Verb Roots with Hamza

The Hamza is a strong consonant. It does not disappear like weak letters do. But it is very sensitive to the vowels around it. In Arabic, vowels have a hierarchy of power. The Kasra (i) is the strongest. The Damma (u) is second. The Fatha (a) is third. The Sukun (no vowel) is the weakest. The Hamza looks at the vowel on itself. It also looks at the vowel before it. The strongest vowel wins the battle. The winner decides which chair the Hamza sits on.

• If Kasra wins, the chair is ئ.
• If Damma wins, the chair is ؤ.
• If Fatha wins, the chair is أ.

At the start of a word, it almost always sits on an Alif. This makes your life much easier as a beginner.

1. 1To conjugate these verbs, follow these simple steps:
2. 2Identify the three letters of the root. For example, أ-ك-ل (to eat).
3. 3Determine the position of the Hamza. Here, it is the first letter.
4. 4Apply the standard past tense suffixes. أكلتُ (I ate) looks very normal.
5. 5Apply the present tense prefixes. This is where it gets interesting.
6. 6If you have two Alifs in a row, merge them. أ + أ becomes آ.
7. 7For middle Hamzas, check the vowels to pick the chair. سأل (he asked) stays on an Alif because of the Fatha sounds.
8. 8For final Hamzas, the chair depends on the vowel before it. قرأ (he read) uses an Alif because of the r has a Fatha sound.

You will use these verbs every single day. They cover basic human needs. Use the root أ-ك-ل when you are hungry at a restaurant. Use أ-خ-ذ (to take) when grabbing your keys. Use س-أ-ل (to ask) when you are lost in a new city. Imagine you are in a busy market in Amman. You need to ask for the price. You would say أسأل عن السعر. Or perhaps you are at a cafe in Cairo. You want to tell your friend you are eating. You would use آكل. These verbs are the bread and butter of daily conversation. They help you express actions like reading, starting, and taking.

Do not confuse the Hamza with the long vowel Alif. A regular Alif (ا) is just a long "aa" sound. It has no little squiggle on top. A Hamza is a full consonant. If you don't hear that sharp stop in the throat, it’s probably not a Hamza. Also, don't apply these rules to "Weak" verbs. Weak verbs have a و or ي in the root. Those letters like to vanish or change into other letters. The Hamza is loyal. It stays in the root. It just changes its seat. Think of it like a grammar traffic light. It tells you when to stop your breath, but it doesn't block the road.

Many people forget the Madda (آ). This happens when two Hamzas meet at the start. Instead of writing أأكل, you must write آكل. It looks like a little bird flying over the Alif. Another mistake is picking the wrong chair. Beginners often use an Alif for every Hamza. This is like wearing flip-flops to a snowstorm. It just doesn't fit. Remember the vowel hierarchy! If you hear an "ee" sound near the Hamza, look for the Ya chair. Even native speakers mess this up in fast texting. Don't stress too much about the chair in the beginning. People will still understand you.

Compare أكل (Hamzated) with كتب (Regular). They look almost the same in the past tense. أكلتُ vs كتبتُ. The difference only appears in the present tense spelling. Now compare أكل with قال (Weak). In قال, the middle letter changes to a و in the present tense (أقول). The Hamza in أكل never changes into another letter. It is much more stable than weak verbs. It is like a rock compared to a cloud. The rock might get some moss (a chair), but it is still a rock.