superinteresting and dynamic book to learn Spanish Grammar
355317
I like the way the book is presented in each unit y how  practical are the exercises. easy to follow and to teach.
3614748
I've used many resources for studying Spanish but this is head and shoulders clearly the best. It gives you very colorful dialogue so that you can paint the setting in your mind. This helps with not translating from English to Spanish but rather from your thoughts to Spanish. If that makes sense :). Detailed grammar explanation as well and lots interesting tidbits about the Spanish culture.
1430697
I would definitely recommend this to anyone thinking of learning Spanish. It is written for learning at an accelerated rate and within a couple days will teach you thousands of words. I would recommend supplementing it with a book that focuses on grammer and an audio program of some sort to help with the pronounciation.
608845
I'm using Bueno Entonces in conjunction with Fluenz Spanish and busuu.com (for more interactive opportunities to record myself and practice with native speakers). However, BE is my favorite and the most fun.  It's refreshing to hear Buenos Aires Spanish lessons spoken casually, conversationally and flirtatiously.  Responsible segues into more formal Spanish are not overlooked, along with clear explanations on formal idioms as required -- thoughtful inclusions for the beginning speaker like myself.  The Pizarra Magica unravels grammatical cats' cradles briefly and humorously, cranking out its material at a cracking pace.  As another reviewer noted, it would be useful to be able to turn off the English subtitles.

Saying that, you won't get bored and will likely even remember some irregular verbs the following day.  I repeat lessons due to the speed of the dialog which is useful because, well, that's how native speakers speak.  The repartee and awkward sexual tension between Jimena and David are a cute twist and keep me interested and coming back for more.  I for one would welcome Spanish 3/4/5 in the cabina acoustica.

If however David & Jimena are over it, General Linguistics could do well to find new crews in Paris, Shanghai or Prague.
3451545
I studied Spanish with a teacher 8-10 years ago and haven't been back to it since because I started on Mandarin Chinese. Now I'm heading to Spain this year and want to pick it back up. I started listening to Accelerated Spanish podcast which lead me to Spanishin1month.com and this book. I'm enjoying the mnemonic approach. It's the first time I've gotten a better grasp of the direct object placement in Spanish. The gradual learning of words through mix of English and Spanish helps make it more digestible than full immersion which just becomes noise when you don't understand anything (which he explains really well in the book). It's a great tool to use along with videos and podcast. Note - it heavily references grammar structure and terms (which I LOVED), but don't be intimidated by that if you are not a grammar nerd like some of us. It's very effective with the visuals and story to help solidify the concepts, structures and words to better UNDERSTAND the language not just memorize it.
2182953
I really am enjoying this approach to learning Spanish.  I never thought learning to speak Spanish could be so fast and so easy.
My course and CDs appear to be professionally produced and came in an attractive and sturdy container.  The instructor and the Spanish speaker's voices are both excellent and they interact with each other beautifully.  I love how they teach you to speak Spanish using your own original sentences.  I am truly amazed at how much Spanish I have learned to speak in such a short time.
I have taken several Spanish courses in college and have some understanding of the structure of the language.  Several sections on three CDs were dedicated to the past and future tenses including the preterite past, the imperfect past and even the present perfect past.  Both the near future and regular future were also thoroughly covered on the CDs and the text..  This combined with the present and present progressive tenses presented in a non-grammatical format makes this approach easy and a true winner in terms of its overall completness.  Nothing I have tried even comes close.
I found the instructor to be quite stimulating and informative and the Spanish speaker's voice is excellent as well.  The English speaking instructor has taught at the university level at several well known colleges and was even rated as an excellent instructor by his students.  This is verifiable and I checked it all out.
Overall, the book and CDs are excellent. and are very easy to use and to understand making this the best Spanish course I have tried.
281092
I've got this book as a replacement for the older version that I've left on the plane. I really love it! It makes learning Spanish language more enjoyable, intuitive and fun. I'll probably need another book focused on grammar later. But this textbook is great for learning everyday vocabulary and mastering simple conversations.
2847127
This book teaches the basics to learn Spanish, in addition to a dictionary that shows the definition of any word, well explained grammar, I liked that book has exercises for the brain and working language, wanting something more than content but for the price and compared with other languages books met my expectations. I bought this product in a promotion.
362894
This book has been a great addition to my ever-growing library of Spanish books as I'm a life-long learner, and lover, of the language.  I purchased this book to help my high school daughter with her class work, and I've found it to be one of the best books in my library!  I say this because it offers grammar, stories, and a host of other things aimed at helping the learner process inforamtion in the best way that works for that particular learner!  I especially like the parts called Palabras Clave (Key Words) in each section because the words are given in Spanish AND they are defined in Spanish (with examples of usage)!  This aids in my ability to "think Spanish" which is not as quickly achieve when learning the word in Spanish and then learning the meaning in English.  Overall, it's a great addition...
4750327
I really liked this book. Unlike most beginner books for Spanish learners, realistic scenarios are shared. I'm a native Spanish speaker, yet I learned new words I've never known in Spanish before!
4190349
Though this thick grammar is a translation of a Dutch work, it is the best thing I could find on Spanish.  The length may put off those who are only casually interested in the language, but others will appreciate getting  such minor questions as how to say numbers ( 'mil quinientos' and never  'quince cientos' ) answered.  The book is linguistically sound, and  sentences from novels and newspapers are used as evidence to support the  grammatical rules.  Conversely, the book does not waste space.  The  treatment of irregular verbs uses easily learned patterns rather than a  brute listing of forms.
4799266
There are many Spanish textbooks out there, but this is one of the few that makes teaching yourself  easy and interesting. (Learning at school as I did kills any enthusiasm for studying. To catch up on two chapters when I switched into Spanish IV, I studied constantly - with enthusiasm and interest - for two days and was able to learn them well enough to take the chapter tests. But as soon as I got into the class, my enjoyment of studying immediately vanished as we dragged through the lessons with much busywork and silly activities).

Although it begins with the basics, this book is not designed for beginners. Rather, it reviews all Spanish from the basics to more complicated concepts for those who already have a base in Spanish.

It's a fast but thorough review that gives an overview of all the rules and provides the nitty-gritty details and exceptions to help you completely master the basics, something probably not done in lower-level Spanish. It's designed for students who have already taken about two years of Spanish.

The book does teach vocabulary, but its main emphasis (and strength) is in grammar, so make sure you have a solid vocabulary. Particularly helpful is the "Ojo" section, which explains common mistakes, such as words that are the same in English but different in Spanish, "false friends" (what appear to be cognates but are actually unrelated words), etc. (Examples: to work = trabajar (as in a job or labor); funcionar (as in a machine, watch, TV, etc.). Another: to support, which can be sostener, mantener, apoyar, all depending on the specific usage.)

With the textbook and the workbook, you can go through the book quite quickly. Ignore the exercises in the book itself and the video sections, because the workbook is really the best way to practice what you learn.

The vocabulary taught is sometimes silly but a lot more useful than certain other textbooks. However, it doesn't prepare you for actual conservations, only school-like discussions about the environment, gender roles, etc.

Overall, it's a very good textbook. It's a bit expensive to buy on your own, so I'd suggest either taking a class which uses this book, or finding a cheap used copy.
3415043
I learned to speak Spanish with this book over the course of 4 years beginning in 2002 in junior college.  Granted, I did attend classes 5 days a week for that entire time, but even so this is a good book for learning the grammar, etc.  Definitely take a course as well and go on some trips where you have to speak.
3719936
It's a pretty good Spanish book, I like all the activities in it and all the online work that goes with it too
3554846
So often Spanish classes are about learning grammar and forced speaking.  They are very unpleasant and while there is a lot of research out there that this is not the way to learn a language, it persists.  People then turn the other way and believe that immersion must be the way but that doesn't work very well either.  Language is so much more interesting and fun when it is comprehensible and at a level one can understand.  This book is for beginning readers and I could read it very well.  I read it better the second time and really enjoyed it.  I hope to read more of these books in the future!
3499666
I've been disappointed in other grammar books, but this one makes everything so clear and precise!  It is, by far, the best Spanish grammar book I've seen.

I see another reviewer said that if you don't understand the terms in English grammar, you won't be able to follow along.  While I know my English grammar pretty well, I still feel they do a great job explaining things in here.  I will give an example:

Lesson 1:

To conjugate a verb in the present tense or in any other tense, you will need the root of a verb and the particular ending that expresses information about the action you wish to communicate.  You will find the root (or radical) of the verb in its infinitive form.  It is easy to spot an infinitive in English because it is preceded by the word to:  to shop, to learn, to receive, etc.  Infinitives in Spanish are not preceded by a particular word but can be recognized by one of three endings:  -ar, -er, or -ir.  The infinitive endings are attached to the root of the verb: habl + ar, beb + er, decid + ir.  ...

As you can see, it tells you what has to be done, then tells you quite clearly HOW to spot an infinitive in English.  Subsequently, I found it strange to see other reviewers complaining that if you don't understand it in English, you won't know how to find it here.  I find the book to be incredibly useful.

To study Spanish I'm using several systems:  Instant Immersion software + Fluencia online.  Last night I added in memrise to assist with vocabulary memorization ( a great free website).  I felt compelled to find a useful grammar workbook because these approaches don't teach grammar at the beginning, and I was feeling a bit confused. I know they plan to teach grammar later, but as a writer by trade, I wanted to understand the grammar structure sooner, rather than later.  This book is entirely useful in that respect, and I can say I'm utterly thrilled with it.
3304796
I am beyond beginner Spanish and this book digs into the idioms and "how" to speak more like a native. There are plenty of exercises. I don't write in the book, so I can review over and over. I have many Advance Spanish books, and they are all very good, but I really love how this one is presented. Lots of new words and reading for comprehension. I would like "possible" answers to the comprehension, but other than that, this is a must have book. I'll keep looking for more like this!