I wanted to find a basic book that was not TOO basic. I did speak a little Spanish and knew a few words. I was able to sort of almost get along with Spanish speakers at work, but I was still pretty *malo* at the language. I read a lot of reviews. This book was well regarded. I have found now that I'm about halfway through that it is a good beginner's book. Complex parts of the language are taught, but I've found that I have to skip ahead to get better explanations of things that might be introduced without explanation at the first instance. For example, you may first encounter phrases that do not translate literally; eg, "lo sciento" literally means "regarding that thing, I sorrow," but it will be presented as "I am sorry," leaving you scratching your head over what the heck is that "lo" word doing there? Further, colloquially, the Spanish speakers I know only use that phrase for deep sympathy, not for, say, accidentally bumping someone on a bus. You don't get those details, if you get them at all, until later in the book. I would say that is the weakest part of how knowledge is presented. And yet, compared to the texts I suffered through in college, you are not glutted with vast amounts of rarely used grammar presented as though it is equally important to the most common constructions. All in all, I feel the compromises the author made are sensible. I do like the book and would recommend it for fast learning of the really important stuff. Things that had puzzled me about Spanish, like *ser* vs *estar*, *para* vs *por*, and phrases like the above example with the object first were sorted out quite quickly and well. That was impressive teaching.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This book came in better condition than I thought it would. I am a spanish speaker and my Spanish is extremely rusty since I have used it really since 2nd grade. I have flipped through a few pages and it was like my brain clicked in to what I was reading. This will also be a good book to let my brothers use to get them to start speaking spanish. Thank you for such a great product!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I am about halfway through this book and I find it very useful. It's simple and Clear with little dictionary sections covering the words you just learned for quick reference. I could do without the extra information about the differences between Spanish spoken in the western hemisphere and that spoken in Spain, but that's being overly picky. I supplement my studying from this book with watching an hour of Spanish TV like Univision or Telemundo. Between the two, I'm able to pick up more and more of the Spanish I hear at work. At the price you're likely to get on eBay, Go ahead, you can't lose!
I purchased this book recently because I wanted to brush up on my Spanish to gain a job advantage. I had checked Spanish for Dummies out of the public library before, and found it remarkably user friendly. This book assumed I knew nothing about the Spanish language grammar and pronunciation. The companion audio CD had me picking up the proper Spanish accent after only 2 sessions. Even though I have not spoke Spanish since I was in elementary school, I am excited about reacquainting myself with it, thanks to this guide. Like all other "For Dummies" guides in my experience, this is the definitive resource for those of us who do work for a living and don't really have the time to try to make sense of all of the jargon contained in many other reference books, yet who want to learn.
I like the way the pronunciation is next to the sentences and the English translation.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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