A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

by John Butt (Author), Carmen Benjamin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish is an essential reference tool for all interested in the Spanish language. The most extensive and accurate single-volume comprehensive source of information on contemporary Spanish language currently in existence in the English language." George DeMello, Professor of Hispanish Linguistics, The University of Iowa "The most important event to occur in the descriptive linguistics of Spanish for many years." The Times Higher Education Supplement" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish is the standard reference to World Spanish which features formal, colloquial, familiar, and popular usage and new authentic examples that contrast Peninsular with Latin American Spanish.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 540 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 3 edition (May 1, 2000)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 0658008730
• ISBN-13: 978-0658008733
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #335,786 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

97 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best advanced grammar available, October 15, 2003

By	Steven D. Kimball (Port Townsend, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have over 20 years experience as a college teacher of Spanish and as a federally certified Spanish court interpreter and, in my opinion, this volume is without equal among Spanish grammars. What you find here is not available anywhere else: an empirical, scholarly presentation of Spanish as it is spoken throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

This is not an intermediate grammar as some reviewers have asserted. It is not a repetition of conventional grammar rules as they have been handed down for generations. There are much simpler books that explain the use of the subjunctive, the mechanics of noun-adjective agreement, verb conjugation etc.

Rather, this book describes how literate people in different countries (or regions of countries) use the language in real life. It tells you to what extent they respect the traditional academic rules of grammar, and to what extent they break them and change them. In other words, it tells you what the living rules of the language are in distinct places.

All of this is supported by copious citations from the writings of novelists, scholars, journalists, etc. making it an eminently readable book. It's very easy to pick it up to search for the answer to a specific question and end up reading for an hour because it contains so much fascinating information.

In short, it is a superb and eminently useful piece of scholarship, which belongs on the shelf of any serious student of the language.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive reference for those learning Spanish, December 21, 2001

By	Andy Orrock (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

An amazingly detailed book designed to answer any question you have regarding the structure of the Spanish language, be it Castillian or Latinoamerican. Each chapter has example after example devoted to the nuances of every aspect of speech or writing you could possibly encounter.

My only caveat - you can't possibly "read" the thing. It's better utilized as a reference book. It's the place you'll go when all your slimmer volumes have you stumped.

My approach is to carry around "Buscalo" (Clarkson, Campos) which tells me - as an intermediate learner - what I need to know in 219 cleanly-spaced pages instead of 572 densely-packed ones. I've always got this Butt/Benjamin work on the shelf as a "just in case" backup tool.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forced to buy it, opted to read it!, September 7, 2000

By	Víctor Hugo Rangel (Berkeley, California, USA) - See all my reviews

As a Spanish major in college, I didn't feel like buying any more grammar books to read since they got so damn expensive and I hardly needed to use them (they were kinda ineffective). But, little did I know would I be making an investment of a lifetime with 'A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish'. I sat down one night and, hestitantly, I opened the book...hours later, I was still reading it. I am very much into detail, and man, this book has got details! I love it now and I will never use another grammar reference guide again. So if you want to dissect the Spanish language, I throw my support to this book.