The Oxford Paperback Spanish Dictionary and Grammar [Paperback]

Christine Lea (Editor), John Butt (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198600798 | ISBN-13: 978-0198600794 | Publication Date: November 6, 1997

The Oxford Paperback Spanish Dictionary and Grammar is a complete and handy reference to the Spanish language. It has been designed to meet the needs of students at all levels, as well as the needs of tourists and business people. Offering extensive guidance to the meaning and use of over 45,000 words and phrases, and 70,000 translations, including up-to-date information on colloquial and technical words, this new reference book for modern Spanish and English covers the grammar of international Spanish, providing Latin-American usage wherever educated usage differs markedly from the European. The Grammar section offers full and clear coverage of the construction of the language, including explanations of the differences between spoken and written Spanish (with helpful examples taken from everyday speech, newspapers, and magazines), and separate sections on word order, prepositions and their use, punctuation, and up-to-date information on colloquial and technical words. With many example sentences showing words in use, helpful tips on translation problems and pronunciation traps, verb tables showing how to conjugate irregular verbs, and a comprehensive glossary of grammatical terms, this new reference book offers swift and easy-to-use reference for all aspects of the Spanish language. For those just learning the French or those fine-tuning their language skills, this is an essential resource.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Leave it to Oxford University Press to produce the definitive portable Spanish reference. Lightweight, wide-ranging, and easily legible, it combines a Spanish-English dictionary, an English-Spanish dictionary, and a lucid grammar text in one convenient volume. The dictionary is up-to-date on its colloquialisms and technical terms, and it provides translations for over 50,000 words and phrases. There's a complete glossary of grammatical terms and a full index, as well. And, while linguaphobes may doubt such a thing is possible, the grammar portion is a delight. With easy-to-comprehend sections on pronouns, negations, affective suffixes, questions, conjunctions, all the verb forms, and translation traps, it eases the lives of students, business folk, and travelers dusting off their high school español. --Stephanie Gold

Language Notes

Text: English, Spanish

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 864 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 6, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198600798
• ISBN-13: 978-0198600794
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,658,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a good descriptive work, May 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Oxford Paperback Spanish Dictionary and Grammar (Paperback)

A handy combination of a good dictionary with a superb grammar. What I like most about this work is the descriptive nature : it is not a normative book, but describes the reality of the Spanish language as such, which makes it less useful maybe for the beginning student, but the more for intermediate and advanced levels. It includes sections on language varieties, even specifying the individual Latin countries when appropriate. If only they could publish this style of books for other languages too! I discovered the book through a Spanish friend who was using it as didactic material for her Spanish courses for foreigners in Sevilla.

3.0 out of 5 stars Light, but not very efficient and not the best for reference, February 6, 2002

By 

"zara_azari" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Paperback Spanish Dictionary and Grammar (Paperback)

If you only need a small dictionary, I suppose this one will do. But don't expect anything else. The book's big grammar section is not useful at all. You have to be extemely patient to read through it. In addition to the small print, this section is confusing and badly organized. This book is definitely NOT handy for a quick grammar reference.

I would prefer that instead of cramming everything together publishers gave more space to the dictionary part, including more words and using a bigger print, and then may be inserted some reference table (verbs, etc.) for people who have studied Spanish grammar before.

I think you should look around for similar items before settling on this one.