Modern Hebrew: An Essential Grammar

Level Twob Starting with the objectWhereas English tends to use tone of voice for marking the focus and nonfocusof a sentence, Hebrew tends to use word order. Thus, to indicatethat a noun is already the topic of conversation or already in the hearer’smind, Hebrew likes to have it first in the sentence, even if it is the object: You can take the radio(implying: ‘I know you’re thinking about it already . . .’ or ‘bycontrast with the other things . . .’)Similarly, to highlight a contrast or to stress a word, Hebrew likes tochange the normal word order: , , I bought cookies, I bought crackers, but I forgot wafers? You want to sell a Subaru? ! All these journalists are scum!Such effects can be subtle in the extreme, and hard to define; but speakersof any language will know them when they hear them.c Presentative verbsWhen a subject noun is being presented or introduced, it is commonlyheld back for effect – with the ‘presentative’ verb coming first: A risk exists that the project will not be approved The time has come to act It’s raining (lit. descends rain) Three candidates have applied to us107 Backtracking164Hebrew, both colloquial and formal, sometimes begins sentences with thetopic under discussion and then backtracks to the subject. (This is knownas .)