Spanish subjuntivo and pasados books

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Cavesa
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Spanish subjuntivo and pasados books

Postby Cavesa » Tue Mar 21, 2017 1:26 pm

Hi fellow Spanish learners,

I am considering buying two books published by Edelsa, Uso de indicativo y del subjuntivo and Uso de los pasados. And perhaps the third book in the series too (perifrasis verbales, I think, but it is quite impossible to get in the Czech Republic, so I'd need to pay delivery fees and I am not sure it is worth it). These books were published in 2016, but I haven't found them in physical bookstores, so I couldn't have a look and decide. And I haven't found samples on the internet.

Anyone has tried them? Edelsa had published the same topics in another of their series, which I've seen (an older series, similar format of the book but I cannot compare the content, and the books cost more). Any differences? Or experience with those? Or any alternative books treating these two big problems of mine?

I want simply more examples, more explanations (as each of them has been adding a new piece of puzzle so far) and many more exercises on these issues, as my recent addition of Subjuntivo imperfecto to the repertoire seems to have broken the whole structure of my grammar knowledge :-D

Edelsa has published several levels of Uso de la gramatica, but I didn't like them much, so I have chosen two other grammar series. These books I am considering now are tempting, as I hope each would teach me the one thing well.

Courses are helpful in this area, but still don't suffice. My beloved Gramatica de Uso is awesome, but it is a bit too fast and there are too few exercises of subjuntivos, for my taste. Yes, all the subjuntivo chapters take like a quarter of the book, but there are new things and uses being added at every doublepage, while I could use more practice of the previous use. I am glad that Czech based books are treating subjuntivo from a bit different angle, but it is still not exactly in place. For the record, the Anaya Gramatica books, despite being quite good in general, treat subjuntivo in an absolutely insufficient manner, in my opinion.

I have quite a lot of resources that include subjuntivo and the past tenses, but they all need and try to do many things well, therefore cannot focus just on this stuff. But I think that trully mastering these issues is a must, if I want to present myself to DELE C1 this autumn. There is a deadline, after which I'll have to start preparatory books and already know all this stuff, and I am not a millionaire. So my questions are:

Are the two books by Edelsa worth the time investment and will they fulfill my expectations?
Are they worth the 12 or so euros I can buy each of them for?

A bonus question: Anyone knows a good resource comparing French and Spanish? I am considering buying a French based grammar, not sure which one.

Thanks in advance for your advice!
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kunsttyv
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Re: Spanish subjuntivo and pasados books

Postby kunsttyv » Tue Mar 21, 2017 2:53 pm

Click here! For a sample from the pasados book (from the pretérito perfecto unit, maybe not the most pressing issue). You can see the unit layout and also the table of contents.

I'm also very interested in these books, thanks for notifying me! If you are to get them and work through them, I'd love to know how they are coming along.
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klvik
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Re: Spanish subjuntivo and pasados books

Postby klvik » Tue Mar 21, 2017 3:34 pm

For what it is worth, volume 4 of FSI Spanish Basic has multiple units on the imperfect subjunctive. The explanations are sparse, but it has a lot of example sentences.
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Cavesa
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Re: Spanish subjuntivo and pasados books

Postby Cavesa » Tue Mar 21, 2017 3:49 pm

Thanks!

Weird, I couldn't find the sample without the link. Fortunately, I could use the adress from the link to have a look at the second sample too. The books appear rather short, especially the one on the past tenses. And there is only half a unit in the sample, it is missing the part that might be the best and most worth the investment: a story with the tenses.

From the samples, I am not convinced buying these books would give me anything more than I already have in my grammar books. Perhaps I'll change my mind after using all the other options, or I'll find them in a library, who knows.

Thanks, klvik. FSI is a good idea, if I choose units on the things that trouble me. It is not just the imperfect subjunctive. I think it was just the last tiny push to a house of cards I had believed to be more stable than it actually was. Now, I am confused even in the indicative past tenses again :-D
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Tomás
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Re: Spanish subjuntivo and pasados books

Postby Tomás » Tue Mar 21, 2017 6:54 pm

Another choice is "El Subjuntivo", by Immaculada Molina, published in 2006.
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