Hammer's German Grammar and Usage |
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Martin Durrell
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Pages: 600 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0340742291
Pub: Hodder Arnold
Pub date: 2002-05-31
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 13410
Reader Reviews:
Comprehensive and very useful (8/9 people found this helpful)
I would agree with the other posters that this is not for the novice, but it does have a glossary which is very useful. It does seem to be quite tough to understand at times, but usually coming back to it after a day or two away makes it sink in. There are a vast number of rules, and these can get a touch ridiculous at times (as someone pointed out it isn't THAT essential that German girls would say such and such on the last Thursday of October if they had been to university in Munich.
I would also recommend the shorter version, The Essential Grammar.
Good, but a bit dry (12/13 people found this helpful)
I've used this book for a couple of years and it is indeed very comprehensive, with full explanations of vitually all aspects of German grammar, from the basic to the extremely advanced. The examples are useful and in most cases the temptation to slip into linguistic jargon is avoided. It is not an easy read however and a reasonable knowledge of the grammatical terms is definitely required, although factual it is very dry and pretty hard-going.
Hammer's German Grammar and Usage (33/34 people found this helpful)
Martin Durrell's Hammer's Grammar and Usage goes from strength to strength. This book is easily the best German grammar book in the English language on the market. Furthermore, if you aspire to be a translator, then this is the book for you. The book is divided into 23 chapters, dealing with some of the most complicated grammatical issues in the German language. First of all, Durrell explains very well the compicated 'Konjunktiv I' and 'Konjunktiv II', a grammatical issue which many native English speakers find difficult to understand. To make it easier for the reader to understand the gramatical issues and the contexts in which they are used, he has taken examples from books and newspaper articles. Furthermore, Durrell translates the examples which he has taken from these articles into English, which helps the reader immensely. In this way, the reader can refer to the book and the particular example when translating a text. Finally, Durrell explains exceptionally well the modal particles, which before buying this book, I had great difficulty in understanding. Plus, the author points out the pitfalls, the 'do's and don'ts' in German. In conclusion, this book is very well put together and a great resource for students of German and aspiring translators. Durrell deals with every grammatical issue in German, whether easy or difficult. I recommend this book very, very highly.
Not for the novice. (9/25 people found this helpful)
This book is comprehensive and unfortunately utterly confusing. Instead of teaching first the basics and then the fine detail and exceptions to the rule, it presents a muddled bunch of rules. My edition even contains one or two major errors.
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