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Which book to use with Assimil German?

 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes Post Reply
9 messages over 2 pages: 1 2  Next >>
maromad89
Triglot
Newbie
Argentina
Joined 4680 days ago

19 posts - 22 votes
Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2, French
Studies: German

 
 Message 1 of 9
28 April 2013 at 7:00pm | IP Logged 
Hey... I'm still trying to decide which Grammar book I could use with my Assimil German. I'd need a book
which can complement the Assimil, covering the main grammar points without going too much into depth. I
need something light, enjoyable with short explanations and exercises. Do you think there is any high-quality
book that could fit this description?

I am an absolute beginner at the moment (less than A1 hehe), but I may progress a little bit with Assimil and
only then start with the recommended German grammar book.

Can you help me with this? Do you think Schubert's A-Grammatik and B-Grammatik would be a good choice?
Thank you!
1 person has voted this message useful



patrickwilken
Senior Member
Germany
radiant-flux.net
Joined 4532 days ago

1546 posts - 3200 votes 
Studies: German

 
 Message 2 of 9
28 April 2013 at 7:33pm | IP Logged 
maromad89 wrote:
Hey... I'm still trying to decide which Grammar book I could use with my Assimil German. I'd need a book
which can complement the Assimil, covering the main grammar points without going too much into depth. I
need something light, enjoyable with short explanations and exercises. Do you think there is any high-quality
book that could fit this description?


I haven't done the Assimil course, so I don't know what would compliment it.

I really enjoyed “Essential German Grammar” by Guy Stern and Everett Bleiler (1961), which covers all the main points and doesn't get into much detail. It was quite sufficient for me to get to my current level of B1+.

It's obviously a little old now, so a few of the words are a little dated, but it's very readable, and uses nice examples. It's also surprisingly cheap:

http://www.amazon.de/Essential-German-Grammar-Language-Guide s/dp/0486204227/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342460156&sr=8-1

Edited by patrickwilken on 28 April 2013 at 7:36pm

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maromad89
Triglot
Newbie
Argentina
Joined 4680 days ago

19 posts - 22 votes
Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2, French
Studies: German

 
 Message 3 of 9
28 April 2013 at 7:44pm | IP Logged 
Nice suggestion Patrick, thank you very much. For sure I will t ake a look at that one. I've also seen Practice
Makes Perfect
"Complete German Grammar". Is anyone here familiar with it? How is it?

Edited by maromad89 on 28 April 2013 at 7:47pm

1 person has voted this message useful



Cavesa
Triglot
Senior Member
Czech Republic
Joined 5008 days ago

3277 posts - 6779 votes 
Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1
Studies: Spanish, German, Italian

 
 Message 4 of 9
28 April 2013 at 8:21pm | IP Logged 
Basic German grammar and workbook :basic grammar with exercises, good explanations and
examples. I really like it.

Themen Aktuell: a course which is meant for classroom but very good for self-study.
covers basic grammar in digestible chunks, vocab etc in three volumes (up to level B1)
2 persons have voted this message useful



Elexi
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 5564 days ago

938 posts - 1840 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French, German, Latin

 
 Message 5 of 9
28 April 2013 at 9:20pm | IP Logged 
I like: Grundstufen-Grammatik: Essential Grammar of German with Exercises: :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grundstufen-Grammatik-Essential-Exer cises-exercises-
Fremdsprache/dp/3192015756/ref=pd_cp_b_0

I have also used the Routledge Basic and Intermediate and like them also.

Edited by Elexi on 29 April 2013 at 9:40am

2 persons have voted this message useful



Onrust
Newbie
United States
Joined 4418 days ago

14 posts - 42 votes
Studies: German

 
 Message 6 of 9
29 April 2013 at 1:37am | IP Logged 
I like German In Review by Sparks and Vail. For some reason, its list price is always inordinately high. But it's worth it if you can find it cheap or used.
2 persons have voted this message useful



maromad89
Triglot
Newbie
Argentina
Joined 4680 days ago

19 posts - 22 votes
Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2, French
Studies: German

 
 Message 7 of 9
29 April 2013 at 10:10am | IP Logged 
Thank you all very much, I'm gonna check each books and make my final choice. You've been really helpful!!
1 person has voted this message useful



Bobb328
Groupie
Canada
Joined 4584 days ago

52 posts - 78 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: German, Russian

 
 Message 8 of 9
30 April 2013 at 6:46am | IP Logged 
I was in the same position you were a couple months ago. The Assimil course is very good, but I found the grammar
explanations to be very confusing. I finally learned the cases and sentence structure (look up "german verb brackets word
order" right away, Assimil completely skips this little tip and it's the key to German word order) somehow though through
just looking around the internet.

I would also recommend German in Review by Kimberley Sparks, it has three levels depending on how far along you are. I
started using it once I got to the active phase which is what I'd recommend no matter what grammar book you use. Found it
cheap for you too:

German in
Review


And above all else, although it has no audio, I'd recommend German for Reading by Karl C. Sandberg. It's not exactly a
grammar book but it'll have you reading Kafka and Nietzsche by the 4th lesson and Freud and Goethe in the final lessons
which really speaks for itself. The book is expensive and old but it's amazing. I found a PDF online and just use that. But
you can buy it:

s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367296618&sr=1-1&keywords=german+for+re ading">German for Reading

and I've heard nothing but good things about every Essential German Grammar book. There are 3 completely different
books by different authors but have the same title the writers are: Stern, Durrell, or Donaldson. I own the Durrell one and
it's more of a reference book than an instruction to grammar. Can't comment on the other two.


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