Juan Kattan-Ibarra - Spanish Grammar in Context, Third Edition

	Spanish Grammar in Context
THIRD EDITION

‘This is a well-conceived edition, which covers important grammatical areas clearly and methodically, while engaging students with topics of interest to their studies. I recommend it highly.’

Ronan Fitzsimons, Nottingham Trent University, UK

‘Great use of authentic texts to introduce Spanish grammar and culture.’

Viviannette González-Barreto, Indiana University, USA

Spanish Grammar in Context provides an accessible and stimulating approach to learning grammar. Authentic texts are used to illustrate and explain the key areas of Spanish grammar, followed by a range of exercises to help students reinforce and test their understanding.

An answer key is also presented at the back of the book.

Features include:

• A rich variety of texts sourced from all over the Spanish-speaking world, including excerpts from contemporary literature, magazines and newspapers
• Texts carefully selected to cover topical issues and themes relevant to contemporary Spain and Latin America
• Clear, user-friendly and comprehensive coverage of grammar, aided by a list of grammatical terms
• An abundance of exercises designed to build up grammatical understanding and effective comprehension and communication skills
• Free companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/Kattan-Ibarra featuring an assortment of extra exercises for additional practice.

This third edition has been revised and updated throughout and offers new exercises and fresh texts.

Spanish Grammar in Context will be an essential resource for intermediate to advanced students of Spanish. It is suitable for both classroom use and independent study.

Juan Kattán-Ibarra is a freelance author.

Angela Howkins was formerly Lecturer in Spanish at Dundee College, Scotland. She has taught widely in Spanish and has lectured on Spanish history and civilisation.

LANGUAGES IN CONTEXT

The Languages in Context series presents students with an engaging way of learning grammar while also acquiring cultural and topical knowledge. Each book in the series uses authentic texts, drawn from a generous variety of sources, as the starting point for the explanation of key areas of grammar. Grammar points are then consolidated with a wide range of exercises to test students’ understanding.

Aimed at intermediate to advanced students, the Languages in Context series is suitable for both class use and independent study.

The following books are available in this series:

French Grammar in Context

Spanish Grammar in Context

German Grammar in Context

JUAN KATTÁN-IBARRA AND ANGELA HOWKINS

First published in Great Britain in 2003 by Hodder Arnold

Second edition published in 2008 by Hodder Education, part of Hachette UK Company

This third edition published in 2014 by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2003, 2008, 2014 Juan Kattán-Ibarra and Angela Howkins

The right of Juan Kattán-Ibarra and Angela Howkins to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Kattán-Ibarra, Juan.

Spanish grammar in context / Juan Kattan Ibarra, Angela Howkins. – Third Edition.

pages cm. – (Languages in Context)

Previous ed.: London : Hodder Education, 2nd ed., 2008.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Spanish language–Grammar. 2. Spanish language–Grammar–Problems, exercises, etc. 3. Spanish language–Textbooks for foreign speakers–English. I. Howkins, Angela. II. Title.

PC4112.K38 2014

468.2′421–dc23

2013031174

ISBN: 978-0-415-72348-0 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-415-72347-3 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-81746-0 (ebk)

There comes a point in language study where an understanding of how a language functions is vital for progress to be made. Spanish Grammar in Context is designed to give students who are in the final years of school or the early stages of university study, and adult learners who are at an equivalent stage, an understanding of how Spanish functions in a practical and relevant way. More advanced students may also find the book both interesting and useful for review and revision purposes.

The starting point of each chapter is an authentic text in which a particular grammatical point is highlighted. This focuses the student’s attention on this part of speech and how it functions in context. There then follows a clear and concise explanation of both form and usage, with examples from the text or from everyday language. Differences in usage between Peninsular and Latin American Spanish are noted. The subsequent exercises provide practice of the grammar points highlighted and explained in the text. Exercises vary from the practice of form and use within the context of a single sentence through gap-fill to more open-ended communicative types of exercises. Translation exercises are included, especially where usage differs considerably from English and so can cause problems for English speakers. Except for those exercises which are of a communicative nature, a key is provided for the exercises of each chapter, thus making the book ideal for self-study. In the classroom context, it can be used for the study of grammar and/or of a topic area, as the texts chosen lend themselves to exploitation beyond the study of the grammar point in question.

The texts are taken from authentic sources from all over the Spanish-speaking world. They include excerpts from contemporary literature, and from newspaper and magazine articles, including ‘agony aunt’ letters, and have a richness and variety which make them intrinsically interesting to read. Some exercises relate to the topic of the text, others simply practise the particular grammatical point, the aim of all types being to help students to achieve a greater understanding of function and a greater confidence when using the language for their own communicative purposes.