Rating: 
Summary: Not so good
Review: 201 Hebrew verbs is much better organized, also it clearly gives every form in which the root is found, in the standard order of the forms. This book gives only some of the forms, and in descending order of frequency of use. It leaves out the rarer forms such as pu'al. Also, it uses far to much full (plene, or malei) spelling for a book with vowels.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent - Not just another reference
Review: Anybody who has studied Hebrew is familiar with the standard books of verb tables which fully conjugate a small number of example verbs, and leave the rest of the work, thumbing back and forth matching numbers and lists, to the student. This book FULLY declines 501 verb roots, or several thousand verbs, in alphebetical order. Asside from the fact that the book presents answers rather than puzzles, my favorite part is the example sentances given for each verb, which go a long way to clearing up what the binyanim actually mean. I'd suggest this book to any Hebrew student.
Rating:
Summary: Invaluable
Review: Excellent for students of the Hebrew language after they have had a little bit of additional training preferably in a classroom. I have been using this book for over 3 years and find it invaluable. Don't forget, it has 501 roots and this actually means a lot more verbs. Easy to use once you get used to it. Very worthwhile for any student of this difficult language.
Rating: 
Summary: Should have been organized by lamed infinitive not root
Review: I found that this book did not display all the aspects of the verb roots. For instance it shows the infinitive for the verb root "MTZA"-"found" as only "L'himatzay"-"to be found, to exist" when it could also be "Limtzo"-"to find." It is, in general, a useful reference.
Rating:
Summary: A Usful book
Review: I looked at this book many times...The author is a professor at my college...He is a wonderful professor and he did a good job on the book...It was usfeul for me who couldn't remember some of the words that I have learned so far...It is a better than the book that I am currently using...but at the same time it also helps with the book that I am currently using and it also lets me expand my learning for the language.
Rating:
Summary: This beginner found the book quite useful
Review: I'm only in my first year of studying Hebrew, in a very basic adult education class, but I don't think this book had too much information at all. I use it as a reference, to find the information I need at this point in my studies.I can't speak for other language students, but for myself, I'm not sure a reference book really can have too much information, as the reviewer below implies. As a student, I need to understand that I can't use it all at once--but I'm glad it's there, so that when I am ready for it (whether or not the class has formally covered it yet), I can find what I'm looking for.
Rating: 
Summary: confusing and disorganized
Review: If this book had followed the format of Barron's first Hebrew verb book, 201 Hebrew Verbs, it would have been great. In that work, every verb was clearly spread out over two facing pages. You could see every possible form of each verb all at once, and for each verb, you could always tell on which part of the page you would find each conjugation, since it was the same for each verb. This book has only one advantage, and that is the higher number of verbs. It is lacking in clarity and organization. I am a Hebrew teacher since the 70's, and have always used 201 Hebrew Verbs with my students. This book, 501 Hebrew Verbs, would be useless for my students. I can barely follow it myself. I would strongly recommend that Barron's consider a revision... keep the same verbs, but arrange them the same way the previous book did.
Rating: 
Summary: Publisher take note: we need this book in HARDBACK!
Review: On the whole, I use this book as much if not more than I do the dictionary. The reason is simple: you get the shoresh and the binyan with every single verb, a must in a university level Hebrew class. This book probably won't be much use to the beginner (it's real value lies with the shoresh and binyan/gizrah, and, to a less extent, with the past and future conjugations of the verbs). However, if you ever plan on getting past the bare bones basics (i.e., if you want to be able to say more than "Shalom" and "Ayfo ha Mesahdah?"), then you will want to pick it up. The reason I gave the book four stars is that it was written left to right as opposed to the more correct right to left. However, while this is quite unnatural, it can be overcome.
Rating:
Summary: Great Resource
Review: On the whole, I use this book as much if not more than I do the dictionary. The reason is simple: you get the shoresh and the binyan with every single verb, a must in a university level Hebrew class. This book probably won't be much use to the beginner (it's real value lies with the shoresh and binyan/gizrah, and, to a less extent, with the past and future conjugations of the verbs). However, if you ever plan on getting past the bare bones basics (i.e., if you want to be able to say more than "Shalom" and "Ayfo ha Mesahdah?"), then you will want to pick it up. The reason I gave the book four stars is that it was written left to right as opposed to the more correct right to left. However, while this is quite unnatural, it can be overcome.
Rating:
Summary: Publisher take note: we need this book in HARDBACK!
Review: Since most of us who are involved in Hebrew study use a reference book like this constantly, why is it in paperback? Even with careful handling, a thick book like this doesn't stand a chance in paperback. Within a year the owner must contend with loose pages, as others in my class have also discovered. If this problem were corrected, I would immediately rank this as a 5-star book because it contains many verbs along with their vowel markings, and it is far easier to use than Tarmon's Hebrew Verb Tables. (It's good to have both books!) Another problem: Many verbs aren't listed in the index, even though they are actually in the book. This can be frustrating--especially if a person isn't sure of the root of a word. But, aside from these two problems, the book is indispensable to the student of Hebrew!
|
