حَاوَلَ (ḥāwala) means to try. It is a sound Form III verb from the root ح و ل (ḥ-w-l): حَاوَلَ (ḥāwala) in the past, يُحَاوِلُ (yuḥāwilu) in the present and حَاوِلْ (ḥāwil) as a command. The tables below give its full conjugation in all 13 persons, active and passive, vowelled, with its participles and verbal noun.
Every form of ḥāwala on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for حَاوَلَ, down to the regular Form III verbal noun مُحَاوَلَة (muḥāwala).
Ḥāwala at a glance
| Root | ح و ل (ḥ-w-l), starting with the letter ḥāʾ |
| Form | Form III, pattern فَاعَلَ (fāʿala) |
| Verb type | sound |
| Past, he | حَاوَلَ (ḥāwala) |
| Present, he | يُحَاوِلُ (yuḥāwilu) |
| Command, you (one man) | حَاوِلْ (ḥāwil) |
| Active participle | مُحَاوِل (muḥāwil) |
| Passive participle | مُحَاوَل (muḥāwal) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | مُحَاوَلَة (muḥāwala) |
Past tense of ḥāwala
In the past tense (al-māḍī) the Form III stem ḥāwal- stays the same in all 13 persons and only the suffix changes: حَاوَلْتُ (ḥāwaltu), حَاوَلَتْ (ḥāwalat), حَاوَلُوا (ḥāwalū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | حَاوَلْتُ | ḥāwaltu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | حَاوَلْنَا | ḥāwalnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | حَاوَلْتَ | ḥāwalta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | حَاوَلْتِ | ḥāwalti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | حَاوَلْتُمَا | ḥāwaltumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | حَاوَلْتُمْ | ḥāwaltum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | حَاوَلْتُنَّ | ḥāwaltunna |
| he · هو huwa | حَاوَلَ | ḥāwala |
| she · هي hiya | حَاوَلَتْ | ḥāwalat |
| they two m. · هما humā | حَاوَلَا | ḥāwalā |
| they two f. · هما humā | حَاوَلَتَا | ḥāwalatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | حَاوَلُوا | ḥāwalū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | حَاوَلْنَ | ḥāwalna |
Present tense of ḥāwala
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of Form III takes the prefix vowel u (yu-, tu-, nu-, u-), as in أُحَاوِلُ (uḥāwilu) and يُحَاوِلُ (yuḥāwilu); the masculine plural adds -ūna: يُحَاوِلُونَ (yuḥāwilūna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أُحَاوِلُ | uḥāwilu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نُحَاوِلُ | nuḥāwilu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تُحَاوِلُ | tuḥāwilu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تُحَاوِلِينَ | tuḥāwilīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تُحَاوِلَانِ | tuḥāwilāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تُحَاوِلُونَ | tuḥāwilūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تُحَاوِلْنَ | tuḥāwilna |
| he · هو huwa | يُحَاوِلُ | yuḥāwilu |
| she · هي hiya | تُحَاوِلُ | tuḥāwilu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يُحَاوِلَانِ | yuḥāwilāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تُحَاوِلَانِ | tuḥāwilāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يُحَاوِلُونَ | yuḥāwilūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يُحَاوِلْنَ | yuḥāwilna |
Subjunctive and jussive of ḥāwala
After أن (an, that) the he-form of ḥāwala takes the subjunctive, يُحَاوِلَ (yuḥāwila); the negative command puts لا (lā) before the jussive: لا تُحَاوِلْ (tuḥāwil).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أُحَاوِلَ (uḥāwila) | أُحَاوِلْ (uḥāwil) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نُحَاوِلَ (nuḥāwila) | نُحَاوِلْ (nuḥāwil) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تُحَاوِلَ (tuḥāwila) | تُحَاوِلْ (tuḥāwil) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تُحَاوِلِي (tuḥāwilī) | تُحَاوِلِي (tuḥāwilī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تُحَاوِلَا (tuḥāwilā) | تُحَاوِلَا (tuḥāwilā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تُحَاوِلُوا (tuḥāwilū) | تُحَاوِلُوا (tuḥāwilū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تُحَاوِلْنَ (tuḥāwilna) | تُحَاوِلْنَ (tuḥāwilna) |
| he · هو huwa | يُحَاوِلَ (yuḥāwila) | يُحَاوِلْ (yuḥāwil) |
| she · هي hiya | تُحَاوِلَ (tuḥāwila) | تُحَاوِلْ (tuḥāwil) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يُحَاوِلَا (yuḥāwilā) | يُحَاوِلَا (yuḥāwilā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تُحَاوِلَا (tuḥāwilā) | تُحَاوِلَا (tuḥāwilā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يُحَاوِلُوا (yuḥāwilū) | يُحَاوِلُوا (yuḥāwilū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يُحَاوِلْنَ (yuḥāwilna) | يُحَاوِلْنَ (yuḥāwilna) |
Imperative of ḥāwala
A Form III command is the jussive تُحَاوِلْ (tuḥāwil) without its prefix. The stem already starts with a vowelled letter, so no alif is added: حَاوِلْ (ḥāwil), حَاوِلِي (ḥāwilī), حَاوِلُوا (ḥāwilū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | حَاوِلْ | ḥāwil |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | حَاوِلِي | ḥāwilī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | حَاوِلَا | ḥāwilā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | حَاوِلُوا | ḥāwilū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | حَاوِلْنَ | ḥāwilna |
Passive of ḥāwala
A Form III passive has u in the opening syllables and i before the last root letter in the past (حُووِلَ (ḥūwila)), and the prefix yu- with a before the last root letter in the present (يُحَاوَلُ (yuḥāwalu)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | حُووِلْتُ (ḥūwiltu) | أُحَاوَلُ (uḥāwalu) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | حُووِلْنَا (ḥūwilnā) | نُحَاوَلُ (nuḥāwalu) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | حُووِلْتَ (ḥūwilta) | تُحَاوَلُ (tuḥāwalu) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | حُووِلْتِ (ḥūwilti) | تُحَاوَلِينَ (tuḥāwalīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | حُووِلْتُمَا (ḥūwiltumā) | تُحَاوَلَانِ (tuḥāwalāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | حُووِلْتُمْ (ḥūwiltum) | تُحَاوَلُونَ (tuḥāwalūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | حُووِلْتُنَّ (ḥūwiltunna) | تُحَاوَلْنَ (tuḥāwalna) |
| he · هو huwa | حُووِلَ (ḥūwila) | يُحَاوَلُ (yuḥāwalu) |
| she · هي hiya | حُووِلَتْ (ḥūwilat) | تُحَاوَلُ (tuḥāwalu) |
| they two m. · هما humā | حُووِلَا (ḥūwilā) | يُحَاوَلَانِ (yuḥāwalāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | حُووِلَتَا (ḥūwilatā) | تُحَاوَلَانِ (tuḥāwalāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | حُووِلُوا (ḥūwilū) | يُحَاوَلُونَ (yuḥāwalūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | حُووِلْنَ (ḥūwilna) | يُحَاوَلْنَ (yuḥāwalna) |
Participles and verbal noun of ḥāwala
A Form III active participle is the present stem with mu- in place of the prefix: يُحَاوِلُ (yuḥāwilu) gives مُحَاوِل (muḥāwil). The passive participle has a where the active participle has i: مُحَاوَل (muḥāwal). The verbal noun (maṣdar) follows the Form III pattern mufāʿala: مُحَاوَلَة (muḥāwala). The Arabic grammar books we recommend cover all ten patterns at more length.
Why ḥāwala conjugates this way
The middle root letter of حَاوَلَ (ḥāwala) is و (w), the letter that makes other verbs hollow. In Form III it stands between two vowels as an ordinary consonant, so ḥāwala conjugates like a sound verb: حَاوَلْتُ (ḥāwaltu), يُحَاوِلُ (yuḥāwilu).
Form III lengthens the vowel after the first root letter (fāʿala) and often aims the action at another person. Its present starts with yu-: يُحَاوِلُ (yuḥāwilu). Sāʿada (to help) is built on the same Form III pattern.
Ḥāwala in sentences
حاولت إنقاذك.
I tried to save you.
The verb: حَاوَلْتُ (ḥāwaltu), past, I. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11981343 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
لم يحاول حتى.
He didn't even try.
The verb: يُحَاوِلْ (yuḥāwil), jussive, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 12827444 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of ḥāwala?
The present tense of حَاوَلَ (ḥāwala) is يُحَاوِلُ (yuḥāwilu) for he, أُحَاوِلُ (uḥāwilu) for I and تُحَاوِلُ (tuḥāwilu) for you (one man). Form III takes the prefix vowel u (yu-, tu-, nu-, u-) in every person.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of ḥāwala?
مُحَاوَلَة (muḥāwala), on the Form III pattern mufāʿala. The active participle is مُحَاوِل (muḥāwil), and the passive participle مُحَاوَل (muḥāwal).
Is ḥāwala a regular verb?
Yes. Its root letters are all strong, so it follows the Form III pattern fāʿala with no changes.