Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide

by Juan Kattán-Ibarra and Christopher J. Pountain

Book Overview

This new edition of the bestselling Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide is an innovative reference guide to Spanish, combining traditional and function-based grammar in a single volume.The... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415098467
• ISBN13: 9780415098465
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Very Useful!

This grammar guide is split into two main parts: the typical reference grammar (that any language learner is surely familiar with) and a functional grammar section, which is the larger part of the book. With these two sections, each grammatical topic or point is covered at least twice from different perspectives. The reference section is what one would expect. It lists all the usual goodies for the Spanish language--verb tenses and conjugations, pronouns, reflexive constructs, por/para, ser/estar, subjunctive, etc. Each rule or concept gets a clear, brief explanation and a few examples. If anything beyond this is needed, topics are cross-referenced to other parts of the book where they are covered further. With the cross referencing, it's pretty extensive and I think it would be rare for the typical Spanish learner to need anything more. When that rare occasion arises, there is of course, the 700-page micro-font reference grammar that can be dusted off as needed. :) The second section of the book is functional grammar, which is the same material approached from a different angle--that of practical usage. I really like this idea. We have a communication-oriented perspective with chapters entitled Reporting, Making Comparisons, Expressing Changes, Expressing Needs, Expressing Conditions, Expressing Desires, and so on. We see how the grammar fits into the actual usage of the language. So, we may get many grammar points from the reference section used in one functional section. We get the actual practical side of things--a less terse, less mechanical, more "down to earth" way of presenting things. This section could be read through like a lesson book or it could be used as a refresher on topics that are a bit foggy. In fact, this section is sort of like a grammar workbook without the practice problems (actually, there is a practice problem workbook available). Anything bad here? Well... I think the section headings and fonts could have been presented and organized a bit more effectively in general. But that's not to detract from what is here; it's a great book and I think it will be a very useful addition to any Spanish learners library. I see "Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide" as sort of a Swiss-army-knife for grammar. Now that I have it, it will probably be the first place I go when I have a Spanish grammar or concept question. Truly, if one could remember all the stuff in this book, one would REALLY know Spanish well!

Excellent quick reference

I really like this book. It has a good, detailed index that can take you straight to quite obscure points of grammar. The explanations are very concise but sometimes that is just what you need. It is also an interesting book to browse through and review points that are easily forgotten. For what it sets out to do and for the way I want to use it I find it excellent.

multi use book

a book to use beside your dictionary in understanding contexts of words, as well as a book you can pick up and study through a chapter on one particular theme. an excellent investment for beginners through to intermediate.