Russian Grammar (Barron's Grammar) [Paperback]

Natalia Lusin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 13, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0812049020 | ISBN-13: 978-0812049022

This concise handbook covers parts of speech, verbs, the Russian case system, the Cyrillic alphabet, spelling rules and pronunciation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series (November 13, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812049020
• ISBN-13: 978-0812049022
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 3.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #663,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Russian
  • #19 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Russian
  • #22 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Chinese

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An ok pocket guide, November 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Russian Grammar (Barron's Grammar) (Paperback)

I bought this book several years back. The grammar that was in it was very basic and was not always helpful in understanding how to use Russian grammar properly. But if you are just starting out and you only have room to fit it in your pocket, then I'd say go ahead. But I would recommend a more comprehensive grammar book for those who want to speak a little more clearly.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Russian Grammar Book for beginners, April 18, 2008

By 

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

This review is from: Russian Grammar (Barron's Grammar) (Paperback)

This Russian grammar book is not the most comprehensive grammar, but it's very good for beginners or anyone who needs a quick reference guide.

The book's explanation on aspect in Russian verbs is very clear as well. It explains that the imperfective past is used for processes, whereas the perfective past is used for results. After closer inspection, I realized that these two past tenses are identical to the imperfect and preterit tenses in Spanish. So if you're studying Russian past tenses, you may be able to use the acronyms that I explain in my book on Spanish grammar.

Imperfective Past HIDE

Habitual Actions (used to + VERB)

Incoplete Actions (was/were + ING form)

Descriptions in the past

Emotions/Feelings (most of the time)

Perfectice Past STARS

Sudden Ocurrence

Time Limit/Complete Actions

Action Disrupts action of Imperfective Verb

Result/Reaction

Series of Distinct Events or Instances

Brandon Simpson

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great grammatical overview, May 19, 2007

By 

Anyechka (Rensselaer, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Russian Grammar (Barron's Grammar) (Paperback)

One shouldn't mistake this book for what it's not. This is a compact-sized reference guide to all of the basics of Russian grammar (plus some other subjects such as pronunciation, idioms, the use of ty vs. vy when addressing someone, and numbers). It's not meant to be the be-all and end-all guide of Russian language instruction; unless you're supplementing this with lessons or with another more thorough book on the language, you're not going to become fluent in Russian by a long shot. It plays the type of role a foreign language dictionary does; sure it contains a lot of information and basics, but you can't do anything with it if it's your only instructional volume.

Grammatical topics covered include when to use which case (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, and prepositional), the declensions themselves (which really aren't that hard to master once you've learnt the basic forms), word order, the different types of adjectives (e.g., superlative, interrogative, demonstrative, descriptive), the different types of pronouns (e.g., intensive, negative, indefinite, reflexive), forming imperative and conditional verbs, adverbs, basic verb conjugation, prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, telling time, and talking about the weather. Overall, it's a great compact resource, and in addition to being used in conjunction with a Russian class, can also be used in preparation for starting a Russian class or to brush up on one's Russian after not having used it for awhile.