Best Grammar Book

theyearof2010

Hello,

Just wondering what people would recommend is the "best" grammar book.

I recently bought Modern Spanish Grammar by Juan Kattan-Ibarra and never opened it, as i felt it is poorly explained and laid out.

Next of all I'm thinking of getting New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish
by John Butt. I had a peek on amazon and it seems to be laid out in a simple, easy to understand form.

Otherwise I have the likes of the simple collin's grammar books etc.

Thanks for any suggestions

ismiseuisce

I'm in 4th year Spanish in TCD. John Butt's New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish was the grammar book that we were told to buy when we started the course.

We don't use it in class but is a very good reference book. It's very detailed and I wouldn't recommend it if you're a beginner. If you're at intermediate level or above, it would be very useful.

djcervi

Schaum's outlines Spanish grammar is pretty good if you're starting Spanish. If you check in your local library you might be able to get a book called an Essential course in Modern Spanish. It's an old book, but it's out of print. Although it has 25 lessons which teach you pretty much Spanish grammar. Butt and Benjamin's Modern Spanish grammar is good, but fairly detailed. I would recommend this only if you have the basic grammar structures learnt off and understood.

clewis

For what it's worth, I'd recommend "Complete Spanish Grammar" by Gilda Nissenberg. It's really good, explains everything in detail (but not too much detail that you end up confused, if you know what I mean). The layout is really easy to follow, and there are loads of practice exercises with an answer key. I got it in Waterstones so it should be fairly easy to find, and it's not too expensive either.
John Butts book is really good as well, very detailed, which if (like me) you're doing a degree in Spanish, is brilliant, but if you're at more of a beginner or intermediate stage, you might end up a bit put-off by the amount of detail. (And yeah, I've tried to use Modern Spanish Grammar by Juan Kattan-Ibarraas as well, but it's not the best)

scruff321

ismiseuisce wrote: »

I'm in 4th year Spanish in TCD. John Butt's New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish was the grammar book that we were told to buy when we started the course.

We don't use it in class but is a very good reference book. It's very detailed and I wouldn't recommend it if you're a beginner. If you're at intermediate level or above, it would be very useful.

Wheres a good place to find this book at a reasonable price?

ismiseuisce

I bought it in Modern Languages on Westland Row. I can't remember what price I paid though as it was October 2007 when I bought it.

I've noticed that you can buy older editions for quite cheap online. This is the second edition that was published in 1989 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Reference-Grammar-Modern-Spanish/dp/0340583908/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0 , it's selling for £2.60 (excl. shipping).

Of course the language will not have changed hugely since then but there is a danger with buying older language books that some of the vocab inside may be obselete and also the language will have grown considerably since 1989 (think of vocab related to modern technology that didn't exist back in 1989).

Mind you New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish is more a grammar book than a book that teaches you vocab. The book itself would definitely still be useful but if you are serious about modern Spanish then perhaps you should fork out the big bucks for the lastest edition.

It's your call really.

scruff321

haha thanks ismiseuisce, il get the latest one so.