Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have about a dozen Spanish books including courses and grammars at various levels, and several audio type courses, and this is probably the most learning tool/book I have. The book's method of putting the English and Spanish side by side is very helpful, but the best thing is the explanation of all the tenses, which I don't always keep in my head. For example, many people aren't going to remember what the pluperfect past progressive tense is, or the imperfect subjunctive, and so on, and this book was great to remind me about those and what the corresponding Spanish forms are.
The book does this for all the different basic parts of speech: verbs, nouns, pronouns, prepositions, interjections, conjunctions, and so on. The tables and sections don't always align exactly on the facing pages, since there aren't always exact correspondences between the two languages, but I didn't mind that too much. For example, although technically English has the subjunctive tense, it's really almost a vestigial construction, but in Spanish there is a complete system of marking the subjunctive which is still very active, and the rules, although fairly consistent, can get pretty detailed. Spanish also has a second preterite tense that English doesn't have, the co-preterite or preterite anterior, as it's called in Spanish, and the two aren't interchangeable, so you need to know how they work and what the differences are.
So overall, an excellent book and probably the most helpful Spanish book I have, although it's not intended to be an exhaustive grammar. Some people might find the explanations a little technical, and I note one or two people here commented on that, but again, I didn't mind that too much. This book is a great value considering it really doesn't cost that much.
I only have one other book that is similar to this one, which is Spanish Verb Tenses, by Dorothy Devney Richmond. It is only on the verbal system and has less technical descriptions of the verbs than this book, which might be better for some people. The book also has a workbook section with exercises which some people might find helpful. It also includes appendices of verb tables of regular and irregular verbs; the preterite, future, and conditional conjugations; tables for the present and imperfect subjunctive moods; and a separate table for the modal auxiliary haber.
Finally, there is a Spanish to English and English to Spanish glossary with definitions of several hundred verbs, and a long list of verbs that take a preposition. This book is also very reasonably priced and I can recommend it too.
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A comparative and simple approach to learning the grammar of a new language
The Side-by-Side Grammar books present explanations of the essential elements of Spanish or French grammar alongside their English-language equivalents. This method allows students to build on what they already know; not only do readers learn grammar for a new language but also enjoy the added benefit of strengthening their grammar skills in their native tongue !
Each lesson clearly explains functions and uses of the different parts of speech and includes abundant examples for each entry. Because the vocabulary is limited to frequently used words, students can concentrate more on a sentence's structure instead of becoming tangled in its meaning. A "Quick Check" section summarizes main ideas in each section and helps readers retain the most important information. New to these editions are exercise sections to further reinforce students' comprehension.
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