# conjugation of verbs that end in hamza همزة



## Whodunit

How would you say "I began" or "I'm beginning" (by using the word *بدأ*) in Arabic? I'm not sure about the ending. What happens to the alif with hamza?


----------



## cherine

How interesting Whodunit !
The first thing that came to my mind is: so what, we say بدأت - أبدأُ but then I looked in the Mus7af, and I found my mistake (I have to thank you for this  ) :
for the past, there's no problem :
كما بدأنا أوّل خلق نعيده
I think the same can go with بدأتُ .
قُل اللهُ يَبْدَؤُ الخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُ
And I think the same can go we أَبْدَؤ though it looks a bit strange to me.
So either both are correct : أبدَأُ - أبدَؤُ or only أبدؤ 

Other confirmations/corrections are most welcome.


----------



## elroy

I've always written and seen أبدأ.  Now that I think about it, though, it should technically be أبدؤ if it is مرفوع because "u" is stronger than "a."  If it is منصوب it is definitely أبدأ.

In any case, you should know that - correct or not - most Arabs write أبدأ.


----------



## cherine

I agree with everything Elroy said, specially the last remark


----------



## Whodunit

elroy said:
			
		

> I've always written and seen أبدأ. Now that I think about it, though, it should technically be أبدؤ if it is مرفوع because "u" is stronger than "a." If it is منصوب it is definitely أبدأ.


 
Okay, thank you both for your replies. Let me know if I've gotten the declension for the present tense correct:

هو يبدؤ
هي تبدؤ
أنتَ تبدؤ
أنتِ تبدئن
أنا أبدؤ
هما يبدأن
أنتما تبدأن
هم يبدؤن
هن يبدأن
أنتم تبدؤن
أنتن تبدأن
نحن نبدؤ

I don't like my versions of the dual forms. I can think of يبدءان and تبدءان instead (to differentiate them from the plural forms). It would be great if Josh or another learner of Arabic could explain several exceptions in this special conjugation to me. 



> In any case, you should know that - correct or not - most Arabs write أبدأ.


 
But they would still pronounce the "u" at the end, right? So, they would use a Damma above the alif.

Thanks again for your answers.


----------



## elroy

I'd make the following corrections. Don't know if I can provide a rule, though!


			
				Whodunit said:
			
		

> هو يبدؤ
> هي تبدؤ
> أنتَ تبدؤ
> أنتِ تبدئين
> أنا أبدؤ
> هما يبدآن
> أنتما تبدآن
> هم يبدؤون
> هن يبدأن
> أنتم تبدؤون
> أنتن تبدأن
> نحن نبدؤ





> But they would still pronounce the "u" at the end, right? So, they would use a Damma above the alif.


Yes, absolutely.

I just thought of something. I think the reason we write أبدأ is that the ُ is an _inflection_ that is added to the word - it's not actually part of the word. And I don't think we usually change the spelling of a word because of the inflection. Just a theory.


----------



## Whodunit

elroy said:
			
		

> I'd make the following corrections. Don't know if I can provide a rule, though!


 
Thanks for the correction. Would you say that you are 100% sure about them? Some letters look redundant to me (as the waw for hum and antum), but this feature seems common in Arabic.



> Yes, absolutely.
> 
> I just thought of something. I think the reason we write أبدأ is that the ُ is an _inflection_ that is added to the word - it's not actually part of the word. And I don't think we usually change the spelling of a word because of the inflection. Just a theory.


 
Hm, I do believe that there are inflections you express by letters (just think of the alif for the accusative), but I can't think of more examples. If I come across some, I'll post them here.


----------



## elroy

Whodunit said:
			
		

> Thanks for the correction. Would you say that you are 100% sure about them? Some letters look redundant to me (as the waw for hum and antum), but this feature seems common in Arabic.


Yes, I'm 100% sure of them.  Remember that the و of the ؤ is only a place holder for the ء so there's no redundancy: you need the و because the vowel sound is long. 


> Hm, I do believe that there are inflections you express by letters (just think of the alif for the accusative), but I can't think of more examples. If I come across some, I'll post them here.


It would help if you gave me an example of what you're talking about - but I think I can address this point either way.  I'm not talking about using a letter as an inflection.  In this word, the inflection is indisputably a diacritic.  The question is whether to change the place holder of the ء from an ا to a و just to accommodate the inflection, which is not an intrinsic part of the word.  On its own (with no inflection), the word is أبدأ.  I argue that it makes more sense for us to simply add an inflection to that than to have to change the final placer holder because of that inflection.  I hope that helps clarify what I meant.


----------



## Wissam5000

hello,

here are the rules for writing final hamza:
1- Hamza is written on ya2 if the preceding letter is maksor, e.g: 
Kari2 قارِئ*
*2- Hamza is written on alf if the preceding letter is mafto7, e.g: 
yabda2o يبدَأ*
*3- Hamza is written on waw if the preceding letter is madmom, e.g: 
Lo2lo2 لؤلُـؤ *
*3- Hamza is written on the line (alone) if the preceding letter is saken, or the preceding letter is (alef, waw, ya2) e.g: 
Dif2 دفْء
Shay2 شيْء
When the Hamza in the middle another rules apply.
the only exception for the above rules is the word 
امرئ.

so, in my opinion, the conjugation should be:
Hamza at the end:
هو يبدأ
هي تبدأ
أنتَ تبدأ
أنا أبدأ
نحن نبدأ

Hamza in the middle:
hamza maksora, preceding letter is mafto7
أنتِ تبدئن

hamza mafto7a, preceding letter is mafto7
هما يبدأن
أنتما تبدأن

hamaz madmoma, preceding letter is mafto7
هم يبدؤن
أنتم تبدؤن

hamza sakina, preceding letter is mafto7
هن يبدأن
أنتن تبدأن

special case for verbs ending in hamza: when hamza comes in middle, the hamza can be  written in three forms:
eg: bada2o *
 بدأوا or **بدءوا ** or **بدؤوا*
* 


*


----------



## Whodunit

Wissam5000 said:
			
		

> hello,
> 
> here are the rules for writing final hamza:


Would you like to tell us where you know these rules from? Which source have you used?


> so, in my opinion, the conjugation should be:
> Hamza at the end:
> هو يبدأ
> هي تبدأ
> أنتَ تبدأ
> أنا أبدأ
> نحن نبدأ


So, would you say that هو يبدؤ etc. was wrong? I'm not sure, but I will definitely make some research in the future about the correct spelling. 


> Hamza in the middle:
> hamza maksora, preceding letter is mafto7
> أنتِ تبدئن
> hamaz madmoma, preceding letter is mafto7
> هم يبدؤن
> أنتم تبدؤن


Regarding your suggestions, you seem to find Elroy's corrections wrong. Is that true?


> hamza mafto7a, preceding letter is mafto7
> هما يبدأن
> أنتما تبدأن


Here I'd like to state that I like Elroy's suggestion much better, because his conveys the exact "feel" of a long "a" vowel, which has to be used for the dual forms.


> hamza sakina, preceding letter is mafto7
> هن يبدأن
> أنتن تبدأن


Isn't there a long "u" vowel before the nuun? So, why did you just use an alif with hamza which can never represent a long "u" vowel?

Thanks for your interesting reply, Wissam.


----------



## elroy

Wissam5000 said:
			
		

> hello,
> 
> here are the rules for writing final hamza:
> ...
> so, in my opinion, the conjugation should be:
> Hamza at the end:
> هو يبدأ
> هي تبدأ
> أنتَ تبدأ
> أنا أبدأ
> نحن نبدأ



This is along the lines of what I was saying.  If we consider the hamza in "abda2u" to be a *final *hamza, then it has to stand on an ا because the preceding vowel is "a."  The "u" that follows is merely an inflection and does not make the hamza a medial hamza.  


> ...
> أنتِ تبدئن
> ...
> هما يبدأن
> أنتما تبدأن
> ...
> هم يبدؤن
> أنتم تبدؤن


As per my corrections, above, these forms are each missing a vowel.  The suffix for the أنتِ form is ـين, and that needs to be written in full, regardless of the place holder that the hamza receives.
تبدئـ + ـين = تبدئين
The same applies to the other forms, with the endings that correspond to each of them. 


> *بدأوا or **بدءوا **or **بدؤوا*



I don't know what the rule is, but I'd write it like the one in red.


----------



## Josh_

It looks like Wissam has already done it, but here it is in other (possibly simpler) terms (for English speakers):

     Whodunit has inspired me to start a hamza spelling thread, found here.  As per that thread, here are the explanations of the usages of hamza seats in this verb:

*هو يبدأ
هي تبدأ
أنتَ تبدأ*
*أنا أبدأ*
*نحن نبدأ*
Final hamza rule of hamza seat being determined by the preceding short vowel, in this case fatHa, therefore kursi alif is used.
*--------------
أنتِ تبدئين*
   Medial hamza rule of precedence; long ‘i’ sound trumps short ‘a’ sound, and therefore, kursi yaa is used.
*------------------
هما يبدآن
أنتما تبدآن*
Medial hamza rule of precedence; in this case two ‘a’ sounds are used and the kursi yaa is used, but since this is a hamza followed by a long ‘a’ sound, the madda is used.
*-------------------
هن يبدأن*
*أنتن تبدأن*
Medial hamza rule of a vowel on one side and a consonsoant on the other side. The vowel, in this case, is an 'a' vowel and thus the kursi alif is used.
   ------------------
*هم يبدؤون
أنتم تبدؤون*
Medial hamza rule of precedence, ‘u’ sound trumps ‘a’ sound, and thus the kursi waaw is used. These one are exceptions to the rule also – they can be spelled with a kursi alif (*أ* ), for example  *هم يبدأون *, etc.


			
				Wissam5000 said:
			
		

> *بدأوا or بدءوا or بدؤوا*


The first and the last ones are correct, but I disagree with the middle one. Hamza rests on the line when followed by a long vowel, or a consonant with a sukuun (e.g جزء )


----------



## elroy

Thanks for your contribution, Josh. Does that mean that my suspicion is correct, i.e. that inflections do not come into play when considering how to write a hamza? If so, how does that explain the spellings found in the Qur'an?


----------



## Josh_

elroy said:
			
		

> Thanks for your contribution, Josh. Does that mean that my suspicion is correct, i.e. that inflections do not come into play when considering how to write a hamza?


Yes, for the most part, but when a noun that ends in a hamza is indefinite accusative (mansuub) the spelling can be affected. I will elaborate further tomorrow if you would like, but I am too tired right now. 



> If so, how does that explain the spellings found in the Qur'an?


Well, I can't claim to know much about Classical Arabic, but I suspect that the spelling styles may be different in Classical and Modern, if only by a little bit and in some ways. So, it could be that while يبدؤ is correct in Classical Arabic, it is not correct, or more rather, not the preferred way, in MSA.


----------



## elroy

Josh Adkins said:
			
		

> Yes, for the most part, but when a noun that ends in a hamza is indefinite accusative (mansuub) the spelling can be affected. I will elaborate further tomorrow if you would like, but I am too tired right now.


Are you talking about the extra ا that is added before a ً.? Because that has nothing to do with the ء - the extra ا is a peculiarity of Arabic that isn't necessarily logical but is certainly accepted as standard Arabic.

If I have misunderstood you, and you were indeed referring to something else that demonstrates a change in spelling due to an inflection, please do elaborate.


----------



## Wissam5000

Hi all,

answering *Whodunit*, 

i got the rules from the net, search for "قواعد الهمزة" in google and you'll find them, (lessons by *علاء      اللامي*)
Regarding the long 'a', I didnt pay attention for it when i posted, so i was wrong.



> Quote:
> hamza sakina, preceding letter is mafto7
> هن يبدأن
> أنتن تبدأن
> 
> Isn't there a long "u" vowel before the nuun?


 I guess there is sokon not "u" vowel. so:
hunna yabda2na
antunna tabda2na

*Elroy*, thank you for adding the missing letters I droped.

* Josh Adkins*, thanks for simplifying the things more. I am trying to learn the terms used in the forum for the vowels.



> Thanks for your contribution, Josh. Does that mean that my suspicion is correct, i.e. that inflections do not come into play when considering how to write a hamza? If so, how does that explain the spellings found in the Qur'an?


*Elroy*, what do u mean by inflection?

Regarding Qur'an, there are many words which don't follow the rules. for e.g.: word Salat صلاة, it is written صلوة in the Qur'an. I think this is due to the fact that Qu'ran is written using the Othmani font.


----------



## elroy

Wissam5000 said:
			
		

> *Elroy*, what do u mean by inflection?


inflections = الحركات أو الأحرف التي تضاف إلى آخر الكلمات في الإعراب، أي أنها لا تشكل جزءً لا يتجزء من الكلمة بل تدل على ما إذا كانت الكلمة مرفوعة أو منصوبة أو مجزومة و إلخ

If you ever need help with a specific term used here in the forums, please don't hesitate to ask.


----------



## Josh_

elroy said:
			
		

> Are you talking about the extra ا that is added before a ً.? Because that has nothing to do with the ء - the extra ا is a peculiarity of Arabic that isn't necessarily logical but is certainly accepted as standard Arabic (albeit decried by some purists).
> 
> If I have misunderstood you, and you were indeed referring to something else that demonstrates a change in spelling due to an inflection, please do elaborate.


Actually, I was thinking about your question wrong; I was thinking about it in reverse. Yes, inflections do not come into play when considering how to write a hamza. What I was referring to in my last post is that the final hamza can affect the writing of an indefinite noun in the accusative (منصوب). The indefinite accusative alif (ya3ni tanwiin al-fatH) is not written when the final hamza rests on the kursi alif (أ ), or when there is a long 'a' sound followed by a hamza seated on the line (ـاء ). Consider:
مبتدأ ً and ابتداءً 
-


----------



## elroy

That's not what I was talking about.  The ا of اً is part of the inflection, not the actual word, so whether or not it's written the _word_ is spelled the same way - whereas if we changed أبدأ to أبدؤ we would be changing a letter that is an intrinsic part of the word and not part of any inflection.  Do you see what I'm saying?


----------



## Josh_

Oh, I forgot about this thread the other day. Yes, I see what you mean. You are correct, inflections do not come into play when considering how to write the hamza.


----------



## MariahMot

Still struggling with hamza. I have a word بدأ, why it changes to تبدئين can someone explain me in a simple way 
besides, a word قرأ doesn't change...


----------



## Hemza

Hello, to my knowledge, both change as the following:
أنت تبدئين
أنت تقرئين


----------



## dsfje345

in MSA
for verbs that end in hamza , when we want to conjugate them in _(the second person singular feminine form)_ or _(the plural masculine form)_ or _(the dual form) , hamza changes according to the sound that comes after it : _

1) if the sound that comes after hamza is (ee) [in verbs in the second person singular feminine form
(حالة المخاطب المفرد المؤنث) ] it becomes ( ئ ) because if it doesnt change , the verb will sound different :

تبدأين is pronounced tabda-ain (wrong)
تبدئين is pronounced tabda-een (right)

_examples :_
قرأ.....تقرئين
شاء....تشائين
ملأ.....تملئين

2) if the sound that comes after it is (oo) [verbs in the plural masculine form (حالة  الجمع المذكر) ] hamza becomes ( ؤ ) for the same previous reason :

تبدأون is pronounced tabda-aon (wrong)
تبدؤون is pronounced tabda-oon (right)

_examples :_
قرأ.....قرؤوا.....تقرؤون
شاء ...شاؤوا.....تشاؤون
ملأ....ملؤوا.....تملؤون

3) if the sound that comes after it is (aa) we have 2 cases :
*a)* in a verb [in the third person dual form (حالة المثنى الغائب)] : hamza doesnt change and you add (ألف المثنى) right after it

_examples :_
قرأ.....قرأا
شاء.....شاءا
ملأ.....ملأا

b) in a noun : [in the dual form (حالة المثنى) ] hamza becomes  آ

_examples : _
مرفأ.....مرفآن
ملجأ....ملجآن
مبدأ....مبدآن

*note :* these 3 cases are used when hamza comes at the end


----------



## zj73

If I wanted to say "they read" would I write قرأوا or قرؤوا? Same with ملأوا and ملؤوا.


----------



## SunSpring

Both قرؤوا and قرأوا are correct, and both
ملؤوا and ملأوا are also correct.


----------

