Editorial Reviews
Product Description
The shortest route to mastering verb conjugations
One of the greatest challenges in learning a language is mastering verb
conjugations. The books in the unique Language Verb Drill series make it
easier than ever for learners to meet that challenge.
Drilling, whether it's for learning a musical instrument, a sport, or a
language, is an essential part of a sound education because repeated,
concentrated practice makes specialized skills become second nature.
Unlike most verb books, which tend to concentrate on tables of
conjugations, the books in the Language Verb Drills series allow students to
focus exclusively on building mastery of verbs without being distracted by
other elements of grammar. Combining the features of a workbook and
reference manual, they clearly and systematically explain how a verb system
works while providing numerous drills for practice. These revised editions
of the popular study guides now include a final review section to reinforce
the reader's ability to automatically select the correct verb form.
From the Back Cover
The only Spanish conjugation resource you'll ever need
To master speaking and writing Spanish, you have to be comfortable using
its verb system. Unfortunately for many language learners, however, verb
conjugation is a major roadblock in their pursuit of Spanish-speaking
confidence. If you are one of these learners, Spanish Verb Drills is
here to help by allowing you to overcome these obstacles so that you can
confidently use verbs when expressing yourself in Spanish.
Whether used as a textbook supplement in a Spanish language course or as
a self-study text for learning and review, Spanish Verb Drills will
simplify the complexities of this crucial area of Spanish language studies.
This comprehensive book features:
- Numerous exercises that demonstrate how the Spanish verb system works
- Regular chapter reviews called "Repasos" to reinforce your learning
- An answer key to give you immediate clarification on any concept
- New to this edition, a final unit that sums up all the verb tenses
covered so you can select the correct verb form any time you speak or
write Spanish--something not covered in other verb books
Because of its concise explanations and abundant exercise material, you
will find Spanish Verb Drills a source of unparalleled knowledge and
intensive practice that you can use in the classroom or on your own. You'll
find you are less intimidated by verb conjugation and, instead, see your
confidence in your Spanish skills grow.
Topics include:
- Regular verbs in the present, imperfect, preterit, future, and
conditional of the indicative mood
- Compound tenses of the indicative mood
- The simple and compound tenses of the subjunctive mood
- Reflexive verbs
- Stem-changing verbs
- Orthographic-changing verbs
- Irregular verbs
Product Details
- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 3 edition (August 29, 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0071420908
- ISBN-13: 978-0071420907
- Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
- Average Customer Review:
(7
customer reviews)
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Rating:
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I knew it had some mistakes, but I didn't realize how many until I saw that
other review, so I knocked my review down a star. I used exercises from the book
to test my 2nd year Spanish students. I don't recommend it for trying to learn
Spanish. It is far too decontextualized. I realize the title is, Spanish Verb
"Drills" but I need more context in order for the verb tenses to make sense.
Rating:
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First, don't concern yourself about the long list of errors from one reviewer of
the second edition. A scan shows that most seem to have been corrected in the
third edition, although there still are some misprints. The problem I have with
the book is more fundamental. It is in its presentation of the present perfect
and pluperfect subjunctives. The proper use of these tenses is the single most
difficult gramatical problem for English speakers. This workbook will help you
memorize the different verb forms, but is no help at all in the correct use of
these forms.
The book translates the present perfect subjunctive (haya, ect. + past
participle) as "may have" and the pluperfect subjunctive (hubiera/hubiese, ect.
+ past participle) as "might have". This is, plainly and simply, incorrect, and
the author should know better. In order to know which of the tenses to use, you
must have a sentence with independent and dependent clauses. The correct tense
subjunctive tense in the dependent clause is determined by the tense in the
independent clause, and that determination is not simple. Sorry Spanish
students, but there is no simple English translation for these tenses because
they do not exist in English. In fact, the English "may have" and "might have"
mean exactly the same thing. Though there could possibly be a smaller level of
probability attached to "might have" than to "may have", they can be used
interchangebly. Not so "haya", ect. and "hubiera/hubiese", ect. To understand
these tenses you must study their uses in Spanish sentences without resort to
English translation.
If you really want to learn your verb forms, plus a lot more Spanish grammer, I
highly recommend "The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice".
Rating:
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this book, part of a series for several languages, is probably my least
favorite: the verb index at the back is in english, so there is no way to
quickly look up verbs in spanish. one has to know the english translation, and
then what's the point? the exercises are thorough, but someone desparately needs
to add spanish to the english verb index (the index works this way: to make...
hacer; however, there is no entry for hacer, so if you want to look up hacer you
can't -- you have to know it means to make).
Rating:
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If you are a person in need of more practice with Spanish verb conjugating,
"Spanish Verb Drills" by Vivienne Bey is a great reference book to have around.
Providing many exercises such as verb drills and fill-in-the-blanks, this book
will assist students and anyone else trying to brush up on their conjugating
skills real fast and easier.
The book provides an inexpensive method to improve your verb conjugating skills.
Besides this book, I also recommend "501 Spanish Verbs" as another book one
should own if they want to master Spanish verb conjugations. Both books should
make you a pro within a short period of time.
Rating:
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A quite useful book,with a lot of mistakes. Below are 57 errors that appear in
the Second Edition of Spanish Verb Drills (V. Bey, Passport Books, NTC/Contemporary
Publishing Group, 1991).
Errata, by page number
18, add `meter put in` to vocabulary. It is used in exercises.
36, line 3. `Past,' not `Present' Participle (in italics).
36, line 7. `participle', not `participles.'
31, line 14, present progressive: you are speaking, not were speaking
50, Aplicación, #5 should be `comprendamos'.
56, directions for Aplicación B should read: `corresponding perfect' not
`corresponding compound' tense. Otherwise, directions are confusing, too many
possible answers.
63, line 18, above Para Practicar entry: `* These verbs are used only in the
third-person singular', not `plural.'
81, present indicative `envía' should be in italics.
85, line beginning `Note one verb..' belongs with `Jugar' below it.
86, `Reír' in bold should have accent mark.
85, `Colgar', present subjunctive, indent 2nd line to avoid confusion.
93, directions for Repaso general 2 should say to use the `to have' helping
verb, eliminating confusion
88, line 12, `conseguir' spelled with a `g' not `q'
101, Decir, conditional is wrong. It should be `diría, etc.'
104, Haber preterit should all be in italics; hubiste should not be in italics
108, Oír needs accent mark
88, line 22, `conseguir' spelled with a `g' not `q'
109, line 2, present subj. of Poder should be `pueda' not `puede
86, line 27, `conseguir' spelled with a `g' not `q'
109, line 19, `disponer' should be in italics.
129, 2nd. Column. Add `B.' heading
140, Aplicación A8, both should be in singular, `caminara,' `caminase'.
140, Aplicación B7, both should be in plural, `aprendieran,' `aprendiesen. Given
answer is also misspelled.
143, Aplicación B - all can be present progressive which is better
correspondence to simple tenses (see entry for page 56)
135, Aplicación B, #2, 4, 5 should be past, not present, progressive
143, line 6, #(2), should be habré with accent.
147, first line under Para practicular: remove s from `compites, sirves, mides'
141, Mastery test, #8, `trabajases' should be `trabajase'.
152, Repasto general 1, #A7, `estaban' not `estabn'
152, Repasto general 1, #A22, should be `reímos'
152, Repasto general 1, #B11, add `no' for negation
152, Repasto general 1. There are other possible correct answers for B18, B8,
B22 and B28.
141, Aplicación, #13 should be `hubierais/hubieseis estudiado'
131, Mastery Test, #25, `vivisteis' not `vivíais'
142, Repaso, #15, no not `ho.'
151, Aplicación #7, should be `juegan
158, Aplicación A2 should be: `supieras' not `supeiras'.
158, Aplicación C14 should be: `you would know.'
152, Repasto general 2, B #5 can also be `entienden'.
153 Aplicación #8 should be `fitted,' not `fit.'
155, Mastery Test, #7, should be imperfect subj.: `bendijera/bendijese'
157, Mastery Test, #7 has another choice: podía.
153 Aplicación #15, should be `we declined', preterit, not imperfect.
142, Repaso, #27, no accent mark
149, Mastery test, # 20 `relincas' should be `delincas'
163, A #11 should be `he would hear' not `he would smell'
153 Aplicación #25, `loosen', not `seize.'
156, Mastery Test, #22 has another possible answer: `fueses'
124, B. #6, #21 should specify which you: #6 pl. for; #21, sing. fam.
166, Add under letter `p': Put in meter, 18.
154, Mastery Test, #32, `os' not needed.
160, Mastery Test, #30 has another answer: `tuvieseis'
166, `poseer, possess 80' is omitted
Rating:
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In my Spanish language studies I had tried out dozens of books, cards and tapes.
Even though I had read through the verb conjugations in books several times it
still seemed as though I was making terribly slow progress. This book definitely
helped me to reach a new plateau. There simply is nothing that will help you to
memorize the conjugations better than writing them out. This book is arranged so
that once you have a verb form under your belt, you then learn a new one and
keep reviewing the ones that you have already done. In this way, when you have
finished even half of the book you are already quite confident in your knowledge
of the conjugations. By writing out the verb forms for even a portion of the
book you will have the skills necessary to produce your own conversation and
gain fluency, which is your main goal at this point. If you are trying to
re-learn Spanish after a long break in studying, this book will be of immense
value. Put this seemingly simple book at the top of your list for Spanish
educational materials.
Rating:
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As a beginning Spanish student, I started learning vocaulary and grammer rules,
but did not seem to progress much in understanding the language. Once I started
learning these verb forms, I greatly accelorated my understanding of written and
spoken Spanish. I recommend the book highly.
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