750 Spanish Verbs and Their Uses

Anyone with a basic understanding of Spanish grammar would find this book helpful. It goes far beyond just defining the (alphabetically listed) verbs by showing differences in meaning or connotation under different grammatical circumstances. This includes instances of verbs connected to various (or no) prepositions, verbs used reflexively or to introduce infinitives, and verbs whose meaning is affected by their direct or indirect objects. All of this is helpfully illustrated by short, memorable Spanish sentences, followed by English translations. Since it's often the simple words that are enlisted for many uses (think of "to let": let on, let up, let's go, let go, let do)and that can perplex someone new to a language, such distinctions are shown through separate examples. I counted 18 sentences used to illustrate the various permutations of the verb "poner" (ponerse, ponerse plus adjective, etc.) and 21 for "hacer." I'm particularly impressed with the sentences themselves -- they're generally forceful and to the point, easy to read and roll around in my memory for a bit. In the preface the authors identify other considerations that went into their construction of examples, including the frequent use of third-person object pronouns to help boneheads like me distinguish between the direct and indirect ones (is it lo or le???). The real key to this book is the second phrase in the title:"...and their uses."

First of all, if you are looking for a reference book that can give you the various verb conjugations, this book is NOT for you. Verb conjugation is not the focus of the book. Secondly, if you are a beginner, this book might not be good for you. It is not a beginner's book. So what kind of book is this? This book is an intermediate to advanced Spanish reference on verb usages by examples. The verbs are listed alphabetically, so you won't have difficulty to locate a verb you want. Each verb entry is led by the verb or verb phrase, with English explanations, followed by 1 to 10 example sentences. Each example Spanish sentence is followed by its English translation - this feature is very convenient from my point of view. The Spanish examples are in general very good. The verb usages are usually shown by using common Spanish words - that is, it is not common to see very difficult Spanish words. Each example sentence is relatively short, just enough to demonstrate the usage of the verb in the context. In general, this is a good reference book for intermediate to early advanced Spanish learners.

I found this wonderful book to be quite useful when I practice Spanish. You can easily use it as a reference to the proper usage of specific verbs since all of the entries are in alphabetical order. There is no guessing on correct usage of verbs because there are several examples of each verb in context, and it also shows you how some of the verbs change meaning in different contexts. The English translation is given in a parallel line just below the examples so you are not racking your brain to figure out some of the more unusual or idiomatic examples. When I practice Spanish I usually take a small section and read each sentence out loud and slowly, until I can repeat it comfortably, and I do the same with each example. It will benefit you much more if you actually vocalize the examples unless you are planning on never speaking the language. Each time you practice with different sections you are adding to your arsenal of usable phrases. And the more you practice, the more you start to "loosen up" your tongue to be able to produce the sounds involved. Most of the phrases sound a bit formal, but you can be guaranteed that you will be using the verbs correctly and more fluently than before.