Customer Reviews

Spanish Grammar Drills

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Okay, based only on the contents, I would definitely give this book five stars. I'm subtracting a star, however, for its mis-marketing and mislabeling. It is marketed as a beginning/intermediate workbook. And it's just not. The contents are actually more appropriate for high intermediate or advanced students of Spanish, I would say.

The book is interesting in that it covers many of the more sophisticated topics that beginner/intermediate grammar workbooks do, but it covers them at a higher level. It's more of a "sticky point" clarification/practice grammar workbook. From the very beginning, the book assumes that you have a good knowledge of the entire verb system (both simple and compound tenses) and a pretty extensive vocabulary. It does hold off on the subjunctive for a time, but it goes right into some pretty sophisticated sentence constructs from the start.

One reviewer mentions that the book is confusing--it's not confusing if you're fairly comfortable with Spanish grammar. It's challenging, but not confusing. HOWEVER, if you don't have a command of elementary grammar, I can tell you that you will definitely be confused and/or really stretched early in the book. You probably won't be ready for this one.

However, if you've been through some of the other grammar workbooks and are looking for something more challenging and sophisticated, this might just be the ticket. As for the content, I'd say it is excellent practice--but then again, I'm pretty comfortable with Spanish grammar. Even at that, I was stretched at times. I like the way this book starts right off with more advanced sentence structures than I've seen in any of the other Spanish grammar books I've gone through (and I have gone through quite a number of them). It also works into some things that I've not seen at all in other Spanish grammar books. It's an excellent book, just be aware that it's not really appropriate for a beginner as the books cover mistakenly indicates.

PS: For those of you who are a bit more advanced, this same author (Vallecillos) has just released "Advanced Spanish Grammar" that you might also consider to supplement this one. It looks to be a great book. I just got it and will write a review when I get into it a bit more.

I am a beginner and this book says "Perfect for beginners" on the front. No way! There are no English translations, the vocabulary is very difficult, even using a separate spanish dictionary i couldn't get the right answers for many questions, or find definitions for some words. I thought it must be supposed to go along with a text book or something because there is an answer guide but no explanation of how to get the answers yourself. I'll try again in a few years!

This is a good book for drills. It covers a lot of confusing grammar points well. However, this is not a book for the kindle. The answer key is in the back and even when you bookmark it, it is difficult going back and forward. I would buy this book in paper form.

it's good for someone who is an advanced learner. it has a few things in it that i didn't find in other grammar books. highly reccommended for intermediate to advanced learners

When I critique a book, I do so on its own terms, meaning that I try to evaluate the book according to the extent to which it meets its goals. Consequently, I have reviewed some books highly, even though I personally did not benefit from them as much as I would have liked.

This book fails to meet its goals. It claims to be a book "perfect for beginners" that contains "comprehensive descriptions," and helps learners "gain confidence." However, this book is not for beginners and does not instill confidence. The explanations of grammar are cryptic, incomplete, and insufficient to help the learners respond to many of the drills correctly. The drills often struck me as trying to be tricky. For example, one of the exercises required filling in the blank with the appropriate definite article, but the correct answer given in the appendix was for an indefinite article. There is the need for a book on Spanish drills in the McGraw-Hill series. However, this is not it. I have rated other McGraw-Hill books highly, especially those which are part of the Practice-Makes-Perfect series. This book is below the standards I have come to expect from the McGraw-Hill books for Spanish learners.

There is a lot of material out there for beginning spanish learning and I would NOT recommend this book for beginners. I had reached the point where I knew a lot of words and still struggled to put the words I knew into sentences. This book helped me immensely. It takes you to the next step where you have to think in spanish, and I found this to be invaluable. I would highly recommend this for students who want to break out of beginner spanish.

As other reviewers have warned, this book is not for beginners. I am a teacher and hoped to gift this book to some of my more promising high school students, but the explanations at the beginning of each unit are not detailed enough for beginning learners. The author presupposes that users have a good grasp of the tenets of Spanish grammar and should not market this book as an aide for beginners. Even college level Spanish students would have some problems completing the exercises based solely on the notes provided by this book. The section on object pronouns has proven to be the most disappointing for me. Should be advertised "for advanced intermediate learners".

I just finish reading this book yesterday. I read all the short explanations at the beginning of each chapter and did all the drills that make up the bulk of each chapter. I learned a lot, even though--or probably because--I had lived in Latin America for a total of three years, have visited Latin America about eight times and speak Spanish fluently (but not perfectly). As mentioned by other reviewers, this is not a book for beginners. It is not a book for the faint in heart who wants to casually read Spanish grammar rules. The drills are hard work! But they are worth the effort.

So here's a summary of the things that you should know about this book:
1. It requires an already good vocabulary in Spanish and the ability to conjugate all forms of verbs--or the willingness to learn these things as you go along.
2. It focuses on Spain Spanish, not Latin American Spanish, in grammar and vocabulary.
3. It doesn't go into long explanation of the grammar on which the drills test you. It assumes that you already know some grammar but now want to understand and practice the nuances in Spanish grammar.
4. It has very few mistakes, many fewer than most Spanish books I have read.
5. The examples given in the explanatory material at the beginning of each chapter are hard to read in the older Kindles. I had to use a magnifying glass. On my iPad and iPhone, however, everything was very readable, as I'm sure it is on the newer Kindles.
6. All the answers to all the drills are given in the back of the book, so you can check yourself as you go along. I usually read the drills on my Kindle, and read the answers on my desktop (using Kindle for the PC).
7. It is one of the best learning tools on the market for intermediate/advance Spanish learners.

In short, if you're serious about learning Spanish, this is one great book!

I bought this book when I started my spanish class in college and it was such a big help throughout all the Spanish classes I had to take. I think this book is great for any beginner who needs help on forming sentences properly. It even gives you an answer key in the back of book where you can check your answers to make sure you did it properly.

I would say this book is a must have for anyone who is wanting a little extra help in learning proper Spanish grammar.

I have been learning Spanish for many years and I found this book to be extremely confusing. Their explanations are definitely incomplete for a beginner and in my opinion an intermediate learner. This book was a complete waste of my time and money. Suggestions: Bergstein's "Easy Spanish Step-By-Step" or Barron's "Spanish Verb Workbook." I found these books much more effective and I actually was able to learn from and finish them.