Complete Handbook of Spanish Verbs

Review of "Complete Handbook of Spanish Verbs" (4,500 Spanish Verbs fully conjugated.) This book has been around for a LONG time, and with good reason. Sure, it has a "plain Jane" format, but who cares about that? It is exhaustive. You are not paying for gloss and colored ink. There is an example given for any verb you may run across in your reading or study. The list in the front gives the Spanish verbs, with a short, "stick in your mind" translation, and references to the category example. In the back of the book is the English verb list, with the Spanish verb given, and of course both lists are indexed to the examples. All forms of a verb are given, including the negative "commands" (formas imperativas), which many books do not give. But what is really important is that the rules for obtaining the various forms are presented in clear charts to which one may refer. Yes, the print is very small, but the information is all there. No, there are no color highlightings to show at a glance where the stem leaves off and the endings begin. What one has to do with this setup is to study the rules, and follow the example, writing the verb out on a separate sheet of paper, and then checking it according to the example and the rules. What I did at the beginning was to make my own color-coding on the papers I wrote out, using two different colored highlighters. I also worked out my own sequence for memorizing, grouping or arranging the tenses according to which stem they use. For instance, you could begin by learning the three main regular conjugations starting with those tenses which use the present stem (Present Indicative, Present Subjunctive, the commands, and then the Imperfect Indicative); then memorize the preterite for each conjugation, deriving the next stem from that; and go on to the subjunctive tenses; then learn the tenses using the infinitive stem. Although writing things out is time consuming at first, one soon finds one doesn't need to do this any more, because it sticks in your mind. You actually learn. Then you will keep the book on the shelf to occasionally refer to the list which tells you which category a verb follows. You will not be dependent on the book so much. And in case you come across an unusual verb form that has you stymied, it is a good idea to have a dictionary on hand that lists these unusual forms as separate entries, referring you to the infinitive that a verb belongs to. (In case you were to - rarely - come across one that's not listed in the book.) With Spanish, the verbs are over two-thirds of the language. I have found using this book the fastest way to learn them. Of course, one also needs a good grammar. I recommend "A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish," by John Butt, Ph.D. and Carmen Benjamin. Also, a good dictionary (I use the Velazquez and the VOX dictionaries); and a good book (literature) you want to read, to develop a feel for how the tenses are used. Of course, the self-learner will need to

Absolutely the finest verb handbook available. What it lacks in polish (it's not an attractive layout), it gains in its thorough treatment of Spanish verbs. They're all there! Bypass the "501" books and use this instead.

I found this book extremely helpful once I went over it with a friend that is Hispanic. I needed help with the different tenses but once we went over it, it was of great help.It is a shame that most beginning classes only teach the present tense of a verb. I would recommend this for anyone that wants a better understanding of Spanish Verb Cong.I am a beginner that is teaching myself. This book may be easier for students with more of a background.

I think this is a truly amazing book, since not only does it give all the conjuagated verb forms and the lists of verbs following the same pattern, but also makes you think, how to conjugate verbs in certain tenses and translate them in english, even though English translation is there anyways. It's a great help to me in university level spanish and I think it would be to anyone who wants to learn the language and speak it correctly, verbs being very essential parts of the sentences. The authors are geniuses for making this book really worthwhile!

This book was the essential piece of enabling me to learn spanish in 12 months. With manufacturing plants in Mexico, I needed to add Spanish to my English and French. This book enabled me to use 80% of all spanish verbs and all their tenses within 2 months. I have used this book in teaching spanish courses at my work and will vouch for its use.