German Verbs (Pocket verbs) [Paperback]

Henry Strutz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 9, 1990 | ISBN-10: 0812043103 | ISBN-13: 978-0812043105

More than 300 of the most frequently used verbs in German are presented one verb per page, arranged alphabetically for easy location, and fully conjugated.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series (February 9, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812043103
• ISBN-13: 978-0812043105
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 3.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #922,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Achtung!, September 1, 2005

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: German Verbs (Pocket verbs) (Paperback)

Henry Strutz was an associate professor of languages at State University of New York in Alfred, New York, when he put this book together. The volume I have is rather older, however, this kind of book that doesn't really go out of date. Language does change, but the basics of languages remain steady over several generations in general, and German is no exception. The basic core of the language remains constant, so this book holds up over time. Subsequent printings of this book may add a verb here and drop a verb there (there are over 300 verbs laid out here) but the vast majority will remain the same.

I studied German at university almost 25 years ago, and first purchased this book to go along with my studies. While German is fairly standard in the patterns of conjugations for most verbs, German like most languages has exceptions to many rules, including exceptions to some of the most frequently used verbs, such as the verb constructions for to be (English is the same, with this being one of the most difficult verb constructions for non-English speakers to learn). The verb sein (bin, bist, ist, sind, seid, sind) is one of the most important verbs; haben is another important verb, given its 'helping verb' status (true also in English), as it occurs in constructions with other verbs.

There are over 300 verbs here, one each to a page, arranged in alphabetical order. Most of the verbs found in eighty percent or more of regular conversation and general writing are to be found here. Each page is laid out in a logical order with the various tenses and structures in good, easy to follow format.

There is an introduction with a very basic grammar, a discussion of the verb tenses and their uses, different kinds of conjugations, but this should not be confused with being a German grammar or language study. This introductory material is but the briefest of introductions, intended primarily as a refresher for those who have studied German before, or are studying German concurrently with using this text.

Strutz has several indexes in the book, including an English-to-German index of words represented in the text; there is a German-to-English index in the same pattern.

I'm trying to recapture my reading German this year, so that I can do some theological research using various German texts in the coming academic year. I find this book invaluable - it is perhaps of more value when one is trying to write than when one is trying to read, but it is still very useful, so much so that the binding on my copy has cracked from use (as with Strutz's other verb conjugation book).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Durable plastic covers, small size, February 11, 2001

By 

"petersonreviews" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: German Verbs (Pocket verbs) (Paperback)

If you're learning German, this is a good book to have with you, anytime you have some dead time -- waiting for a plane, waiting in a doctor's or dentist's office. Waiting for Godot. You'll eventually make your way through the conjugations of over 300 German verbs, from "achten" to "zwingen."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great in paperback, not so good in the Kindle format, March 13, 2011

By 

Johanna (Virginia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: German Verbs (Pocket verbs) (Paperback)

I returned to study German after a break of many years, and I purchased the book on German Verbs so that I could have a handy, easy to take along reference for German Verbs.

I highly recommend the paper version of this book. It delivers what it promises in terms of "verbs", and is a wonderful companion volume for the other two German books in this series, ie., German Vocabulary, German Grammar.

For a while, I had been searching for a Kindle reference for German language grammar, verbs, even a dictionary.

When I discovered the Kindle version, I optimistically took the sample version that was offered, only to find that the pages offered, couldn't be adjusted for size on the Kindle, and that the size of the print is very very small.

Even so, the teeny letters are helpful, IF you can read them.

I give this book a 4 star rating only because of the Kindle size of the text on the pages. The pages represent a photographic (I think) image of the pages in the paper book, and lose some of their impact as a helpful tool (IN THE KINDLE VERSION) because the characters are so small, and potentially difficult to read.

Otherwise, I love the paper version of this book. It's a wonderful take-along-tool for those who study German.

(My review is for both Paper and Kindle versions of this book)