Customer Reviews

The Big Silver Book of Russian Verbs: 555 Fully Conjugated Verbs (Big Book of Verbs Series)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

***N.B. (Update written Dec. 15, 2007) This review was written before the third edition of "501 Russian Verbs" came out, and the new edition of that book is a significant upgrade over its predecessor. Author Thomas Beyer has added sample sentences for each verb, numerous practice exercises and a list of 55 essential verbs that receive extensive treatment. And the 100 verbs for the 21st century were retained in the third edition, meaning you actually get 601 verbs. "Big Silver" still has two advantages over "501": a much more in-depth introductory section on Russian verbs, and a list of 2,000 Russian verbs with a conjugation key. "Big Silver" author Jack Franke has another Russian book, titled "Streetwise Russian," due out in late May, although the release date has been moved back several times already.

Rather than say that this book is better or worse than "501 Russian Verbs," I'm going to compare it with its chief rival and point out what I consider the strengths and weaknesses of each. Please bear with a couple of random comments before I do that. As a newspaper copy editor, I know that errors invariably find their way into written material. Considering Mr. Franke's credentials as a teacher at the Defense Language Institute, I am sure his book is a reliable reference, even if it happens to contain the print peccadillos mentioned in a previous review. Also, in the spirit of fairness, I must point out that "501 Russian verbs" appends a partially conjugated list of 100 verbs "for the 21st Century" and therefore has the greater number of tabular verbs. Included in that list is zhevat' (to chew). I was unaware that chewing is a 21st-century phenomenon in Russia. But since that is neither here nor there, on to the salient points.

Advantages of Big Silver over 501:

*The usage examples, which are numerous and varied. The lack thereof is 501's biggest shortcoming.

*Clearer method of helping readers choose the correct case to go with the given verb.

*Verb exercises. They're not much, but a little practice is better than no practice. And there's an answer key.

*More thorough introductory section on Russian verbs, particularly the explanation of the ever-problematic verbs of motion.

*Russian verb index with more than 2,000 entries. It's also easy to find which one of the 555 verbs has the corresponding conjugation pattern.

Advantages of 501 over Big Silver

*Conjugated forms printed in larger type and with greater spacing between letters. I find 501's conjugations much more legible and an enormous help to memorization.

*Case cues that hint at the proper ending. I prefer Big Silver's method because it specifically states which case is required, so there's no need to consult the chart, but 501's way does help me visualize the case endings.

*Referring to the verb forms with the "biy" particle as conditional rather than subjunctive. Seems clearer to me.

*Fewer conjugation classifications. 501 follows the standard division, categorizing Russian verbs into either Type I or Type II. Big Silver, on the other hand, divides verbs into six classifications, which can cause an undue amount of confusion. I think 501's simplified approach works better.

So there you have it. I bought "501 Russian Verbs" first because it was the only one on the shelf when I went looking for a Russian verb book. My advice is to get both, unless you're just dabbling in the language. For about $35, you can ensure that you have at your fingertips the two best resources in English for making sense of Russian's notoriously tricky verbs.

As a university-level instructor of the Russian language, I am always on the lookout for user-friendly reference books for my students. Dr Franke's book is exceptional -- it presents Russian verbs in a manner that even first-year students can understand! His incorporation of each verb in sentence context, plus the inclusion of Russian idiomatic expressions, make this text a must-have for anyone interested in mastering the Russian language. I strongly endorse this reference book!

After using the 501 Russian Verb Book for so long "The Big Silver Book of Russian Verbs" is like a breath of fresh air. The presentation of verbs is much more intuitive and each verb offers actual every day usage examples... not one or two but five or more! This book is my new source for verbal usage. It should be a part of any student learning Russian's everyday study materials.

I have been using this book while taking russian classes from a private tutor and also through an online program. i have found this book very usefull and packed with great information. this book was recommended to me by a russian speaker. i also recomend "master the basics russian" as a usefull grammar guide.

This is the best, AND cheapest, book of Russky verbs and EXAMPLES, including the propositions necessary to complete phrases. Don't be fooled by the "500 verbs" impostor, it s/n/b on the market. This one gives so much more!

This is the best Russian verbs book. Period! It is the only one with useful examples. I peronally can't fault it.

I use it constantly. In a language like Russian the examples are invaluable, as verb usage is often very complex, particually with the reflexives.

The person who wrote the bad review clearly has some bias. And says,

"I am completely new to the Russian language, only studying for a few weeks now.". Let me assure you as a person who has been learning for a couple of years this book is invaluable. Especially the examples. It seems this is opinion based on one typo in the book.

[EDIT (08.22.2006): Concerning the review above- Russian is not the first language I have learned. So, I do have background in grammatical structures and such - ESPECIALLY verbs. Moreover, the first language I did learn, I learned on my own, PROFICIENTLY, in under two years. I believe my review provides ample examples concerning my opinion - as opposed to a "single typo" claimed I have based everything off of. By no means do I have any bias to the author or book. And, me not studying Russian long doesn't deem me as unreliable. All examples HAVE been verified. And I have tried to elaborate as sufficiently as possible. If you have questions, or would like to correct me on a point, feel free to email me. And I will be sure to change the necessary here in this review. Thank you.]

I am completely new to the Russian language, only studying for a few weeks now. I bought this book. And I liked it very much at first glance. I was delighted that there were example sentences and "usage formulae" included. I also liked the layout (but not so much the font choice - but did not take away from the apparent value). The great reviews also added to its reputation.

So why only two stars?

I think the book is unreliable. This is not just ... a random opinion, or some superficial idea. I am actually finding errors - both grammatical and typographical. To get straight to it, here are some examples:

A. On verb #311, it says it is a 'regular -ar verb (like gustar)'. This is a Spanish verb type, not Russian. And that is a little disappointing, because it makes me think the Spanish 555 verb book was used as a template (no assumptions). I have NO other idea on how this could have been put there. It cannot really be a ... typo. (And 'nadar' is more regular than 'gustar', as 'gustar' normally does not have first and second person singular and plural conjugations. But this doesn't have much to do with the review.)

B. A more trivial gripe: some of the punctuation is formatted incorrectly/sloppily. This makes it seem like it was a little rushed. Examples: verb #30, 38, 39, 125, and (lots more), where it tells the verb type, the last parenthesis is bolded; some titles are not centered (pg. 3) - unless there was some weird logic to the centering. Which, if so, is very inconspicuous.

C. As for one of the grammatical errors I found: on the second verb of pg. 9 (to teach; to study, learn), the conjugation for the second person singular (ti) does not match the corresponding, exact same verb presented as #539. This leads me to believe there may be many more errors throughout the book.

Some more displeasing 'features':

D. Looking up a verb is a pain when you only know the English meaning. Now, it is NOT because I think every verb should be in there (that is what a dictionary is for), but to find the page of an English verb (that exists in the book), you have to first look it up in the English-Russian index starting on pg. 648, then you have to either (a) look the verb up from there, which can be slow if you do not know the order of the alphabet or are not yet very proficient at order, or (b) you have to go on some proceeding pages (Russian-English) to find the verb number - then go from there. I just find this a bit tedious if I need to look up a verb with rapidity. After all, it is for beginners and intermediates, as it says on the cover.

E. The grammar at the start is not too bad. Sometimes a little difficult to follow. But the harder part is figuring out what the 'Type 1-6' verbs are - which is the basis to defining how each regular verb in the book is conjugated. It does not _explicitly_ say what each type is, or how a verb is defined in each type. It is very open ended (i.e. the use of 'most', 'some', 'almost every'.) You kind of have to experiment around, compare, and contrast to get a better understanding. Though, I will say, I am still not at all familiar with the system.

F. Some tables are hard to understand, or are hard to understand what some of the symbolism means. Particularly the first table on pg. 13. I do not understand the meaning of that vertical bar. I do not understand what an, for brevity, A-B-C stem change is. It does not tell you what these mean everwhere I've looked. Also, as a side note, the titles are not consistent: "Type 1 Present Tense Conjugation Samples", "Type 2 Present Tense Conjugation Samples" , [changes here] "Type 3 Present Tense Conjugation", etc. This does not take from the meaning, but it makes it of poorer quality.

G. This a more personal thing, but I do not like the choice of the 'Top 50 Verbs'. I would have been more satisfied if it included more common verbs that a beginner would want to know right off the bat, like "can; to be able to" or "to like, love" - which are obviously important in any language.

H. Table format inconsistencies exist on pages 16 and 17: last table on 16 does not contain an over bar, last table on 17 does not contain an under bar. Also, some of the tables are a bit bloated - particularly those on participles (pg. 20-23). Moreover, in the table on pg. 26, half of the elements are centered vertically, half horizontally, some both vertically and horizontally... Again, a quality issue in my opinion.

So, all in all, I am not pleased, and I cannot show much trust in the book - as I SUSPECT there are [many] more errors that I have not seen or that I would not yet understand (e.g. tenses I do not know with familiarity). That combined with the typographical and layout quality, I find the book unreliable.

I do not recommend buying "The Big Silver Book of Russian Verbs", despite its excellent reviews, unless you can get one for maybe two or three dollars (pesos, euros, roubles - whatever you fancy). If you don't have a native/fluent speaker or an expensive translator able to conjugate verbs at your side with this book, you probably cannot ensure correctness. Which is a little odd and disappointing since a person holding a Ph.D. wrote this book.

I would go with the 501 series, which has held up very well for all my studies, my peers' studies, and my teachers' studies (and instruction). I have always trusted it, and I have only found one error in that series (Spanish; a misprint in the header of one of the pages, and that was a much older edition.) I cannot put opinion on the Russian 501; I do not have it. But I intend to buy it, and I am almost positive it will be better, more correct, and more reliable - even if it is a little 'not user friendly' to some, as I have read.

I particularly like the way the book provides various examples for each verb in everyday sentence form. These examples give the student a little extra added punch that the 501 Verbs book (an already excellent resource in itself) lacks.

As a beginning student of Russian, I use this book every day. It has an index of Russian verbs and an index of English verbs that you would like to replace with Russian equivalents.

Each verb in the main part of the book is declined completely, and many examples of Russian sentences using the verb are given.

If you are serious about learning Russian, you will be happy you bought this book.

Seriously, this book is significantly better than the 501 Russian Verbs book we were issued at the start of the course. There really isn't any reason to spend money on that one when you can get this one, and it's ridiculously underpriced for the benefit of us poor students.

Full disclosure: Dr. Franke is one of my instructors, but we're past the point where he can scuttle (or help) my grades, so I'm pretty much beyond caring.