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- The book has 26 different chapters
- The book also includes over 2,500 exercises to help you learn Spanish
- There’s even a bonus online section that includes audio and text
Like the title of the books suggests, Complete Spanish Grammar is very complete. You will learn topics that are easy to understand such as conjugating verbs in the present tense and the preterit and imperfect tenses (past tenses). And you will also learn some of the most complicated topics of Spanish grammar such as reflexive verbs and the Spanish subjunctive mood. You’ll also learn almost every other Spanish grammar topic imaginable. For example:
- Irregular verbs
- Stem changing verbs
- Ser and estar
- Determining when to use the preterit tense vs. the imperfect tense
- The future and the conditional
- The progressive tenses
- The present perfect and the past perfect
- The future perfect and the conditional perfect
- The passive voice and passive constructions
- Not just the present subjunctive but also the imperfect and the pluperfect subjunctive
- Commands
- Nouns and articles
- Adjectives, adverbs, pronouns and prepositions
- And a lot more
One features that I found helpful about this book is that the author includes verb charts that you can quickly use as a reference. But the two things that I like most about this book are:
One, the author gives plenty of advice on how to avoid many of the common mistakes that native English speakers make when speaking Spanish. For example, the author points out that in Spanish the English auxiliary verb “do” is not translated in Spanish and that Spanish does not require an auxiliary verb in order to ask a question. She then gives several examples, including:
Compramos la casa? – Do we buy the house?
Abro la puerta? – Shall I open the door?
Two, at the end of every chapter there is a “vocabulary section” – This is where the author defines all the news words that were taught in that chapter. I found this to be a huge time saver. Since all of the new Spanish words were defined in the “vocabulary section” at the end of each chapter, I didn’t have to look up all the news words in a Spanish dictionary.
In closing, I’ll leave you with the 3 learning-Spanish resources which are currently my favorites. (My list of favorites changes from time to time so you may want to check my list periodically. Updated 08-2018):
1. Learn Beginner Spanish: Lessons 1 to 5 from Both Original Version & New Version of Learning Spanish Like Crazy, Including Two Bonus Lessons from New Millennium Spanish . What stands out most about this program is the style of teaching used. The teaching style is very reciprocal or mutually dependent on the instructor and the student. This allows the student to not only listen but also to participate. But what appeals to me the most is that there are two bonus audio lessons included from their New Millennium Beginner Spanish program which teaches Spanish vocabulary for social media, the Web, modern technology, life styles for this millennium. Such as, eating organic food, living abroad and working as a digital nomad, and working out at a cross-fit or MMA gym. Learn Beginner Spanish also works wonders for developing an authentic sounding accent.
2. 501 Spanish Verbs, 8th edition (501 Verb Series) . If you think you can accomplish fluency in Spanish as an adult without mastering conjugating Spanish verbs, you are only fooling yourself. This book is an absolute essential resource for learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs. It will show you how to conjugate every Spanish verb tense imaginable. The version I have also includes a bonus CD which teaches both regular verbs and irregular verbs.
3. Learn Basic Spanish with Fast Lane Spanish: Get in the Learning Spanish Fast Lane This is from the same publisher that created Learn Beginner Spanish. What I love about this audio program besides the fact that they use the same teaching style found in Learn Beginner Spanish which includes native Spanish-speaking actors to help you get an authentic accent, this program does a great job of teaching Spanish pronouns and prepositions in a natural way. Most programs seem to skip over this topic and only focus on conjugating Spanish verbs. I am also impressed with Learn Basic Spanish's bonus package which allows you to attend a free, live, interactive monthly Webinar taught by a Spanish teacher from Colombia. I will also add that this program is very affordable.
If you have any questions about Practice Makes Perfect’s Complete Spanish Grammar, please post your questions below and I will do my best to answer your questions.
