Essentials of Swedish Grammar: A Practical Guide to the Mastery of Swedish (Verbs and Essentials of Grammar Series)
N**M
Well-written and seems to be comprehensive
This was bought to compliment the Duolingo on-line Swedish course, which is very good but a bit short of concise guidance for those of us who like to understand a language's grammar by using a more traditional approach.I put in a fair amount of research before buying this book, because the familiar English publishers of dictionaries do not seem to produce Swedish grammars. I am very pleased with the result. Caveat: I say 'seems to be comprehensive' but I am still far from being fluent, so, I can't be sure, but I think it compares very well to other French and Latin guides (such as Oxford and Collins). Strange to say for a normally quite dry subject, I could not put it down (Swedish authors strike again). It's very well written and organised. The type and layout are a little old-fashioned, but this is not a problem, everything is easy to understand.When I ordered the book I thought it to be fairly expensive. I am slightly infuriated that three-weeks after paying £13.18 for it, the current price £10.39, however this is due to Amazon, not the book. Now I just have to find a good dictionary and finish the course.
A**E
Great for building sentences in Swedish.
It's odd to write a review of a Swedish grammar book in English but for those out there wanting to learn this language it's a great start to building sentences in Swedish and like learning any language, you start with the basic building blocks. It won't teach you all the words, you'll need to use it alongside an app, a dictionary, a teacher or all of the above. This book has very simple explanations for Swedish grammar and for those, like myself, who weren't taught grammar it also explains grammatical rules in English, allowing you to make the transition. I've only had it a day and already feel more confident speaking Swedish.
M**C
The best I've found!
Personally I found this a lot more helpful than a lot of Swedish language books out there, and it's the perfect size to carry around on the go.A problem I have with a lot of language books is their focus is more on teaching you words and word orders, whereas this books has more of a focus on teaching you how to understand why certain words are used and when they might differ. Really helpful!
A**R
Swedish Vocabulary
I am learning Swedish on Duolingo but the lack of ‘rules’ and any explanations for endings is somewhat annoying. The reviews on Amazon were very good about this book-really detailing how useful it is regarding explaining what Duo leaves out. Thought it a bit pricey but as I actually enjoy learning Swedish ( so much easier than French or German) I decided to sent for it. First impression was how dense the book is- cram packed with different sections. But it is so very useful sorting out minor queries and mega headaches. I am more confident on the Duo exercises and enjoy them more. The book is very good and highly recommended. My husband learns Norwegian and he sent for the Norwegian version. He likes that very much too.
R**.
A lifesaver for learning Swedish!
Trying to learn Swedish on Duolingo is great… until you get to ‘Possessives’ - then you are expected to instinctively guess the difference between the different possessive forms without any guidance or explanation. I tried Googling all these different rules but became a bit bamboozled by them. A website on the best books for learning Swedish recommended this book and it is BRILLIANT!Simply explains all the different grammatical rules in bite-size chunks. Cannot rate this book highly enough, and will definitely keep on hand as I progress through the language - it’s not the kind of book that becomes irrelevant after you’ve passed the beginner stage.Don’t get disheartened if you’re struggling to get to grips with Swedish grammar, do yourself a favour and read this book.
S**A
Covers alot
This book is a gift for my boyfriend who's trying to learn Swedish. He hasn't gotten it get but I have read bits and pieces myself so here comes my review of it.This book is essential for learning Swedish. It covers pretty much all the grammatical issues that you might have + a few more in a very easy-to-understand set-up.I would recommend this book to people who already know a little bit of Swedish. It's not that total beginners won't understand it, just it'll probably be a little bit confusing with all the swedish words that will probably look like gibberish.If you were planning on using this book to learn pronounciation, then look another way. You can not learn how to pronounce Swedish words by reading them, that's something you have to learn by listening. The sounds are simply too different from English.If you're looking to take that next step in your journey to learn swedish, then this is the book for you. If you're just starting out, then either learn a bit more and buy it later, or just buy it now. If it's too confusing you can always pick it up again when you've progressed a bit.Either way, this book comes highly recommended, and that's from a native Swede.
W**S
Excellent content - no fluff
This little book is a gold mine for people starting out learning Swedish grammar. It treats the reader as intelligent, but assumes no prior grammatical knowledge, starting right from the beginning with a short explanation as to why grammar is essential for communication in a language, before proceeding to present the material very clearly in a logical sequence.Plenty of language courses begin with a set verb phrase, and strings of nouns to accompany it (eg. 'I would like...' and a list of drinks you might like to order, or 'I am...' and a list of jobs or nationalities), so I enjoyed all of the verb morphology coming first - everything from the present tense up to passive constructions and rather knotty modal verbs - so that you could build a huge number of sentences straight away.All of the examples are translated into English alongside or underneath, so it's even possible to start to develop a reading knowledge of the language just from reading these.Obviously the learner will also need a collection of exercises to work through the rules presented, as well as recordings for oral/aural work, and of course some vocabulary lists. But the book does exactly what it proposes to do, in an unglamorous but effective way, and I recommend it highly.
I**A
suitable for foreigners
Easy to read and understand, suitable for foreigners to learn swedish!
C**A
Óptimo
Tudo perfeito
M**A
Jättabra!
Det är en bra bök för alla som vill plugga svenska! Jag älskar den väldigt mycket. ( Jag rekommenderar det här bök för alla. Speciellt som prata eller förstår bara engelska).
T**A
Tolles Buchlein
Ich bin froh, dass ich dieses Buchlein gekauft habe! Kompakt und einfach zu verstehen, es vereinfacht das Lernen ganz arg. Sehr empfehlenswert.
R**I
Buono
Utile per chi studia svedese! Da aggiungere alla propria grammatica o comunque da usare come riassunto da ripasso. Questo solo libro non è sufficiente per imparare la lingua
Trustpilot
2 days ago
1 day ago