Essential German Grammar

List Price: $19.95 Discount Price: $8.98

Customer Reviews:

GREAT, GREAT, GREAT! [Posted on 2004-04-10]
I found this book to be exactly what it says it is: essential! I consult it almost everytime that I write something to my penpal, or for my german class, or for myself. I especially like the different colors and typefaces (bold, italicized) to help make sure that you don't miss what the concept in that section is trying to get accross. Another great aspect is that the book doesn't seem to be satified with just one example, it gives you at least two, or three, sometimes even four examples of the way that this concept is implemented. I have many German grammar books, and I find this one to be the best of the collection. This book is a must have for any learner of German.

Best Grammar Book on the Market [Posted on 2006-01-24]
This book is about double the price of most German grammar books on the market. But it is worth every penny. I have at least 4 other grammar books at home, but they only offer one or two examples to demonstrate the new grammar in use. They are printed in one color, utilize few charts, graphs, and photos and are insanely boring to read. Grammar is not the most exiting subject, so I was thrilled to find this book that utilized multiple fonts, font sizes, colors, graphs, charts, etc. to spice it up a bit. The dual color printing adds to the clarity as well, making is easier to find topics and understand charts. In addition, the book gives you far more than one or two examples per topic. Another bonus is that the book offers both a figurative and literal translation of the German sentences in English. Most grammar books only offer the figurative. For example, the author writes the German sentence, "Ich warte darauf, dass er mich anruft". The figurative translation is, "I'm waiting for him to ring me up" and the literal translation is, "I'm waiting for it that he rings me up". Examples such as this help one understand the German sentence structure better and how it compares to English. The only part of this book that I don't utilize is the section in the back of the book with practice exercises and answer key. I find that this section just adds to the bulk of the book as I pack it back and forth to my class everyday where my teachers give me plenty of exercises to practice with. I guess that this section would add to the value of the book if you were teaching yourself German. Over all, you can't go wrong by adding this book to your collection!

Best Choice Out of a Strong Field [Posted on 2006-12-12]
Easy to understand and thorough explanations along with a clear, well ordered layout make this a stand out among the field of German grammar books. Schaum's is good, if a bit boring, but if you don't mind spending a few dollars more, this one is worth it and will probably serve you better. Since I am studying on my own, the exercises are essential. You can't really understand the grammar point until you apply the rule a few times yourself. This feature gives Essential Grammar an advantage over he pure reference grammar.

Good book but there are better [Posted on 2007-01-04]
While an excellent source for German grammar, a student will certainly do better with Schaum's German Outline. To me, EGG seemed to overcomplicate the learning of grammar turning it into a science rather than somthing that should be learned through use.

really good book [Posted on 2008-04-22]
I just wanted to confirm what everyone else has said: it is a really helpful book. Written in a concise and not overly formal manner, it is the perfect book to help you refresh your German grammar or, in my case, keep going over the rules during the summer between German courses. Of course, it is a grammar book; it's not going to be as exciting as fiction, but for what it is, it is very good.

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