–folje)
• Correct: He neither smokes nor drinks. (verb-verb)
• Saktë: Ai as nuk pi duhan as nuk pi. (folje–folje)
41. Conjunctions
41. Lidhëzat (Conjunctions)
One conjunction is enough to join two clauses.
Një lidhëz është e mjaftueshme për të lidhur dy fjali të varura.
English does not require a second conjunction.
Anglishtja nuk kërkon një lidhëz të dytë.
• Incorrect: Though he is old but he is healthy.
• Gabim: Edhe pse ai është i moshuar por ai është i shëndetshëm.
• Correct: Though he is old he is healthy. OR He is old but he is healthy.
• Saktë: Edhe pse ai është i moshuar ai është i shëndetshëm. OSE Ai është i moshuar por është i shëndetshëm.
• Incorrect: As he was fat so he ran slowly.
• Gabim: Meqenëse ai ishte i shëndoshë kështu që ai vrapoi ngadalë.
• Correct: As he was fat he ran slowly. OR He was fat so he ran slowly.
• Saktë: Meqenëse ai ishte i shëndoshë ai vrapoi ngadalë. OSE Ai ishte i shëndoshë kështu që vrapoi ngadalë.
• Incorrect: If you work hard then you will succeed.
• Gabim: Nëse punon shumë atëherë do të kesh sukses.
• Correct: If you work hard you will succeed.
• Saktë: Nëse punon shumë do të kesh sukses.
• Incorrect: Because he is clever therefore he gets good marks.
• Gabim: Sepse ai është i zgjuar prandaj merr nota të mira.
• Correct: Because he is clever he gets good marks.
• Saktë: Sepse ai është i zgjuar ai merr nota të mira.
