Basic Yiddish ─ A Grammar and Workbook

Basic Yiddish: A Grammar and Workbook comprises an accessible reference grammar with related exercises in a single volume.

The workbook is structured around 25 short units, each presenting relevant grammar points which are explained using multiple examples in jargon-free language.
Basic Yiddish is suitable for both class use as well as independent study. Key features include:

a clear, accessible format
many useful language examples
jargon-free explanations of grammar
abundant exercises with a full answer key

Clearly presented and user-friendly, Basic Yiddish provides readers with the essential tools to express themselves in a wide variety of situations, making it an ideal grammar reference and practice resource for both beginners and students with some knowledge of the language.

Rebecca Margolis is Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa, Canada.

Chapter 1: Introduction to nouns, articles, attributive adjectives, noun phrases, the nominative case, pronouns Chapter 2: Introduction to verbs, regular verbs in the present tense indicative tense Chapter 3: Irregular verb to be, the predicative (predicate nouns, pronouns and adjectives) Chapter 4: Adverbs and adjective quantifiers Chapter 5: Numbers Chapter 6: Possessive pronouns Chapter 7: Negation Chapter 8: Yiddish word order 1: verb position, direct questions, the second person conjugation of the imperative mood (direct commands) Chapter 9: Yiddish word order 2: conjunctions, relative pronouns, relative clauses, consecutive word order (“so”) Chapter 10: Irregular infinitives: to have and others Chapter 11: The accusative case, declension of proper names Chapter 12: Prepositions, adverbs of location/motion Chapter 13: Indirect object, the dative case, declension of nouns, the dative as possessive case Chapter 14: Declension of pronouns Chapter 15: The pronoun Chapter 16: Yiddish word order 3: Verbs with more than one part: the periphrastic verb to like, love Chapter 17: Mood: modal verbs, conjugations of the first- and third-person of the imperative mood, the subjunctive mood Chapter 18: The future tense Chapter 19: The past tense Chapter 20: Verbs with prefixes: separable prefix verbs (complemented verbs) and inseparable prefix verbs Chapter 21: Aspect: repeated action in the past aspectual verbal constructions Chapter 22: The conditional mood Chapter 23: The participle and suffixes on nouns, adjectives, and verbs Chapter 24: Demonstrative pronouns, comparative and superlative adjectives. Glossary of working vocabulary. Answer key to exercises