Practice Makes Perfect: The Spanish Subjunctive Up Close (Practice Makes Perfect Series) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've always thought that the Spanish subjunctive was so complicated that it could be covered in a book by itself. I've always hoped for such a book, too. Following is its table of contents:
1. When to use the subjunctive and how to form its four tenses
2. Sequence of tenses and the subjunctive
3. Subordinated noun clauses
4. Subordinated adjective clauses
5. Adverbial expressions
6. Contrary-to-fact statements
7. Comprehensive exercises
The author states early in the book that many Spanish students assume that the subjunctive is all about doubt. The author is quick to explain that this assumption is problematic. The use of the subjunctive in doubt or uncertainty is only ONE of its many uses. I'm glad there's a book on the subjunctive that addresses this issue. I used to tutor a student in Spanish who thought the subjunctive was all about doubt. And trying to get her to understand that there was more to the subjunctive than just doubt was a difficult task.
The book explains how to conjugate all four tenses in the subjunctive, then it moves on to its uses. This book explains the uses of the subjunctive in the same order as many other books. First, it explains its uses in nominal clauses, then it moves on to adjective clauses, adverbial clauses, and contrary-to-fact statements. The end of the book has exercises.
I think this book is incredible, but I personally don't think it's a good idea to explain all four tenses at once. I think it's better to start out with the present subjunctive, learn how to use it, and then move on to the other tenses. The author mentions the future subjunctive and the future perfect subjunctive, but he doesn't explain how to use them. I wish he had; it's difficult to find reference materials that explain the future subjunctive.
I highly recommend this book. 5 stars!!!
Brandon Simpson

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Get up close and master Spanish subjunctive

As you study Spanish you may see the subjunctive as an obstacle to your full understanding of the language. Learning the subjunctive can be one of the most frustrating aspects of Spanish grammar, but it is also one of the most important for being understood and understanding what others say. By adding Spanish pronouns to your range of language skills, you will open up a whole new world of communication.

With plenty of opportunities for practice, practice, practice, Practice Makes Perfect: The Spanish Subjunctive Up Close helps you better understand the nuances of this often-confusing grammar element and develop your skills and confidence as a Spanish speaker with:

Easy-to-absorb explanatory materials, examples, and exercises
Authoritative guidance on how to form the four subjunctive tenses and when to use them
A comprehensive answer key that not only gives you the correct solutions to the exercises but explains the why behind them

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Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Vocabulary (Practice Makes Perfect Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)Speaking as somebody who is teaching themselves Spanish, I'd have to say that this book does what it claims and DOES IT WELL! USEFUL, ENTERTAINING, EASY TO USE and YOU LEARN VOCABULARY. Better than a dictionary and a whole LOT MORE FUN!
I also own the PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT VERBS, the PRONOUNS & PREPOSITIONS volume AND the COMPLETE SPANISH GRAMMER books in the series. Personally, I think this book is an excellant companion book and fits in well with the series. True, it doesn't have the LONG translation excercises, but it does contain LONG reading segments in Spanish which is, in my opinion, the best way to learn VOCABULARY! Believe me, YOU LEARN VOCABULARY when you read this book. I know today's "educators" frown upon rote learning and "memorizing", but, quite frankly, if you don't memorize anything, how much can you really know??? The reading excercises make your brain work on recalling the words from MEMORY. Sure, there's not a lot of long excercises which require you to write, but there ARE LOTS OF PRACTICE EXCERCISES.
I found the book to be FUN and ENJOYABLE. I'm learning a LOT and it's FUN, too! Unlike the Verb book, you can skip around from unit to unit. Read a unit while you're eating lunch or riding on the bus. Short sentence and phrase translations, fill-in-the-word, and true and false excercises mean you can do many of the exercises IN YOUR HEAD without the need for pencil and paper. Subject grouped word lists followed by reading excercises, short translations and T/F quizes makes your brain retain the words. And to achieve even a conversational level in any language, who would disagree that one must fill their memory with words??? You can read, study and use this book anywhere and anytime you have five free minutes. It WORKS, so I'm not sure I understand why it's not receiving better reviews.
It shouldn't be the FIRST book you buy in this series, though. I'd recommend getting VERBS first, PREPS & PRONOUNS second, GRAMMER third and this book AFTER you've used the others, as this book presupposes that you already have a basic grasp of how to conjugate verbs and construct a sentence. It DOES REVIEW verbs in general, ser/estar, reflexive verbs, por/para, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives, and grammer--all the while introducting new words and how different, but related, words are formed through the use of suffixes and prefixes.
Not only will you learn vocabulary, but you might just find a few surprising tid-bits of knowledge about history, historic and contempory people, current events, religion, science and more!!!!
All in all, I'm VERY PLEASED with this book, and I give it FIVE STARS. It's USEFUL, FUN, and EXPANDS YOUR VOCABULARY--exactly what the publisher claims. It's also INEXPENSIVE and actually has 388 PAGES of text and exercises, 436 pages total (including the answer keys). For the price, you can't go wrong!

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Polish your Spanish vocabulary skills

Building on the success of her prior book, Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses, author Dorothy Devney Richmond helps you attain a strong working vocabulary, no matter if you are an absolute beginner or an intermediate student of the language.

She combines her proven instruction techniques and clear explanationswith a plethora of engaging exercises, so you aremotivated and hardly notice that you are absorbing so muchSpanish. Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Vocabulary also includes basic grammar and structures of the language to complement your newly acquired words. "Vocabulary Builders" help you add to your Spanish repertoire by using cognates, roots, suffixes, prefixes, and other "word-building" tools.

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Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Past-Tense Verbs Up Close (Practice Makes Perfect Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)Thank Heaven for this little book! I met the author on my bus ride home one day earlier this year. He noticed me plodding through my huge Spanish practice book and correctly noted that I was trying to learn. I now have a copy of this book, and in the first few pages, it cleared up something that I've been trying to figure out since I started studying Spanish in the late 80s--when to use the preterite versus the imperfect! That issue has literally been driving me crazy.
The author gets right to the point and gives you simple, easy-to-remember explanations of how to use the preterite and the imperfect tenses. Within 5 minutes, I felt I had the confidence to finally figure it out. The exercises help you seal in that knowledge and practice, practice, practice!
This book is highly recommended -- get it and learn how to speak the past-tense properly. You won't regret it!

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Get up close and master Spanish past-tense verbs

As you study Spanish you may view past-tense verbs as obstacles to your full understanding of the language. Learning past-tense verbs can be one of the most frustrating aspects of studying Spanish grammar, but it is also one of the most important for being understood and following what others say. By adding Spanish past-tense verbs to your range of language skills, you will open up a whole new world of communication.

With plenty of opportunities for practice, practice, practice, Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Past-Tense Verbs Up Close helps you better understand the nuances of this tricky grammar element and develop your skills and confidence as a Spanish speaker with:

Easy-to-absorb explanatory materials, examples, and exercises
Authoritative guidance on the different verb forms and when to use them
A comprehensive answer key that not only gives you the correct solutions to the exercises but explains the why behind them

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Practice Makes Perfect Basic Spanish (Practice Makes Perfect Series) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Let me first say that this book does a good job on its intended purpose. When you flip to page v (the preface), the author clearly states that this book is not intended to be the primary teaching source or that it will introduce concepts.
There's nothing wrong with that, but the title of the book is "Practice Makes Perfect: Basic Spanish." I bought it with the impression that it would introduce beginning Spanish concepts. I wanted to use this book with students or homeschooled kids who needed a good place to start. When I saw this book listed on Amazon, I was excited to see that a book for beginners had been published. But this book is not for beginners. If the title had been Basic Spanish Review, I probably wouldn't have bought it, or I might have bought it if I needed additional materials for a Spanish class.
This book is best used for maybe Spanish I in high school or Spanish 101 in college. The exercises are useful in that respect. But if you want a book that is for absolute beginners, get a copy of Getting Started with Spanish. It is one of the best, if not the best, book for absolute beginners of Spanish.
Brandon Simpson

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Learn the Spanish you need. Gain the language skills you want.

Practice Makes Perfect: Basic Spanish is a trusted companion to your Spanish-learning experience. In each bite-sized lesson, author Dorothy Richmond explains one--and only one--grammar concept and illustrates it with many clear examples. The accompanying fun and interesting exercises let you practice, practice, practice what you have learned. Although these lessons are purposely short so you can complete them in twenty minutes or less, you can go at a pace that works for you.

This guide/workbook will help you masterpresent tense verb conjugation • the ser and estar verb forms • adjectives • possessive pronouns • sentence structures • the contractions al and del• indefinite articles • tener idioms • and more

Whether you are learning on your own or taking a beginning Spanish class, Practice Makes Perfect: Basic Spanish will help you build your confidence.

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Practice Makes Perfect: Advanced Spanish Grammar Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This book on Spanish grammar is very useful. I wish I had it when I was studying Spanish in high school or college. It discusses so many nitty-gritty things that Spanish students struggle with.
When I first got it, I was under the impression that it would explain the past tenses, the subjunctive, etc. It's advanced Spanish grammar, right? When I read the table of contents, I was pleasently surprised to see that it discusses much more valuable information than just that. The following is its table of contents:
1. Object Pronouns and omission of subject pronouns
2. Some/any and other determiners
3. Adjectives
4. Adverbs
5. Commands & requests
6. Modal constructions
7. Impersonal sentences & the passive
8. Relative pronouns & conjunctions
9. Reported speech
10. Problematic prepositions I
11. Problematic prepositions II
12. Idiomatic constructions
Every chapter has very detailed information, along with exercises. My favorite chapters are the two that deal with prepostions. Prepositions are tricky in any language, and Spanish is no exception.
Having said all this, this book is not for absolute beginners. It's better suited to intermediate or advanced students. I majored in Spanish in college and find this book helpful. If I ever tutor students, I will probably refer to this text. So many of my students ask me questions that I don't always have the answer to. I simply "know without knowing." Now I can refer to this book when I need to.
Brandon Simpson

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Take your Spanish grammar skills to the next level and speak with more soltura!

To fully understand how to speak Spanish effectively you must move beyond the fundamental principles of grammar and tackle more sophisticated sentence constructions. Practice Makes Perfect: Advanced Spanish Grammar focuses on intermediate- to advanced-level topics to help you create more complex, meaningful sentences and communicate more naturally.

Instead of just applying sets of rules, Practice Makes Perfect: Advanced Spanish Grammar helps you better understand the nuances of the language and develop your skills and confidence as a Spanish speaker by providing easy-to-absorb explanatory materials, examples, and exercises. Inside you will find:

Thorough explanations of topics that often prove difficult for English speakers when they learn Spanish, such as the correct use of object pronouns.
Practical exercises that give you the opportunity to test what you've learned

Learn the ins and outs of:Some/any and quantity determiners • Adverbs • Problematic prepositions • Relative pronouns • Idiomatic constructions • . . . and much more

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