The reasons we learn Spanish are quite a bit varied and somewhat personal.
We have friends who speak Spanish and we want to be able to communicate with them in Spanish. We're planning a vacation to a Spanish speaking
country and we want to know some basic Spanish to fit in and have fun conversing with the natives there. We have a business or work life that requires speaking Spanish, or would be greatly improved if we can speak more Spanish there. And more often than not, it's a combination of some of these and other reasons that we decide to learn Spanish. Whatever the reason, this book of mastering the basics in Spanish will get you going in the right direction with a minimum amount of effort.
The Barron's Master The Basics Spanish book is specifically geared toward Spanish students and business people who need to learn Spanish.
The book takes a 3-step approach to allow readers to master the basics of Spanish.
The book begins with a Spanish skill assessment test that allows you to gauge the skills you already have with the Spanish language.
The assessment test is followed by an in-depth review of Spanish grammar, pronunciation, and parts of speech. This section makes up the largest part of the book.
The the book concludes with a final test to measure the progress you've made - and to show you specific areas you might want to review.
Answers are provided for you to be able to check all the material you're tested on.
Even if you already know a lot about Spanish grammar and parts of speech, the special topics section in the back is worth the price of the book by itself.
Special topics begins with a large group of Spanish idioms - dozens of common Spanish idioms with their English meanings and usage explanations where needed. These idiomatic phrases are important because this really is the way Spanish is spoken on the street.
The Common Expressions section picks up where idioms left off, giving you important Spanish phrases to learn and use.
Telling time
Weather
Numbers
There are useful sections on Spanish synonyms and antonyms. These are powerful because the more ways you know haw to get something said in Spanish the better you're able to understand the wide variety of Spanish speakers that you come across in the real world.
There's a section called Tricky Words - which is basically a collection of False Cognates - or words that look similar to English words but have a different meaning.
Rounding out the contents at the back is a book-wide review (with answers) and a full text index to the topics in the book.
In A Nutshell
The book is 196 pages - paperback
The suggested price is $7.95 US Dollar
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