Essential German Grammar [Paperback]

Martin Durrell (Author), Katrin Kohl (Author), Gudrun Loftus (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071413383 | ISBN-13: 978-0071413381 | Publication Date: April 22, 2003 | Edition: 1

Lively and easy to use, with clear explanations, authentic examples, and visually appealing tables, Essential German Grammar combines a concise, introductory-level reference book with the review benefits of a workbook to provide students with a solid foundation in German. Distilling essential components of Hammer's German Grammar & Usage, this versatile guide for beginning and intermediate learners features two-color tables to simplify learning; varied, study-friendly exercises for grammar consolidations; a glossary of grammatical terms; and much more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The description of German offered to the student is clear and accesible, but we are nevertheless not given a misleadingly simplistic and decontextualised picture of modern German. Essential German Grammer is eminently suitable for learning and revision purposes in the sixth form. It is an extremely well put together volume and can teach many teachers a thing or two and introduce some of them to a thoroughly modern approach to grammar and methodology. -- Association of Modern German Studies Website. 20030117 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

The student-friendly handbook that combines authoritativeness with clarity

Written by renowned experts in the field, Essential German Grammar is an all-in-one introductory-level grammar that provides you with a firm foundation on which to build your German skills. The essential elements of German grammar are presented in an accessible manner to help you memorize the specifics as well as develop an appreciation of how German grammar operates as a system.

This book includes:

• Clear explanations of the essential rules (with the most useful rules shown up front) that you need to know and a wide range of authentic examples
• Numerous two-color tables to help clarify difficult concepts and to aid in self-review
• A separate exercise section and answer key to give you the opportunity to test yourself and put into practice what you have learned
• A glossary for concise explanation of grammatical concepts

Designed for beginning and intermediate-level students, this all-in-one title can be used as a free-standing grammar or as a primer for the more advanced Hammer's German Grammar and Usage--recognized as the most authoritative reference on this subject in English.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (April 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071413383
• ISBN-13: 978-0071413381
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #816,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Grammar Book on the Market, January 24, 2006

By 

Annie "American Student" (Regensburg, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential German Grammar (Paperback)

This book is about double the price of most German grammar books on the market. But it is worth every penny. I have at least 4 other grammar books at home, but they only offer one or two examples to demonstrate the new grammar in use. They are printed in one color, utilize few charts, graphs, and photos and are insanely boring to read. Grammar is not the most exiting subject, so I was thrilled to find this book that utilized multiple fonts, font sizes, colors, graphs, charts, etc. to spice it up a bit. The dual color printing adds to the clarity as well, making is easier to find topics and understand charts. In addition, the book gives you far more than one or two examples per topic. Another bonus is that the book offers both a figurative and literal translation of the German sentences in English. Most grammar books only offer the figurative. For example, the author writes the German sentence, "Ich warte darauf, dass er mich anruft". The figurative translation is, "I'm waiting for him to ring me up" and the literal translation is, "I'm waiting for it that he rings me up". Examples such as this help one understand the German sentence structure better and how it compares to English. The only part of this book that I don't utilize is the section in the back of the book with practice exercises and answer key. I find that this section just adds to the bulk of the book as I pack it back and forth to my class everyday where my teachers give me plenty of exercises to practice with. I guess that this section would add to the value of the book if you were teaching yourself German. Over all, you can't go wrong by adding this book to your collection!

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT, GREAT, GREAT!, April 10, 2004

By 

Daniel W. Spigelmyer (Snyder County, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential German Grammar (Paperback)

I found this book to be exactly what it says it is: essential! I consult it almost everytime that I write something to my penpal, or for my german class, or for myself. I especially like the different colors and typefaces (bold, italicized) to help make sure that you don't miss what the concept in that section is trying to get accross. Another great aspect is that the book doesn't seem to be satified with just one example, it gives you at least two, or three, sometimes even four examples of the way that this concept is implemented. I have many German grammar books, and I find this one to be the best of the collection. This book is a must have for any learner of German.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Choice Out of a Strong Field, December 11, 2006

By 

Steven Larsen (Philadelphia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential German Grammar (Paperback)

Easy to understand and thorough explanations along with a clear, well ordered layout make this a stand out among the field of German grammar books. Schaum's is good, if a bit boring, but if you don't mind spending a few dollars more, this one is worth it and will probably serve you better. Since I am studying on my own, the exercises are essential. You can't really understand the grammar point until you apply the rule a few times yourself. This feature gives Essential Grammar an advantage over he pure reference grammar.