Customer Reviews

Spanish Phrases For Dummies

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this book because I thought it would be helpful. After taking it home and reading it, I didn't like it at all.

This book gives you full sentences, with full translation, and pronunciation guide. It doesn't break it down into translating the sentence word by word.

For example:
No, es muy facil.
No, ehs mooy fah seel.
No, it's very easy.

So in order to say the sentence, you have to remember how to say the entire sentence. They do not translate each word. So let's say you couldn't remember the whole sentence but you could only remember the one word, the word for easy. It would be helpful to know the Spanish word for 'easy' was but this book only tells you the full sentence.

See the picture above.

In addition, the sentences are NOT flexible. You should be able to use the sentence in a variety of ways and build up your vocabulary and sentence usage. For example, they could also write: No, its very ... difficult, big, small, blue, hot, etc.

I thought of keeping it and buying another one. But why keep the book if I didn't even like it. In fact, I found a better one "Rick Steves' Spanish Phrase Book and Dictionary" and was even cheaper!

Rick Steves' Spanish book, like many others I saw at the bookstore, had a brief built-in Spanish-English and English-Spanish dictionary in the back of the book. Very helpful!

This Spanish phrases for Dummies had NO dictionary in the back. As you can see from the picture above, it would only give you a short vocabulary list of maybe 5 or 10 "words to know".

Therefore, this book is NOT helpful for learning vocabulary or expanding your sentence variation. It's just that, Spanish phrases.

My 11-year-old granddaughter and I each have this book, which we use to study Spanish together...she in another state several hundred miles from me...via e-mail. We are just beginners, and this book is ideal for looking up simple phrases to exchange. It is such a neat way to share a learning experience with a loved grandchild!

Easy to read and learn Spanish phrases. A great complimentary guide to Spanish for Dummies.

Divided into thirteen chapters discussing topics such I Say It How? Speaking Spanish, Grammar on a Diet: Just the Basics, Numerical Gumbo: Counting of All Kinds, and Making New Friends and Enjoying Small Talk, Spanish Phrases For Dummies takes learners on an exciting Spanish learning journey. The multifaceted nature of this book will allow learners to add a few words and phrases to their vocabulary; assist those travelling to Spanish-speaking countries with their daily ventures; and students who are eager to build their Spanish language skills without the traditional classroom Spanish resources.

For those who have never studied Spanish before, it is advisable that you read chapters one and two before jumping into the later chapters. These chapters will provide you with the platform that is required to initially immerse yourself in the Spanish language. The author provides an easy guide for learners to adapt to the book's layout. Spanish terms, pronunciations, and stressed syllables are boldfaced, italicized, and underlined respectively. Also, the key words and phrases of each chapter is placed into a list with the heading "Words to Know." Icons are also placed in the left margin of the book so learners can easily find the information they require. Learners have the liberty of studying the book from the beginning, or selecting a chapter that interests them. They can also study the chapters at their own pace, reviewing as much or as little as they desire, thus making their Spanish learning experience a fun and enjoyable one that is free of any restrictions.

Some other products that I recommend for Spanish language learners are Rosetta Stone Spanish. Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America) Level 1,2,3,4 & 5 Set with Audio Companion. Rather expensive but excellent for the visual learner like myself and great for kids or anyone who does not need a lot of Spanish grammar explanations. In order to speak Spanish fluently, you must also learn lots of new words.

A resource that highly recommend for adding new words to your Spanish vocabulary is Quick Study-Spanish Vocabulary Flash Cards-1000 cards It is a tremendous bargain for the price since you get 1,000 of these cards.

For learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs, the best product is the Verbarrator Version 1.1 (Windows Version) software. This Verbarrator actually replaces the boring Spanish verb conjugation books and makes learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs one of the most fun parts of learning Spanish. Another feature that I like about this interactive software is that it really helped improve my pronunciation.
The last product that I recommend for anyone who is really serious about learning Spanish is The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice w/CD-ROM (UItimate Review & Reference Series). This Spanish grammar book covers every aspect of Spanish grammar imaginable. To get the equivalent learning-Spanish value of this one book you would have to buy 3 or 4 books in the Practice Makes Perfect series.

When I first picked up a copy of 'SPfD' I thought it would be a complimentary volume to Ms Wald's 'Spanish for Dummies,' a book I've reviewed previously for Amazon. Actually, even though much of the same rudimentary material is presented, it has serendipitously worked out just that way.

Included is a well-considered selection of beginning phrases centered on several topics including: Numbers, Small Talk, Food and Drink, Shopping, Leisure, Work, Transportation, Lodging and Emergencies. These phrases are simple and directed toward those beginning to orient themselves toward use of the Spanish language.

The text is concise, clear, helpful, encouraging and entertaining. The subsequent level of proficiency attained will be pretty much determined by the resolve of the student.

It probably is not necessary to have both books but the smaller pocket-size design with its additional practice phrases has made the convenience of having it worthwhile to me.

'SPfD' is what the authoress intended and I think she did a fine job.

Five Stars then.

Russell de Ville
6 January 2009

Take this pocket sized "For Dummies" book along on your next trip below the border (or favorite Mexican Restaurant)and you won't be talking like a gringo anymore! Ok, maybe your espanol won't rollll out as fast as a native's can, but you will definitely be able to find most places you want to (like the ever important best sales shops .. and little girls rooms). You might even be able to decipher what in the world the people at the next booth are saying about you! I am sure glad the subtitle on this one is: A Reference for the Rest of Us!

I bought this for my kindle on the way to a holiday in Spain as I'd left my actual phrasebook at home. I was looking for basic phrases and vocabulary presented in an easily accessible way but I was very disappointed by this book. I think it should have been made clear that this was not a typical tourist phrasebook.

The first major minus point was when I came to the phrase "This book concentrates on the Spanish spoken in Latin America". This should have been prominently displayed in the product description, and I wouldn't have purchased it in this case as I was travelling to Spain.

The parts of the book that I think most tourists would make use of were a mix of useful and absolutely useless phrases. For instance in the "Enjoying a Drink and a Snack (or Meal!)" chapter, it starts out with instructions on setting the table which I feel is vocab that tourists aren't going to need. Phrases such as "More salt in the salt shaker" and "what cutlery?" weren't much use to me in my travels in Spain! There were a few pages of descriptions of different dishes, but all Latin American which was of very little use in Spain.

Basically I wouldn't recommend this book for someone looking for a basic Spanish phrasebook. There's too much information which is not of use to the regular holidaymaker, and a lot of basic phrases are lacking eg "Where can I buy a ticket?". If I had purchased this in a bricks and mortar bookshop I would be looking for a refund (which I have never done for a book!).

I got this book for a supplement to the Spanish for Dummies book.... it does just that. I like being able to bring this book with me so that I can review common phrases when I have a couple of minutes. I think that the book is useful and follows the same format as the Spanish for Dummies which makes is easy to use (I am not sure it would be as useful as a stand alone book)

For the person that has had some education in a foreign language, this book is a wonderful
review of the basics in Spanish.
It covers the basics of vowels, consonants,and numbers in Spanish and English.
It covers basic grammar.
And finally it covers phrases for eating, emergencies, transportation, work, and small talk.
Excellent book for the money and small enough to carry with you in any situation.

My wife & I are taking a Mexican Riviera Cruise and wanted to learn some catch phrases and this book does an excellent job meeting that desire. Ole!