Hammer's German Grammar and Usage (Routledge Reference Grammars) Paperback – 27 May 2011

This is an extraordinary textbook, with over 500 pages of grammatical analysis. Clear, articulate & beautifully presented in a font that is easy to engage with. My goal is to develop my German grammar & vocabulary to a high 'A' level standard but this will benefit university undergraduates too. All grammatical points are illustrated with suitable examples and it is a pleasure to delve into.

I'm just an average guy who is slowly trying to learn German in his spare time. I bought this book because I often found myself confused by some of the grammatical constructions that I would sometimes encounter while reading German content. I have yet to encounter anything that I couldn't find an answer to within this book. In particular, it's helped me to grasp those fuzzy 'hard-to-translate' words, like prepositions and particles (e.g. schon, auf, an, zu & many more).I can tell this book isn't really aimed at people like me, as it's more for people who are already somewhat proficient, but I still find it extremely useful. You should definitely have a decent grasp of basic grammar terminology before reading this, but it's a great reference which demystifies the oh-so-challenging German language :-)

Esp. good for the university student and anyone with similar level of interest/prior knowledge. I find the content challenging to deal with (although I have studied English as a foreign language to degree level), however, it really does answer every question - and raises many more before that happens ;o). Basically, you start with what you thought was a basic question and end up having to study half a chapter because you realise there is no straightforward answer. I guess, since I am a native speaker of German, simple answers would not satisfy me, because I would always find an example that does not fit the rule of thumb.For me, the only real drawback is the layout: the pages are too crammed, and the many subheadings of various levels are confusing as one loses track of the overall structure of the chapter. A highlighter pen, however, can help make relevant subheadings stand out.

A brilliant handbook that has now served me throughout its existence in various editions and it gets better each time. It invariably comes up trumps with clear and straightforward illustrations on points of grammar and usage. I am so glad to have it and could not imagine not having ready access to it. Almost bedtime reading!

This is the comprehensive gold standard of german grammar, light bedtime reading it is not and likely to be pretty daunting to anyone who has not already completed at least A level standard study, but it's what you need if you want to get really good at German.

Not for nothing is this the most widly used German Grammar in English - it is clearn, full of examples, and works very well as a reference grammar, esp. if you want to look up specific topics. Both formation and use are extensively covered.

Since 1971, Hammer's and Durrell's grammars have been the ultimate example of German grammar and usage.This is the definitive "reference grammar", matching perfectly the realities of spoken usage with the requirements of different registers.Six stars!

I bought the used one. It's in the pretty good condition but, unfortunately, is full of handwriting, notes, marks, and even sketches.

Molto esaustivo e d'aiuto, chiaro e comprensibile.

I was on the lookout for a really intense grammar book for German. The few I have, i felt like they skimmed through the grammar or it wasn't enough on certain topics. This book is probably one of my favourite grammar books. It is written in a very university way of writing, and it can seem overwhelming as the book is quite big and has many chapters on grammar topics, in particular for me were B1-C1. But it has really helped me have a better understanding of the German grammar. I recommand this to anyone who wants to achieve a higher level of German from B1-C1 and wants to be fluent in German.

I can't recommend this grammar too highly. The first benefit is that it is clear, concise on each point, and above all comprehensive--gone is the frustration of finding nothing on a specific grammar point.Secondly, the index is extremely comprehensive and user-friendly. What good is a comprehensive grammar if the user cannot easily locate an answer to a specific question or a specific subject? Specific aspects of subjects as well as specific German words are thoroughly and accurately indexed. So often indexes are either superficial or indiscriminately include every passing mention of a subject. The index of Hammer's fifth edition is thorough but points you to where the indexed subject is explained, and not where it is merely mentioned in passing.Thirdly, syntax and word order are comprehensively covered in addition to morphology. A common problem with grammars is that they are strong on morphology (changes in the form of a word to make different tenses, plurals, and cases etc.), but the subtle mysteries of word order and how to make actual sentences are left unexplained, or there is only a treatment of the main points. In Hammer, not only are all the usual main points covered (e.g. words and prefixes that are shunted to the end of a clause or sentence), but the typical order of elements in a sentence are explained along with meaningful reasons for variation from that typical word order. Hallelujah! Now one can begin to understand how to draft and speak German sentences with various subtle changes in topic, or understand which elements of a German sentence are being highlighted.Fourthly, syntax and word order has its own section so it's easy to locate using the index, not scattered throughout as an afterthought to morphology.Fifthly, morphology is comprehensively treated.Sixthly, the layout is clear and the various topics are amply illustrated with excellent examples.This book is an excellent reference for the advanced learner of German, and I imagine is comprehensive enough for undergraduate or even graduate German as a general reference written in the English language. It would also be useful for high-school German, although it is comprehensive enough that it could prove disheartening to a beginner or even intermediate learner unless treated solely as a reference.

Imposante grammaire de 600+ pages, l'ouvrage est dense, mais l'index et les chapitres permettent de trouver facilement l'information recherchée.Jaime bien la typographie, claire et net malgré la monochromie.Je l'utilise en tant que référence (vérification des autres grammaires, dans lequel il arrive qu'il y ait des erreurs) et quand je cherche des informations sur des notions pointues que d'autres ouvrages décident de ne pas aborder au nom de la simplicité en sacrifiant la logique.La langue allemande est une langue logique. Plus logique que d'autres que j'ai apprise. Sans logique, elle est plus difficile à appréhender. Quand le livre dit ici "unpredictable", vous êtes sûrs que vous ne trouverez aucune règle ailleurs.J'adore cet ouvrage. Je ne pense pas qu'on puisse l'utiliser si on est débutant d'un bout à l'autre, car cela ferait trop d'un coup, mais plus pour approfondir une ou des notions au besoin.Si on est d'un niveau avancé, je suppose qu'on peut favoriser cette approche.Un livre d'exercices est attaché à l'ouvrage.

very useful for learners like me. I am really surprised as they gave me a german grammar exercise book too for practice. Thank you so much.