Practice Makes Perfect Basic Spanish (Practice Makes Perfect Series) 1st Edition

I took five years' worth of high school and college Spanish 20 years ago, but unfortunately I didn't do anything to keep it up in the intervening years. After a couple of great visits to Spain, I wanted to pick the language up again. This book was exactly the right tool to begin the process of doing so. As the author states up front, this wouldn't necessarily be the right choice for a student with no previous exposure to the language who isn't taking a class or using some other grammar resource(s). But since I did remember the general concepts and just needed to refresh the vocabulary and verb endings and so forth, it was perfect for me. It hasn't gotten me all of the way there (not by a long shot, actually--lots more work to do), but it's been an extremely helpful and essential first step.I liked the workbook format--it was very effective at helping me reactivate half-forgotten vocabulary and grammar concepts. And in general, I thought the author did a good job of selecting useful vocabulary items and making the exercise and reading lively enough to hold a person's interest. There are no tricks here: she sets out the key points of the lesson and then drills it home with dozens of translation questions, all with answers available at the back of the book. After working through every page over the course of about two weeks, I feel quite secure in almost all of the points she covered. It is worth mentioning, however, that this particular volume doesn't cover some really important stuff. In particular, it only tackles present tense verbs, so if you're interested in studying past or future tenses or different moods, you'll need additional resources. Also, there is no audio companion to the book, so it doesn't necessarily help with listening comprehension. To my mind, those are completely reasonable compromises to keep the book length manageable and the price low.I would totally recommend this book to anyone trying to learn (or re-learn) Spanish. In fact, based on how well this volume worked for me, I have ordered three other books in this series (Verb Tenses, Vocabulary, and Complete Spanish Grammar), and I'm finding that they build very well on the foundation laid in Basic Spanish. They even repeat much of the same vocabulary, which helps me retain what I've learned. I've used Rosetta Stone and taken classes for Arabic language study, and while the classes are indispensable (and Rosetta Stone is NOT), nothing helps me activate language faster and more fully than the kinds of repetitive, recycled-vocabulary exercises found in Practice Makes Perfect Basic Spanish. It's an excellent resource.

"Basic Spanish" by Dorothy Richmond is the best book available for the beginning Spanish student. The two main goals of the book are to teach vocabulary and grammar. The vocabulary chosen for the book is overall very good. Many verbs are taught, which is different from many other books, which tend to under-emphasize verbs. Irregular verbs and stem changes are reviewed often enough that the learner can memorize when they apply. The book includes the various uses of the prepositions in Spanish and how to know when to use various prepositions, which is especially important since "por" and "para" have such diverse meanings.The grammar in the book is basic and taught thoroughly so that the learner is comfortable with the topics. Verb tenses are the major topic missing; a more advanced book will be needed for learning those. The grammar topics that are taught are constantly reviewed in the chapter reviews and in later exercises. The exercises also have solutions in the back of the book if you need them.Some of the other reviews say that this book is not for an absolute beginner, but I disagree. The only knowledge that is needed coming in is a basic understanding of English grammar. If you don't know what a direct object or the past tense is, then yes, this might not be basic enough, but in general I would recommend this for any learner, from middle school to adult.

Currently, I utilize Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone, and am working through this text. I am getting ready to move to Mexico (while I continue to work in the Gulf of Mexico, out of Louisiana). My fiancé is Mexican, and speaks very little English. So, I have been studying like crazy, and researching study methods like crazy. It is imperative that I rapidly get a grasp on Spanish. (My brain doesn't cary Google translate).This book has given me much more conversational functionality. The writing assignments have helped me immensely, especially the translation sections. The words and phrases which I have learned through this book thus far have easily integrated into my dialogue. Pimsleur has also been fantastic for this. Rosetta Stone is sorely lacking in aiding my dialogue, but has helped me in my reading comprehension (unless you are a pirate, or have adequate means, I do not recommend RS. IF "argh" is in your vocabulary, or your treasure chest is full, get it. It takes a long while to get past some of the annoying simplicity, and toward the end of level one gets WAY better! They can still make it a bit more challenging, in my opinion, but I digress.).There are some mistakes in the book, such as the over-use of nosotros (being used more than once in a sentence) and some other cosas pequeñas that a native speaker pointed out to me (sorry, but I do not recall them...). That is the only drawback, but is easy to overlook. PMP Basic Spanish is fun and diverse. I find the assignments quite enjoyable and interesting. Many of the Q & A's reference pop culture, both current and past. Often, when I get things wrong it is due to my lack of pop savvy! (I've learned a bit about Harry Potter since I started this book). Over all, I would highly recommend this book as a supplementation to your Spanish learning arsenal.

As much as the language apps are useful, typing and writing are not the same thing as far as benefits to your memory. So, I searched for an exercise book and this one is amazing. The lessons are informative and not time consuming. Great for someone with short amount of time in their schedule to get a lesson in.I highly recommend for anyone learning Spanish or even just trying to brush up on their Spanish!

アメリカの大学生です。こちらでスペイン語も勉強しています。個人的に、スペイン語は英語でのほうが理解しやすいのでこの教材を選びました。古い感じの本の紙質が私は好きです(笑)あと文法もボキャブラリーもベイシックレベルでいいです。クラスで使ってる教科書も併用して使ってます。

Practice Makes Perfect are by far the best books for learning Spanish. I have many of them and all are fantastic and make learning fun and easy.

Dorothy Richmond's knowledge in explaining a foreign language to a complete beginner is fantastic. She starts with familiar vocabulary like words related to housing, animals,and progresses on to more complex stuff. You just need to learn the vocabulary by heart and then the rules of grammar keep falling in place one by one. I plan to buy more books in the series.

I needed a book which was simple to understand and work through......this is it. Each unit is laid out in the same format introducing new words, excercises to complete and finishing off with a simple translation of Spanish to English test. My tip would be to complete the tests in pencil as all the answers are in the back of the book making it easy for you to test yourself and correct any errors.Excellent value and would highly recommend to Beginners.

I bought this book when I was helping a group of young women learn Spanish in the Philippines. I bought it as a guide and it was great! I am not sure if it is good for a person to use it for him or herself. I used it myself as a guide for my teaching lessons. It is basic, dynamic, and it has the essentials. But that is all it does. It is just a companion