The main purpose of this book is to serve as a reference grammar for Modern Hebrew. It is designed to teach about the language and to give readers a reference tool for looking up specific details of the language. The intended audience is a varied one; it includes non-native speakers who are students of Hebrew, native speakers of Hebrew who seek a comprehensive coverage of Hebrew grammar, instructors and teachers of Hebrew, students and scholars of Biblical Hebrew who would like to have a better understanding of contemporary Hebrew, students of linguistics, and the general public interested in Hebrew language and culture. Particular care was taken to make the presentation as simple as possible, and to avoid use of excessive linguistic terminology or complex linguistic analyses, in order to make this volume as accessible as possible to everyone, and to give pedagogical considerations equal weight to those of linguistic explanations and analysis.

The book is based on the study of formal Hebrew and of Hebrew as a spoken language, and it includes some historical notes on pre-modern Hebrew (Biblical and Post-Biblical). We consider the Hebrew language both as a system and as a communicative tool. Whenever possible, equivalent Hebrew terminology is given in order to facilitate use of Hebrew grammar and language textbooks.

A Reference Grammar of Modern Hebrew combines modern and traditional approaches in the description of language structures and uses.