Arabic Verbs & Essentials of Grammar, 2E (Verbs and Essentials of Grammar Series) [Paperback]

Jane Wightwick (Author), Mahmoud Gaafar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0071498052 | ISBN-13: 978-0071498050 | Edition: 2

Your one-stop guide to mastering the basics of Arabic

Can one book have all you need to communicate confidently in a new language? Yes, and that book is Arabic Verbs & Essentials of Grammar. It offers a solid foundation of major verbal and grammatical concepts of the language, from pronouns to idioms and expressions and from irregular verbs to expressions of time.

Each unit is devoted to one topic, so you can find what you need right away and get focused instruction immediately. Concise yet thorough, the explanations are supported by numerous examples to help you master the different concepts. And for those tricky verbs, Arabic Verbs & Essentials of Grammar includes a Verb Index of the most common verbs, cross-referenced with the abundant verb tables appearing throughout the book.

This book will give you:

• An excellent introduction to the basics of Arabic if you are a beginner or a quick, thorough reference if you already have experience in the language
• Contemporary usage of verbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and other grammar essentials
• Examples that reflect contemporary usage and real-life situations

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jane Wightwick and Mahmoud Gaafar are highly experienced language teachers and authors.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 2 edition (September 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071498052
• ISBN-13: 978-0071498050
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > Arabic
  • #19 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Arabic
  • #22 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Arabic > Instruction

More About the Author

Jane Wightwick is an experienced language instructor, author, and respected developer of language learning materials.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent beginning-intermediate verb intro, November 15, 2007

By 

Floating Weed (Colorado) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Arabic Verbs & Essentials of Grammar, 2E (Verbs and Essentials of Grammar Series) (Paperback)

If you don't study Arabic script first, this book is going to be unnecessarily difficult. Otherwise, it is the best introduction to verbs I have found. It is a short book (123 pages + the Appendixes and Verb Index). The chapters are clearly organized and with easily understandable explanations focusing on verb grammar without any distractions.

Key words in lessons are transliterated (using a easily comprehensible system) along with the Arabic text.

The book also has something that I have not found in any other Arabic language instruction books: It has two verb indexes (Arabic-English and English-Arabic) listing 400 common verbs that are used in the lessons. This is something I have been very frustrated in searching for--a list of commonly used verbs to study that I can access through English-Arabic as well as Arabic-English. Additionally, each verb entry in the index has 1) the 3 or 4 letter root, 2) the two principle parts, 3) transliteration of the principle parts, 4) verb type (for example: I, defective), and 5) page in the book that uses the verb.

Since I have spent a lot of time searching and not found any verb index nearly as helpful, the verb index alone is a study tool that seems worth the price of the whole book!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great but for the typos, June 5, 2008

By 

KC Tang (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arabic Verbs & Essentials of Grammar, 2E (Verbs and Essentials of Grammar Series) (Paperback)

I've heard that nowadays publishing houses no longer employ proof-readers; I don't know if that's true; if it is, this book shows. Perhaps it's just me, but I don't expect typos in a reference work. In this otherwise very useful, slim volume, you can find not only the conjugation paradigms, but also all the other basic things you need to know: the i'Daafah, the broken plural, the demonstrative and relative pronouns etc; the explanations are always brief, but spot-on. I'm looking forward to a typo-free 3rd edition.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arabic Verbs, September 10, 2008

By 

M. Horton - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arabic Verbs & Essentials of Grammar, 2E (Verbs and Essentials of Grammar Series) (Paperback)

I own the 1st version and this newer version. I was a fan of the 1st one and used it until it fell apart. I saw this edition at the local library and decided to try it. I really loved it and bought one right away. I think the index is better, it is easier to find verb examples in the newer version than in the old. I highly recommend buying this one even if you already have the other version.