A Reference Grammar of Spanish

A comprehensive handbook on the structure of the Spanish language; ideal for students and teachers.

R. E. Batchelor (Author), Miguel Ángel San José (Author)

9780521429610, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 April 2010

576 pages
25.4 x 18 x 3.1 cm, 1.26 kg

'A Reference Grammar of Spanish joins the ranks as a well-developed and well-written scholarly reference for researchers, faculty and Spanish language students around the world. It gives the spoken and written varieties among the world's Spanish speakers. A grammar book should not be prescriptive or impose one language variety on another. The role of a comprehensive grammar should be to assess and to analyze what is spoken among constituents, not to gauge against a stand-alone variety. Batchelor and San José accomplish their goal well.' The Modern Language Journal

A Reference Grammar of Spanish is a comprehensive handbook on the structure of the Spanish language. Keeping technical terminology to a minimum, it provides a detailed yet clear point of reference on all the intricacies of Spanish grammar, covering word order, parts of speech, verb use, syntax, gender, number, alphabet, and pronunciation. Accompanied by a wealth of carefully chosen examples, it looks at Spanish in Iberia, the USA, Mexico, and Argentina, and demonstrates the differences between these varieties. It is designed specifically with English-speaking learners in mind, and contains useful tools such as a glossary of terms, an index, and a detailed examination of different registers of the language. Clearly structured and systematically organised, this volume is set to become the standard guide to the grammar of contemporary Spanish, and will be an invaluable resource for teachers and students, as well as a practical supplement to textbooks and classroom study.

1. Table of contents/Índice de materias
2. Preface/Prólogo
3. Introduction to the Spanish language/Introducción a la lengua Española
4. Acknowledgements/Agradecimientos
5. Glossary/Glosario
6. Bibliography/Bibliografía
7. Abbreviations/Abreviaturas
8. Register/Registro
9. Alphabet, spelling, pronunciation/Alfabeto, ortografía, pronunciación
10. Stress and accent marks/Acento tónico y acento ortográfico
11. Punctuation/Puntuación, upper case, lower case/mayúsculas, minúsculas
12. Apocopation/Apócope
13. Agreement/Concordancia
14. Definite article/Artículo definido
15. Indefinite article/Artículo indefinido
16. Gender/Género
17. Number (singular and plural)/Número (singular y plural)
18. Verbs: moods of verbs/Verbos: modos de verbos
19. The infinitive/El infinitivo
20. Compound perfect infinitive/Infinitivo pretérito perfecto
21. Infinitive viewed as a noun/Infinitivo como sustantivo
22. Present tense/Tiempo presente
23. Perfect tense/Pretérito perfecto
24. Irregular past participles/Participios de pasado irregulares
25. Verbs with 2 past participles/Verbos con 2 participios de pasado
26. Past participles as nouns/Participios de pasado con función de sustantivos
27. Ablative absolute/Ablativo absoluto
28. Verbs + infinitive when that is used in English/Verbos + infinitivo cuando se usa that en inglés
29. Pluperfect tense/Pretérito pluscuamperfecto de indicativo (antecopretérito - A/M)
30. Imperfect tense/Pretérito imperfecto de indicativo (copretérito - A/M)
31. Preterit/Pretérito
32. Contrasts with the imperfect, preterit and perfect tenses/Contrastes con el pretérito, imperfecto, el pretérito y el pretérito perfecto
33. Future tense/Futuro
34. Future perfect tense/Futuro perfecto
35. Conditional tense/Condicional simple
36. Conditional perfect tense/Condicional perfecto (antepospretérito - M)
37. Progressive tense or gerund/Progresivo o gerundio
38. Imperative/Imperativo
39. Irregular verbs/Verbos irregulares
40. Radical changing verbs/Verbos con cambio vocálico (diptongación, y verbos del tipo pedir) (i.e. e>i)
41. Verbs with orthographical changes/Verbos con cambios ortográficos
42. Uses and contrasts of ser and estar/Usos y contrastes de ser y estar
43. Uses of quedar, resultar etc. as substitutes for ser and estar (including hay)/Usos de quedar, resultar etc. como sustitutos de ser y estar (incluyendo hay)
44. Transitive and intransitive verbs/Verbos transitivos e intransitivos
45. Reflexive verbs/Verbos reflexivos
46. Passive voice/Voz pasiva
47. Defective verbs/Verbos defectivos
48. Modal auxiliary verbs/Verbos auxiliares modales
49. Ellipsis of verbs in main and subordinate clauses/Elipsis de verbos en oraciones principales y subordinadas
50. Uses of dar, haber, ir, llevar, seguir, tener, venir/Usos de dar etc.
51. Impersonal verbs/Verbos impersonales
52. Verbs of perception + infinitive or gerund/Verbos de percepción + infinitivo o gerundio
53. Periphrastic verb forms/Verbos con formas perifrásticas
54. Subordinate clauses related to time/Oraciones subordinadas referentes al tiempo (duración)
55. Subordinate clauses related to concession/Oraciones subordinadas concesivas
56. Subordinate clauses related to condition/Oraciones subordinadas condicionales
57. Subordinate clauses related to consequence/Oraciones subordinadas consecutivas
58. Subordinate clauses related to manner/Oraciones subordinadas de modol
59. Verbs concerning unrealized actions/Verbos referentes a acciones no realizadas o inacabadas
60. Complex verbal expressions/Expresiones complejas de tipo verbal
61. Verbs of movement in English and Spanish/Verbos indicando movimiento en inglés y español
62. Subjunctive mood/Modo subjuntivo
63. Personal pronouns/Pronombres personales
64. Possessive adjectives and pronouns, also usage with parts of the body and clothes/Adjetivos y pronombres poses

Subject Areas: Grammar & vocabulary [CJBG], Grammar, syntax & morphology [CFK], Linguistics [CF], Usage & grammar guides [CBG]