Customer Reviews

Spanish Verb Handbook (Handbooks) (English and Spanish Edition)

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

 

 

I note the problem the previous reviewer had with this book since he says it duplicates much of the material in the Spanish Verbs Handbook. I don't have that book, however, and so this wasn't a problem for me since I was mainly interested in a little standalone, knockabout grammar that I could keep in my car or tote with me. I use it for those idle moments when I need something to read and I can whip this little book out and improve my Spanish grammar a bit. This book isn't too expensive for that so it serves just fine in that regard.

I wanted to give a few details about the book. It's composed of 30 chapters or sections, broadly divided into the usual grammatical topics such as verbs, nouns, adjectives, determiners, pronouns, linking clauses, and so on. One nice feature is some of the terms that many of us may have forgotten are defined and discussed at the very beginning of the chapter. For example, we are reminded that a non-finite verb means it's not related to time, that the subjunctive relates to uncertainty, and that modal verbs relate to attitudes about action.

There are separate sections on governing verbs and which propositions govern which verbs, such as con, de, a, en, and por, with examples of which verbs go with which, and also a section on "bare inifinitives," and impersonal or "back-to-front" verbs, a term I hadn't seen used before although I'm well aquainted with linguistics terminology. Also included are sections on types of verbs, such as regular, irregular, stem-changing verbs, accent changing verbs, "g," "cz," and "oy" changing verbs, and also a chapter showing various model verb tables.

The sections on nouns and the other parts of speech are equally detailed, and there is also a spelling and pronunciation guide and such useful info as numbers, telling time, and the calendar. Finally, the book is small enough to be portable most places and the binding is very flexible and not too stiff like a lot of small paperback language books and dictionaries whose bindings are too rigid and just crack after a while. The book uses a two-color scheme of white with yellow blocks of text for highlighting purposes. Overall a good little grammar book and at 11 bucks the price is right too.

A little footnote here, it was the great Maximilian Berlitz back in the mid-to-late 19th century who originated the now famous concept of teaching languages by means of more interesting and dynamic conversations based on practical, real-world situations, such as being at the airport, in the restaurant, out shopping, and so on, rather than the dull, boring rote memorization method that had been use probably since Greek and Roman and probably ancient Sumerian times. Iin fact, we have Sumerian tablets over 4000 years old that describe the rote learning in the scribal schools :-) ). Modern language teaching books and methods like these are taken for granted now but they constituted a true revolution in teaching and pedagogy 100 years ago.

Bravo to Berlitz for having produced a one-stop comprehensive source of information on the Spanish language. I find Berlitz Spanish Grammar Handbook to be invaluable in its depth, clarity and precision in explaining and deciphering often incredibily difficult concepts in Spanish.

This handbook can be used either as a strict grammar reference or to acquire a general or specific understanding of most aspects of Spanish grammar. It may also be used as one of several means of acquiring a working knowledge of the `syntax' of the language.

Syntax means `word order' or how words fit together to convey meaning. I find the handbook to be quite good at demonstrating common everyday syntax in a simple fashion by means of the direct examples it provides.

Fortunately, this grammar handbook does not assume that you know the meanings of different grammatical terms. It contains abundant explanations for each specific point in Spanish grammar and there are always complete explanations provided for all grammatical terms. The way in which the classic grammatical term and explanation is followed immediately by a practical example of everyday use is one of Berlitz Grammar Handbook's greatest strengths.

Another major plus to this grammar handbook is the huge number of practical and authentic mini-monologues which utilize different points of grammar in actual real-life contexts to illustrate a point of grammar as it's really spoken.

It is obvious that Bertlitz intended this manual for individuals who actually wish to `use' their Spanish in real life situations. The handbook also makes clear which constructions are only for formal and not everyday use.

Overall, I recommend Berlitz Spanish Grammar Handbook as a very good reference guide and learning tool for Spanish. With Berlitz Spanish Grammar Handbook you will be satisfied whether your are a complete novice or a language expert. It literally has something for everyone.

MARK FROBOSE/ AUTHOR OF THE BEHIND THE WHEEL CD COURSES IN SPANISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN, GERMAN, PORTUGUESE, CHINESE, JAPANESE, & ARABIC

I am learning Spanish for my fiancé and bought this book after rave reviews from a friend. The reason I gave this book an average rating is because this material is not for beginners or anyone without working knowledge of basic Spanish grammar.

Each chapter contains exercises (matching, reading or writing, unscrambling words, identifying action within a cartoon, etc.) and word puzzles (such as crossword puzzles) designed to increase vocabulary and familiarity with words. Answers are found at the end of the book. It also contains a glossary and brief grammatical reference section. The advantage of the book is the variety of exercises designed to increase familiarity with Spanish words. The disadvantage is that, although there is a brief grammatical guide at the end of the book, most beginning students would need another textbook to explain the grammatical concepts used for the chapter. It may be useful as an adjunctive workbook for a class. However, as a self-learner of Spanish I would recommend other books instead of this one.

There are hundreds of subsections of subsections in this needlessly complicated collection . Every other sentence is interrupted with a direction such as ( see 6F[ii] ) . Now WTF is ' 6F[ii] ' !!!!
What on earth is so ' misleading ' about simple page numbers ?
Complete lockup when trying to use the index , which is a mess of the above section and subsection references .
In the end , I just gave up .
More information is laid out cleanly in John Butt's " Spanish Grammar " . A much better book , organised and indexed around the idea of numbering the pages in order .....

Berlitz publishs "Spanish Verb Handbook "
and "Spanish Grammar Handbook " .
Beware : The exact same text is used for about 50 % of each of these titles . A very crude 'marketing' effort by Berlitz .
Of the two , I like the "Spanish Verb Handbook" better . My mistake was to buy both . Then I found out how much I had been cheated ! All the material in both books would fill one modest title .
Berlitz = bad value .