46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book on Spanish verbs, November 24, 2003
This review is from: The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs: 555 Fully Conjugated Verbs (Paperback)
For me this book slightly edges out the now venerable 501 Spanish Verbs book, because it includes more examples of usages at the bottom of each page, and the 501 book doesn't have as many of these. There is also a nice list of the Top 50 Spanish verbs which is useful.
On the con side, I didn't like the visual layout on the page quite as much as the 501 book, and that book also includes the progressive conjugations using estar at the very bottom of the verb tables on each page. This isn't a big deal since this pattern doesn't change once you understand it, but it's still nice to have.
One other feature the 501 book has is a good section on the idiomatic uses of some of the verbs, and a fairly extensive section of conversations in different topic areas using the well-known Berlitz method. There are dozens of these at the end of the book. If you already have a book that does that, you won't need this one, but it's here if you want it. Despite these features, as I said, I still prefer the Big Red book slightly, and the two are the same price, so there's no reason to prefer one over the other there.
There is one other "big gun" in the Spanish verbs area, which is the 2000 Essential Spanish Verbs book. This one only includes about 250 tables of verbs, but there is an index which extends that to 2000 different verbs, since you just look up the verb in the index and it directs you to the correct pattern. However, this book has one major advantage over the Big Red and 501 books. It has an extensive section on the grammar of the 65 most important verbs, including many of the irregular ones, with a detailed discussion and a practice sectioni for each. I thought this was a very nice feature and so that book is worth your consideration also. I actually prefer that book to either of these, although the print is much smaller and the layout of the tables isn't as nice. If the publisher would revamp the typeface, layout, and aesthetics a bit it could definitely give the other two books a run for their money.
Any of these three Spanish verb books is excellent, however, and will help you bootstrap your Spanish speaking and reading knowledge and facility to the next level. They're also all the same price, so again, there's no reason to prefer one over the other there.
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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The biggest, baddest, red-ist book of Spanish Verbs., April 8, 2003
This review is from: The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs: 555 Fully Conjugated Verbs (Paperback)
I love this book! Why?
Well for starters there is the logical way in which the authors have approached this daunting task. They give you a list of "50 of the most common" verbs en Espanol, then they list all 550 verbs in alphabetical order. On the page in which a "common verb" appears, there is a notation that this is a "TOP 50 VERB!"
I am also impressed by the way they have conjugated each verb in an understandable manner, and the examples of usage they offer for each of the 550 verbs.
This book has gone along way toward taking my Spanish "to the next level," and I am quite certain it will do the same for you.
As cliche' as it sounds, this book is a "must read" for the serious student of Espanol.
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crushes 501 Spanish Verbs., July 29, 2002
This review is from: The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs: 555 Fully Conjugated Verbs (Paperback)
I am social worker with an intermediate knowledge of Spanish. Big Red is awesome. It crushes 501 Spanish Verbs. It reviews 555 Spanish verbs and their conjugations. The Book is physically larger, the layout clearer, and the print easier to see than in 501. Also!!!!! Unlike 501, there are examples. For each word there are at least 4 sentences with each verb so you can get a feel of the word's actual use. Even more, the writers have identified 50 words which are common in spoken language and common in idiomatic expressions. For these words there are a couple dozen sentences showing how they are used. Big Red, depending on where you shop is the same or cheaper than 501 Spanish Verbs. I love it. This book, the Oxford Spanish Dictionary, a Bible in the Nueva Version Internacional, Advanced Spanish Grammar by Prado, the dirt cheap dual language readers by Dover, a chatroom for learning spanish, and Instant Immersion CD's have all worked wonders. Good luck!
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