German Grammar

I learn languages as a hobby: so far I've mastered French and Spanish (Spanish is like a second language now), and am currently working on Italian and German--and I can say from experience that this series of grammars is the best in print. I learned Spanish almost entirely from the Oxford Spanish Grammar, and the German one is no different. It covers all aspects of German grammar, includes copious example sentences, most of which are authentic, modern German; its explanations are always concise and complete; the style of the text is excellent--it's conversational, and yet, at the same time, it maintains an air of authority. If you're planning on learning German, make this book your traveling companion--take it with you everywhere you go, read it cover to cover like a novel. It's an investment well worth the price.

It's complete for its size, and the explanations are helpful and concise. (In at least one case, the explanation was one sentence long and clearer than my instructor was able to make the same point with fifteen minutes and a blackboard.) It nicely relates German grammatical points to the corresponding English usages. My only disappointment is with the physical fitness of the book. It's bound like a throwaway romance novel and printed on that paper that smells weird and turns yellow, and the bold typeface of the examples is overly dense and hard to read. Many people looking for a portable reference grammar might prefer to pay a few dollars more for a more durable and well-printed book. (Mine is the 2000 issue with new cover, and these criticisms may not apply to earlier printings.)

Don't let size fool you, this smallish yet extremely comprehensive tome has everything you'll ever need to know about the german language and then some, but let's make it very clear from the start, you want this book ONLY IF you are already reasonably competent in german (I only started using it after 7 months of class and a month in germany), it assumes you know quite a bit already and is useless for a beginner who doesn't understand the basics of the language. This book will help you figure out when you should use words, in what order and most importantly gives you examples of what would actually be said on the street in germany, telling you about the different uses you'll find in each region as well as switzerland and austria, which in many cases will differ from the propper german a regular book will try to teach you. It is also full of examples of the word you're looking at, used in common sayings. I turn to this book before looking at a dictionary at all times (although it's by no means a replacement) Unless you study all day long you'll never run out of uses for these pages, it will pay itself back many times over it's meager price.

I like this book quite a lot. It is much less complete than, say, Hammer's "German Grammar and Usage", but it is much more approachable. I like the sections on the frequent pesky words (allerdings, doch, von, auf, u.s.w.) and the various nuances of meaning. One thing I would love to see in any German grammar is an electronic copy. I would love to import the sample sentences lock, stock and barrel into a flashcard program (I use Winflash). As it is, I do that manually. And while typing these in also helps in memory, I'd still like to be able to bulk load them.