Customer Reviews

Essential Dutch Grammar (Dover Language Guides Essential Grammar)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book claims to be 'All the grammar really needed for speach and comprehension...', however, there is much more information needed than what is presented in this book.
"Essential Dutch Grammar" is a good primer and introduction to Dutch Grammar- as much as is possible in 100 pages. It includes information on Spelling, Word Order, Negation, Articles & Nouns, Adjectives, Adverbs, Possessives & Possession, Demonstrative adjectives & Pronounes, Pronouns, Verbs, Conjuctions, Prespositions, Telling Time, Idiomatic Constructions and an Appendix.
Each topic is presented first with an introduction, then with the applicable grammar rule followed by examples. This format is more user-friendly than other Dutch Grammar texts on the market.
I'd reccommend this book to beginning students and native speakers who want to brush up on their grammatical skills (for example, those speakers who have emigrated out of Holland/Belgium) - especially since the price is right.
If you'd like a more in-depth study of grammar, then look for "Dutch: A Comprehensive Grammar" by Bruce Donaldson, but also be willing to shell out quite a bit more money.

This is the perfect grammar for anyone who is just starting to learn Dutch. It presents eveything you need to know clearly and concisely without going into unnecessary detail. And it's a bargain! Those who continue studying will eventually need something more detailed, but this is definitely the place to start. For advanced students I recommend the excellent Dutch: A Comprehensive Grammar by Bruce Donaldson (Routledge), but I found it to be too much information for beginners.

I'm just a beginner in Dutch. And this book is very useful for such students. The essential grammar is explained very clear that is very important, especially for students for whom English is not native (my case). But of course to use this book without additional course or books is not enough. So it's a good reference where you have to look at sometimes. And I recommend to buy some other course for more complete study of Dutch.

Definitely a good book to give you an overview of the essentials of Dutch grammar. If you need something a little meatier, though, I highly recommend "Dutch: A Comprehensive Grammar" by Bruce Donaldson (Routledge Press). The price difference is significant, but you get what you pay for.

This book is a perfect example of a good thing delivering to its promises.

If you want to a understand the most important elements of the Dutch grammar, buy this book. If you want to know Dutch grammar at a level beyond intermediate, then you need extra material.

However, "Essential Dutch Grammar" not only presents the simple things in a simple manner, it summarizes the most frequently used mechanisms of the language.

So, with this book you get the most for the least.

This book is quite useful if you already have a companion pronunciation book or cd. It explains the Dutch grammar well, but for a beginner, you may wish to start with something else. Not bad as a supplement to another language book.

I'm just starting to study Dutch so that I can talk with a friend of mine from Belgium. I've already bought courses which work very well, such as Hugo. However, the grammer in my courses is spread throughout the book. I wanted a simple reference guide, and this is perfect. It has everything you need when you're learning Dutch, or when simply refreshing your knowledge of it. It's different from other reference books, because it doesn't just give you the information, nor does it give you complicated explanations. It's very easy to understand, and I guess that's why non-native of English speakers enjoy it also. To top all of that off, it's at a very good price. I fully recommend it.

I am a so-called beginner in studying Dutch. The ¡§Essential Dutch Grammar¡¨ is very clear. I must say this book is very helpful for such learners as me. Even the concepts of the grammar are very important, but you will find there is no difficulty to understand the details of them. Most special of all, it is very easy for students who are not native English speakers. Although it is a piece of cake to use the book, yet at the thoughts of mine it is not exactly enough for everyone. That is to say, you need to seek for more books & audio courses. As the result, I suggest, whether everyone finishes this ¡§Essential Dutch Grammar¡¨ or not, he/she also has to buy and to consult more books which is related to this topic. To sum up, I have to tell you, this book is the key for the beginners to open the door of studying Dutch; however, for the learners who have complete the basic courses, you would not be satisfied with it.

I think that this book is an asset for the elementary level. Grammar is explained very clearly and really sets one up to begin reading and constructing sentances in Dutch. The concise format of the book was also extremely helpful for reviewing rules and constructions before quizzes.

I took one semester of Dutch at the college level and I thought I had hardly gotten anywhere, but I learned more than is in this book. This book is lacking on details where it wouldn't take too long to provide them. For example, the book mentions there are several diminutive endings for Dutch nouns and provides a few examples. But it doesn't bother to explain when to use the different types of endings, which is important to know and would not take long to explain. Thus, it is useless to know in the first place that there are different endings if you don't know when to use each one. This book does not explain the essentials as it claims. If you know hardly anything, it's a nice un-intimidating starting point, but if you are looking for something more detailed or technical, get Dutch: A Comprehensive Grammar (Comprehensive Grammars). I wish I hadn't spent the $7 I did on this book and had gotten Donaldson's in the first place.