Buscalo! (Look It Up!) : A Quick Reference Guide to Spanish Grammar and Usage [Paperback]

William M. Clarkson (Author), Guillermo Campos (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471245607 | ISBN-13: 978-0471245605 | Publication Date: March 30, 1998 | Edition: 1

"A novel approach--very useful for quick reference."--Mark Goldin Associate Professor of Spanish, George Mason University

"Very user-friendly and easy-to-find information. Alphabetical order is an innovation in comparison to other grammar guides on the market. I would recommend this guide to students of all levels."--Keith Mason, Spanish instructor, New Providence High School.

"The explanations are to be praised for their clarity."--Judith Nemethy, Director of Spanish Language Studies, New York University

!Buscalo! (Look It Up!) gives you remarkably quick, concise, and reliable answers to common problems of grammar and usage. Unlike most guides to Spanish grammar, !Buscalo!'s easy-to-use alphabetical format allows you to go directly to the entry that addresses your specific question. Over 500 entries cover everything from meaning, use, and grammar to precision, punctuation, and sentence structure. Cross-referenced in English and Spanish, with a helpful pronunciation guide and explanations of grammatical terms, !Buscalo! is a unique one-stop reference that is perfect for both casual and serious students.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: Spanish, English

From the Publisher

Buscalo! (Look It Up!) helps people learning Spanish quickly unravel the often baffling peculiarities of Spanish grammar and usage. Much more user-friendly than standard texts, this easy-to-use alphabetical reference is organized around the common problems of Spanish grammar and usage that perplex students at all levels. It is an ideal compliment to traditional textbooks and dictionaries

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Product Details

• Paperback: 219 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 30, 1998)
• Language: English, Spanish
• ISBN-10: 0471245607
• ISBN-13: 978-0471245605
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #283,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Un buen libro, ¡la verdad!, March 30, 2001

By 

Michael Dickson "To improve is to change. To ... (Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Buscalo! (Look It Up!) : A Quick Reference Guide to Spanish Grammar and Usage (Paperback)

Last year I attended a language school in Mexico for six months. And this book, which I had stumbled onto in a Texas bookstore and brought with me, was a life-saver, better than anything the school provided. It's an excellent reference in an easy-to-use alphabetical format. It is cross-referenced in Spanish and English. It gives tips on precision, pronunciation and sentence structure. If you are confused, this stupendous little softback will steer you in the right direction. If you have but a single book to back up your class struggles with Spanish, this is it, mis amigos. Trust me on this. If you find yourself scratching your head in befuddlement, simply look at the appropriate alphabetical entry. And before you know it, you will be speaking like a native. Or something close to it.

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Holy Grail: A one-stop, easy-to-read grammar guide, July 3, 2000

By 

Andy Orrock (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Buscalo! (Look It Up!) : A Quick Reference Guide to Spanish Grammar and Usage (Paperback)

I'm taking Spanish lessons, and I've spent countless hours researching various grammar tips from a myriad of sources and scribbling them down in a notebook. At times, I get frustrated when my notes start to contradict themselves or otherwise spin out of control. Sound familiar? I've checked with other students of the language and I know this to be a common problem.

That's why coming across 'Buscalo' was such a revelation to me. Here's a *complete* guide to Spanish grammar, beautifully arranged and presented in easy-to-reference alphabetical format. Each item is explained clearly and all exceptions to an item are catalogued and presented in a way that makes proficiency of the langauge seem (finally) within my grasp.

The examples provided always seem to clear up what little ambiguity may have been left by the explanation. My particular hangup has always been when exactly to use the subjunctive mode. It takes 3 and 1/2 pages to do it, but you'll never see a clearer list of examples giving you a flavor of when to employ it.

Get this book + a good dictionary + '501 Spanish Verbs' (Kendris) and you've got a great foundation for learning Spanish.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very useful reference, September 5, 2006

By 

Anthony Louis (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Buscalo! (Look It Up!) : A Quick Reference Guide to Spanish Grammar and Usage (Paperback)

This is a nicely organized book that covers basic topics of Spanish grammar that often confuse people new to the language. It is well organized so you can easily find answers to common questions. The editing is good and I found none of the typos that mar other books on Spanish grammar. All in all I would highly recommend this book to students of the language. It's size is fairly compact so it would be easy to carry on a trip. The reason I gave it only 4 stars is not because of the quality -- which is excellent -- but because of the brevity. I wish there were more examples and some more obscrue topics were covered. Having said that, what the book does cover is extremely well done and I'm very happy to have added this book to my collection.