The new verb book is here, the new verb book is here!

18 January 10 10:14 in the zOhn
Tags: English, Hebrew, language, vocabulary, Words

As I was buying this book–finally, finally, finally–Max asked me in his silly, dead-pan way, if I was going to love it, and I surprised the heck out of him by exclaiming how much I planned to love it.

I have a copy of the first, and only, edition, put together in 1996, which I bought during my first year in Israel (2000).  Since then, I have used it to pieces.  Literally.  The binding is gone, and I hold the bundle of pages together with a little bungee cord, but I put off buying a new one.  ‘Cause I kind of needed to buy food.

And then, wonder of wonders, etc., I heard there was going to be a new edition!  So I waited.  And then, after it came out, I waited some more.  ‘Cause I kind of needed to buy food.  At least for the cats.

Finally, I got a little money, enough to buy myself something, and I chose The Book.  I went to the store, and as I was buying this book–finally, finally, finally–but this is where we came in.

What is this book, already?

It is Barron’s 501 Hebrew Verbs.  Ah, the joys of a new and long-awaited Hebrew reference book.

This isn’t just any reference book.  This is a playground constructed of verb tables.

Hebrew is a (mostly three-letter) root-based language, and employs up to seven “buildings” of each root for inflection, and it is a thing of beauty, this tongue with which H” created the universe.

The book over which I have gone nuts lays out each verb’s tables, and gives the most fun examples:

AHV (kiss) Michael fell in love with Ilana at first sight.  Even today, thirty years later, they still love each other.  Ilana says that she’s in love with Michael, and that he’s better than a French lover.

But the new edition: the new one has more more more roots (it actually shows 565, now), keeps the tables in a more consistent order, and has a better binding, and–at last–goes from right to left.

This is going to keep me busy for a pretty long time!