Advanced Spanish Step-by-Step: Master Accelerated Grammar to Take Your Spanish to the Next Level (2012)

Preface

Advanced Spanish Step-by-Step is a progressive program for mastering the Spanish language, written for intermediate and advanced learners. It teaches grammar and conversation in a logical order so that you can continue to develop your language skills naturally. This book is the next step after Easy Spanish Step-by-Step. If you’re just beginning with the language or need a review, Easy Spanish Step-by-Step is the place to start.

To take full advantage of the unique grammatical progression of the book, you should study each chapter, or step, one after another. Each step you take will lead you to the next. Each chapter contains clear grammar explanations; be sure you understand every concept before moving on to the next. Because there are few exceptions to rules, once you have learned a concept, it is yours.

Written and oral exercises are included to check your understanding and progress. Poems and stories by acclaimed authors, as well as original stories and poems by the author of this book, are included in every chapter. These readings become progressively more challenging in form and content. The Reading Comprehension sections will help you learn new vocabulary, give you practice in reading aloud, and serve as a source for discussions with your classmates.

Advanced Spanish Step-by-Step is divided into three parts. The first part reviews the present tense and uses of ser and estar, the preterit and imperfect tenses, the progressive tenses, the present subjunctive, and commands. The second part is an in-depth explanation of nouns, articles, adjectives, pronouns, and the present and past perfect tenses. The third part covers the future and conditional tenses, the past subjunctive, and idioms.

If you studied Easy Spanish Step-by-Step, you’ll notice a brief review of ser and estar at the beginning of the first chapter. Go over it so that you refresh the basics of these two verbs. In the second chapter, devoted mostly to the past tenses of ser and estar, there is included a review of the preterit and imperfect tenses of all verbs. The present subjunctive is included in Advanced Spanish Step-by-Step so that you can review it before continuing to the command form, which has many of the same conjugations. All of the rest is completely new and will complete your knowledge of Spanish grammar.

This book is written with a logical approach that makes Spanish grammar accessible, even when some individual concepts are difficult. With Advanced Spanish Step-by-Step, you can learn to speak fluently, using all elements of Spanish. Have fun, and enjoy speaking and understanding Spanish everywhere you need it. See you in Xochicalco!