Customer Reviews

Hammer's German Grammar and Usage

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I'm a grad student who teaches elementary German. Born and raised in the U.S., I learned German as a second language. I've exhausted the grammars I own, but I know that there are still many constructions and subtleties I've never learned. This has become more apparent as I've worked in a department filled with Muttersprachler.

The reviews for Hammer's grammar made it sound perfect for my needs. They were right on! This grammar is 550 pages of DETAILED explanations illustrated by many helpful examples. I've only just begun the first chapter (less than ten pages) and I've already learned invaluable information.

Did you know, for example, that the gender of 80% of all German nouns can be determined just by looking at the form and/or meaning of the noun? I knew of a dozen or so clues, but after working through these first pages I have learned many, many more and am much more confident with using nouns I know for which I've never memorized the article. Only 20% of nouns actually need to have their gender memorized. I'm now working through similar tips for determining the plurals, which are equally easy to determine just by looking at the noun - once you know how.

There is also a small section tucked away in a corner that explains how to determine whether one uses an, auf, in, zu, or nach as a preposition to indicate going "to" a location. I thought these also just had to each be memorized for each possible case. Nope, it's very logical and this book will explain it to you along with countless other details that will bring your German much closer to a native level (like whether to use genitive, "von", or apposition in measurement phrases).

Now, if this is nothing new to you, Hammer might still be helpful (though if your German is really great and you only have problems that natives have, you probably just need to work through the various volumes put out by Duden). I know I've never learned this stuff, and I certainly don't teach it in my college courses. Hammer's grammar is likely too much for beginners (a bit like drinking out of a fire hydrant), but its perfect for intermediate and advanced learners who have questions that have just never been answered by their textbooks or by the grad students who teach them.

Also, the workbook is the newest edition, matching the grammar, even though the image here on Amazon is from the older edition (at least at the time that I am writing this). It has excellent exercises, and I do recommend it. For rounding out your vocab, I recommend Cambridge UP's "Using German Vocabulary." It is far more exhaustive than the vocab books by Baron and others.

EDIT: I wrote this review in December of 2006 and it is now November of 2009. This grammar has proven to be indispensable. I have read it cover to cover multiple times now and refer to it consistently as both a student and teacher of German.

As far as the discussion on the index and cross-referencing here in the reviews is concerned: I think they are both great. They make it so easy to find anything I have a question about quickly. In three years, I have not yet been let down by the index and can find what I need in at most 30 seconds. The table of contents has also proven to be useful as I've gotten more familiar with the book and need to find a specific point quickly.

Hammer's has also proven to be very useful for producing translations in my academic writing. The section discussing all of the subtle shades of meaning added by modal particles has been especially useful in accurately rendering the nuances of the original (modal particles are words that add expression or attitude like auch when it doesn't mean "also," ja when it doesn't mean "yes," or doch; there are 36 of them). In many other respects Hammer's helps me produce accurate translations when unabridged dictionaries let me down.

I've only grown in appreciation of Hammer's thoroughness and its clarity. Every serious student of German should own a copy.

This book is an excellent reference material for intermediate to advanced students of German. To be more precise, I would recommend it for those who have studied German in high school or college for a year or more. In 542 pages, it covers all the major areas of German grammar in considerable depth. Extensive examples and exceptions are provided. The organization of the book is logical and understandable, and the table of contents helps one to find what one is seeking. My main qualm is with the index. It is split into three parts: a German word index, an English word index, and a topic index. The German word index is for finding notes and examples on the use of specific German words. The English word index is for finding ways to express English concepts in German. The topic index is supposed to be much like a conventional index as you would find in any reference book. The problem is that the indices are poorly organized and not particularly useful. I almost never find myself using the word indices, as they usually don't point to particularly useful or applicable information. (A much better resource for looking up the usage of specific German words is Langenscheidts DaF Großwörterbuch, and any good English-German dictionary, such as Harper Collins College Dictionary, is quite suitable for looking up ways to express English concepts in German.) The topic index is OK, but needs more entries and more depth to be of much use. In a reference book such as this one, indices are quite important, and more attention should be paid to them here. Nonetheless, the book is well worth the list price of 29.95 USD or 41.95 CAD.

As as German minor, I figured it would do me a bunch of good to have something on hand that can answer my "quick" German grammer problems. Wow! Was I in for a treat when I got this book. It is absolutely great! Not only does it explain almost any problem that you could ever encounter, but it also gives great examples, so you don't struggle to figure out how to use it correctly based on the definition alone. The index is super! You can look up a word such as "neben" and it gives the exact local of it. I assumed the index would be a bit more ambiguous (I guess that is the appropriate word in this case), but it is so precise that it makes finding any problem easy. Each chapter is labeled and classified, so if you are having problems with pronouns, per say, then you can simply turn to the section and have at it. There are charts throughout, too, which help if you are in a hurry. However, I would definitely NOT depend on this book if I had no idea what I was doing in German to begin with. The grammer problems/solutions are quick and to the point, so if you don't know what you are doing to begin with, then this will just confuse you more. This is definitely a book for those intermediate or advanced in this language. I classify this book as a MUST for any serious learner of German.

This isn't for beginners. It's like a Turabian or Strunk and White for German--in English. Easy to find specific parts of grammar you need help with, and also good to start from beginning and go to end. Can't recommend highly enough--wish I had this 30 years ago when I first studied German!

This book takes a slightly abstract approach to classifying the material -- the zero article, the valence of verbs. I found this helpful. But mostly it has a lot of clear explanations and examples of each point.

Not suitable as a first book or even a first grammar book.

this is the absolute best grammar book that i have ever seen... but unless you already speak german very well, this book will be too advanced for you... if you already speak good german, but you want to further your knowledge, then this book has EVERYTHING, and in detail... and most of the examples DO have english translations. the ones that do not have them, are done solely for syntactic purposes, where a translation is not needed... anyway, if you are in a 200+ level college course in german, i suggest this book... ive read pretty much every page, and its priceless... absolutely fantastic.

I have been a student of German ever since I was a young boy. It

was my grandmother's native tongue, and my father taught me some

at home. I was in the U.S. Army, stationed in different areas of Germany during different European tours of duty throughout my military career.

I have always had problems with German grammar. I would now like to state that Hammer's German Grammar & Usage is by far the very best book anyone could possibly need for improving their German language skills.

It outclasses and outstrips books such as Routledge's "Modern German Grammar", and also "Handbuch zur Deutschen Grammatik" by miles. I found the Routledge grammar book to be way too technical

in many aspects. The Handbuch zur Deutschen Grammatik did not give quite enough information on usage in my opinion.

Hammers is the very best bet when it comes to quality of information, quantity of examples, and most importantly EASE of use! I give this book 5 stars, and if I could personally shake hands with and personally thank the aurthors, I would!

In conclusion, I regard Hammers as the Summa Cum Laude of affordable German Grammar books.

HGGU is an excellent supplement to any German major/minor! I strongly reccommend this book solely for more advanced German speakers and those who understand the grammatical functions of language. If you are new to German, this is probably not the best way to start. But, if you are concentrating on all of the ins and outs of the language, this is the book for you. It is very specific to all aspects of grammar, offering examples, exceptions (because there are ALWAYS exceptions to the rules in German) and even often quoting German authors such as Boell. I highly recommend it, since my professor is one of those who worked on previous editions, and I know the amount of knowledge and breadth that was put into this book.
Echt toll!

This is a fantastic book for intermediate-level German and above.
Excellent, clear examples are given throughout. Occasionally it may be difficult to locate specific areas, due to the Dewey-decimal-like system used to label sections.

What makes this book so useful is that it will cover *every* grammar issue a student could possibly encounter in the classroom during a complete study of the language. I used this book starting in my 3rd year of college, and it has continued to be of tremendous value long thereafter.

Excellent examples, exceptions to the rules... all clearly described.

This book is a must for the serious German student. It's wonderful to have as a reference. I also highly recommend the workbook that is sold separately. It will keep you busy for a long time. This book still has German written in the pre-Rechtschreibreform style, but there are notes explaining when certain things are now used or written differently. This is written from a British point of view, so the English in it not necessarily used in America, but that makes no difference. It's an excellent book.