Customer Reviews

Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide (Modern Grammars)

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Publicity on this grammar highlights that differences are explained between Peninsular Spanish and Latin American varieties, but these explanations are skimpy and unclear. This is still a grammar for Castilian.

The promised explanations on Latin American language variants would have been particularly useful in the chapters 'Social contacts and communication strategies', 'Expressing emotional attitudes', 'The language of persuasion', but unless yours destination is Spain you are left very much in the dark.

I bought this grammar hoping it would help me in my translation work for Latin America and it would help me understand, be understood and function socially in the Mexican society. It has been a disappointment in that it does not give you much for that. It is also a bit dated, there is no reference to email, mobiles, text messages, etc. Not all bad, but it could be much better. Above all, pitty it does not keep the Latin American promise!

This grammar guide is split into two main parts: the typical reference grammar (that any language learner is surely familiar with) and a functional grammar section, which is the larger part of the book. With these two sections, each grammatical topic or point is covered at least twice from different perspectives.

The reference section is what one would expect. It lists all the usual goodies for the Spanish language--verb tenses and conjugations, pronouns, reflexive constructs, por/para, ser/estar, subjunctive, etc. Each rule or concept gets a clear, brief explanation and a few examples. If anything beyond this is needed, topics are cross-referenced to other parts of the book where they are covered further. With the cross referencing, it's pretty extensive and I think it would be rare for the typical Spanish learner to need anything more. When that rare occasion arises, there is of course, the 700-page micro-font reference grammar that can be dusted off as needed. :)

The second section of the book is functional grammar, which is the same material approached from a different angle--that of practical usage. I really like this idea. We have a communication-oriented perspective with chapters entitled Reporting, Making Comparisons, Expressing Changes, Expressing Needs, Expressing Conditions, Expressing Desires, and so on. We see how the grammar fits into the actual usage of the language. So, we may get many grammar points from the reference section used in one functional section. We get the actual practical side of things--a less terse, less mechanical, more "down to earth" way of presenting things. This section could be read through like a lesson book or it could be used as a refresher on topics that are a bit foggy. In fact, this section is sort of like a grammar workbook without the practice problems (actually, there is a practice problem workbook available).

Anything bad here? Well... I think the section headings and fonts could have been presented and organized a bit more effectively in general. But that's not to detract from what is here; it's a great book and I think it will be a very useful addition to any Spanish learners library. I see "Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide" as sort of a Swiss-army-knife for grammar. Now that I have it, it will probably be the first place I go when I have a Spanish grammar or concept question. Truly, if one could remember all the stuff in this book, one would REALLY know Spanish well!

I really like this book. It has a good, detailed index that can take you straight to quite obscure points of grammar. The explanations are very concise but sometimes that is just what you need. It is also an interesting book to browse through and review points that are easily forgotten. For what it sets out to do and for the way I want to use it I find it excellent.

a book to use beside your dictionary in understanding contexts of words, as well as a book you can pick up and study through a chapter on one particular theme. an excellent investment for beginners through to intermediate.

I got both the workbook and the textbook. I found them both confusing, with each item of grammar insufficiently explained. These books might work fine in a classroom setting with an instructor to clarify things, but I do not recommend them for use on one's own

I have in my hands Modern Spanish Grammar Workbook 2nd edition ISBN: 0415273064
which, according to the back cover, goes with Modern Spanish Grammar 2nd edition ISBN: 0415273048

I have in my hands Modern Spanish Grammar A Practical Guide 2nd edition ISBN: 0415273048
which, according to the back cover, goes with Modern Spanish Grammar Workbook 2nd edition ISBN: 0415273064

I can't explain the different ISBN of this book:
Modern Spanish Grammar A Practical Guide 2nd edition
ISBN-10: 041527303X
ISBN-13: 978-0415273039
I wonder what workbook it matches?