Hamzated verbs (الفعل المهموز) are verbs that have hamza (ء) as one of their root letters. While hamza is technically a consonant (not a weak letter), its behavior in writing and pronunciation creates unique challenges. The hamza can appear as any of the three root letters.
Types by Position
- Hamza as the first root letter (مهموز الفاء): أَكَلَ (he ate, root: أ-ك-ل), أَخَذَ (he took, root: أ-خ-ذ), أَمَرَ (he commanded, root: أ-م-ر).
- Hamza as the second root letter (مهموز العين): سَأَلَ (he asked, root: س-أ-ل), قَرَأَ may also fit here contextually.
- Hamza as the third root letter (مهموز اللام): قَرَأَ (he read, root: ق-ر-أ), بَدَأَ (he began, root: ب-د-أ).
Conjugation Considerations
Hamzated verbs conjugate similarly to sound verbs in terms of their suffix and prefix patterns. The main challenge is the spelling of hamza, which changes its "seat" (the letter it sits on) based on the surrounding vowels. The rules for hamza spelling are:
- If the strongest surrounding vowel is كسرة, hamza sits on يـ (ئ).
- If the strongest surrounding vowel is ضمة, hamza sits on و (ؤ).
- If the strongest surrounding vowel is فتحة, hamza sits on ا (أ).
- If hamza follows a long vowel or sukoon, it sits alone on the line (ء).
The verb أَكَلَ (he ate) has a special feature: in the imperative, the initial hamza is dropped entirely, giving كُلْ (eat!) instead of the expected اُؤْكُلْ. Similarly, أَخَذَ gives خُذْ (take!). These are exceptions worth memorizing as they are very common verbs.