Product Description: * Emphasizes the everyday usage of educated persons rather than the more formal, literary Spanish.
* Significant differences between Peninsular and New World Spanish are pointed out. Whenever possible, the usage that is most widespread is given preference.
* Repase y escriba covers the grammar in an orderly fashion. In this way the rules are not fossils from another age, but rather, they are appropriately treated as the guidelines of a rich, everchanging living thing: the language.
* The text offers a multitude and a variety of exercises that involve creativity, completion, substitution, and matching. Almost all the exercises are contextualized.
* Repase y escriba takes into consideration the special needs of the ever-increasing number of Hispanics in the classrooms of our universities. Spelling and the placement of accents create serious problems for these students as they strive to improve their writing skills. Accordingly, many exercises deal with those matters.
* An appendix contains a series of charts showing certain less advanced grammar topics not included in the body of the text. Instructors are urged to point out the practical value of this appendix.
Good grammar book It didn't get here as fast as other things that I have bought on Amazon, but it has been a good book for my class at the university.
Excellent advanced text for serious students of Spanish I used an earlier edition of this book as part of an advanced, private tutorial in writing and grammar, and still refer to it for subtle questions of grammar and uses of idioms. It is the best, single text for an advanced student of Spanish as a second language that I, as an adult learner, have run across.
The book itself has excellent questions and exercises, and the supplementary workbook is entirely optional. The workbook does not match the elegance of the textbook, itself, in my opinion. The workbook is worthwhile if you feel you need to solidify for yourself some of the confusing grammatical points, and especially if this is your first exposure to advanced Spanish.
As the author notes in her "correction," the three star rating given by the first reviewer refers only to the workbook. One could quibble whether the primary textbook deserves 4 1/2 or 5 stars, but certainly no less. If the price seems too high (it is a college text, and priced accordingly), you might want to try to find an earlier edition, used.
Correction My name is María C. Dominicis and I am one of the authors of the book REPASE Y ESCRIBA. My co-author is Professor John J. Reynolds. The Workbook that accompanies the main text was not written by us but by Professor Thomas Allen, from the University of Wisconsin. Amazon should make this correction in their page. Also, the review that Amazon publishes refers to the Workbook, not to the main text, and the three-star rating should apply to the Workbook only since the main text hasn't been reviewed so far. Thanks.
Accurate answer key? My Spanish professor (a PhD) disagrees with some of the answers in the answer key. I have no opinion regarding this. Workbook, like most textbooks, is overpriced and unnecessarily revised. Good supplement to the text if one wants extra practice.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
