Practice Makes Perfect: The Spanish Subjunctive Up Close (Practice Makes Perfect Series) [Paperback]

Eric Vogt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071492259 | ISBN-13: 978-0071492256 | Publication Date: July 9, 2008 | Edition: 1

Get up close and master Spanish subjunctive

As you study Spanish you may see the subjunctive as an obstacle to your full understanding of the language. Learning the subjunctive can be one of the most frustrating aspects of Spanish grammar, but it is also one of the most important for being understood and understanding what others say. By adding Spanish pronouns to your range of language skills, you will open up a whole new world of communication.

With plenty of opportunities for practice, practice, practice, Practice Makes Perfect: The Spanish Subjunctive Up Close helps you better understand the nuances of this often-confusing grammar element and develop your skills and confidence as a Spanish speaker with:

• Easy-to-absorb explanatory materials, examples, and exercises
• Authoritative guidance on how to form the four subjunctive tenses and when to use them
• A comprehensive answer key that not only gives you the correct solutions to the exercises but explains the why behind them

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eric Vogt, Ph.D., teaches Spanish at Seattle Pacific University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (July 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071492259
• ISBN-13: 978-0071492256
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #87,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric W. Vogt was born September 15, 1955 in Williamsburg, Virginia. An interesting beginning for one who would go on to become a professor of Golden Age Spanish literature. His passion for the literature of the two centuries of Spain's world empire has driven him to take original manuscripts from the period to produce several critical volumes of drama, poetry and music. He also loves the Spanish language for its own elegance and is passionate about teaching it and making it more teachable.

He is unusual for a Ph.D. because he left academia to create and administer The American National Red Cross Biomedical Translation Bureau for three years. When he returned to academic life in the mid 1990s, he almost immediately published a critical edition and his own translation of St. Teresa of Avila's Complete Poetry -- with a foreword by His Eminence Jaime Cardinal L. Sin of the Republic of the Philippines.

Dr. Vogt enjoys the freedom and opportunities for diffusing knowledge that the internet creates. In very real ways, it is a world that many Renaissance thinkers envisioned.

He has taught international business communications as a member of the faculty of Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management, including some time in Guadalajara, Jalisco. He also teaches privately, online, to specialists in various fields as well as courses to teach translation at www.spanishfacetoface.com.

He keeps busy teaching classes on translation and reviewing books about translation. He frequently writes about language learning and translation on his blog: www.languagelearningtranslation.blogspot.com.

However, his main passion of late has been writing books to help students and teachers of Spanish. He has published three books with McGraw-Hill dealing with aspects of Spanish grammar that are problematic for English speakers: the subjunctive, the pronoun system and the past tenses. He has also published a phrase book for tourists bound for Mexico.

Stay tuned, too, because McGraw Hill has just asked him to write another to address the problem of irregular verbs!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Book on the Subjunctive, July 15, 2008

By 

Brandon Simpson "Small Town Press" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Practice Makes Perfect: The Spanish Subjunctive Up Close (Practice Makes Perfect Series) (Paperback)

I've always thought that the Spanish subjunctive was so complicated that it could be covered in a book by itself. I've always hoped for such a book, too. Following is its table of contents:

1. When to use the subjunctive and how to form its four tenses
2. Sequence of tenses and the subjunctive
3. Subordinated noun clauses
4. Subordinated adjective clauses
5. Adverbial expressions
6. Contrary-to-fact statements
7. Comprehensive exercises

The author states early in the book that many Spanish students assume that the subjunctive is all about doubt. The author is quick to explain that this assumption is problematic. The use of the subjunctive in doubt or uncertainty is only ONE of its many uses. I'm glad there's a book on the subjunctive that addresses this issue. I used to tutor a student in Spanish who thought the subjunctive was all about doubt. And trying to get her to understand that there was more to the subjunctive than just doubt was a difficult task.

The book explains how to conjugate all four tenses in the subjunctive, then it moves on to its uses. This book explains the uses of the subjunctive in the same order as many other books. First, it explains its uses in nominal clauses, then it moves on to adjective clauses, adverbial clauses, and contrary-to-fact statements. The end of the book has exercises.

I think this book is incredible, but I personally don't think it's a good idea to explain all four tenses at once. I think it's better to start out with the present subjunctive, learn how to use it, and then move on to the other tenses. The author mentions the future subjunctive and the future perfect subjunctive, but he doesn't explain how to use them. I wish he had; it's difficult to find reference materials that explain the future subjunctive.

I highly recommend this book. 5 stars!!!

Brandon Simpson

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Done!, September 23, 2008

By 

Chris A. Christopherson "christcr" (Provo, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Practice Makes Perfect: The Spanish Subjunctive Up Close (Practice Makes Perfect Series) (Paperback)

This is a very impressive little book. There are two main reasons it works nicely for me:

* This author knows his stuff and has a knack for explaining the material logically, to the point, and without unnecessary extra baggage. The concepts are conveyed VERY well--probably better than any language instruction author I've read.

* A rather uncommon approach is taken (which should be mimicked by other authors!): he does not separate the four common tenses of the subjunctive mood. The need for the subjunctive is explained as a whole, and then the four tenses' usage is put into an almost mathematical "if ... then ..." clause format. It's all presented as a unified concept and the reader is given lots of practice with intermingled usage requirements: subjunctive/indicative, past/present, four subjunctive tenses.

This approach is very effective pedagogically, at least for me, and has really helped me to clear up and REMEMBER the subjunctive mood in general. Other books give you the four tenses of the subjunctive mood one at a time. There is no cohesion or review. Once you go through say the imperfect subjunctive, you never see it again and it's gone from your mind in a week. In this book, it's all presented and drilled together. This is great practice in sorting out the various subjunctive tenses/usage and also in knowing when the subjunctive should NOT be used.

So, yeah, buy it!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Regrettable, February 3, 2010

By 

Garrett Olney (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Practice Makes Perfect: The Spanish Subjunctive Up Close (Practice Makes Perfect Series) (Kindle Edition)

This refers only to the Kindle edition. I love the text of the book. However, the heart of the book are the exercises. Regrettably, the exercises are in miniscule type that cannot be enlarged. You'll need a large reading magnifying glass to view this book on Kindle. This problem with Kindle is not unique to this book, unfortunately. Maybe Amazon should provide Kindle buyers with magnifying glasses??? Buyer beware!!