Essentials of Swedish Grammar: A Practical Guide to the Mastery of Swedish

by Åke Viberg, Sune Stjärnlöf (Editor), Kerstin Ballardini (Editor)

This compact volume offers an integrated guide to the major grammatical concepts needed for writing and speaking Swedish.

Genres: Swedish Literature, Nonfiction, Reference, Language, Unfinished, Scandinavian Literature

159 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent compact grammar resource for learning Swedish. Doesn't always cover more in-depth aspects, but is an excellent starting point to master basic-intermediate communication.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful grammar reference that is easily toted around, to be read in spare moments. I would not call it an all-inconclusive grammar book, and this alone would not be enough, but it is helpful to have to supplement my other materials until I find The One. The Philip Holmes Comprehensive and Essential Grammars are great, but at the time, this book seemed to be more what I was looking for in regards to the section on pronunciation and the format. I also felt that this book clarified a lot of my confusion on topics that were more confusing to me, like indirect questions and determiners, and the Introduction was a nice overall summary.

Comprehensive Grammar will probably be my next purchase with the intent of having something to cover all bases; however, this volume will always be of use to me, if only for the accessibility of how it is organized and what is covered, and the portability of it. I think there is great use in having grammar books on multiple levels, for me anyway, and this one fits the bill for something concise and accessible.

With the help of this book and an internet dictionary, I'm able to read and make sense of some items in Swedish that belonged to my grandmother, and documents on the Swedish side of my family, so I am quite satisfied with Essentials as a learning tool and reference--what more could I ask for!

[Krysten · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my New Year's resolutions was to learn Swedish. The year is wrapping up and I definitely do not know Swedish, but this book has been a lifesaver while trying to learn! I expect to read this book many, many, many more times!

[Kevin Albrecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are learning Swedish, this is the single greatest resource.

[Yomna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been learning Swedish for two weeks. It was really difficult to find anything to start with. And then, I found this book! It seems a very comprehensive, yet, not in depth about what someone may ever need to know about the language to learn it. I do not really know to which level exactly this book is intended to be. I only finished some Duolingo lessons, so, my knowledge of Swedish is pretty much close to zero, but, I was able to understand what is written in the book, especially when almost any Swedish word is translated into English and the language of the book itself is pretty simple. The two chapters about pronunciation and some voices, that a Swedish language learner should be aware of, are the only thing that I wasn't a fan of. It is also because it's way easier to just listen to them somewhere than to read them in a written form! So, I never really bother with voices in a written form and just stayed concentrated on the other stuff.
I think it is also useful to look again in the book, if needed, after advancing my Swedish more, if needed, of course. It is just the language seems to be not so popular, and it's simply better to have even a very shortened summary of the main structure of the language, than to be totally in the dark, right?

[Yaotl Altan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Swedish. Essentials of Grammar", by Ake Viberg, Kerstin Ballardini and Sune Stjärnlöf

I still don't understand Swedish radio :) after reading it, but I already recognize some Swedish words and how its syntax works. It will certainly be useful for those who want to start a conversation with representatives of Swedish companies in their native language.

The book is well structured to ease the learning process, but a good improvement for later editions would be adding a bit of color and diagrams because that's how mind retains concepts better.

159 pages published by Mc Graw-Hill.

[Bárbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good help to those wanting to learn Swedish, but I wouldn't say it's "the essential guide", as the grammar explanations seem to be a bit all over the place. But maybe that's just because of the way I've learned it so far.

[Kei · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's okay to be used as a simple reference book on the very basic grammar, but the logic of this book seems a bit off :/ And for many parts, it's more like a touch-and-go.
Could have been better.

P.S. I personally prefer Swedish: An Essential Grammar by Philip Holmes and Ian Hinchliffe.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to understand yet very comprehensive. Introduction of new grammar rules is well paced so that you don't feel overwhelmed. I highly recommend it to anyone learning Swedish!

[Piotr Kalinowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise description of the basics to get you started learning Swedish with many real-world examples. Highly recommended.

[Jake Brannen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the methodology disappointingly reductive for my level of academic linguistics, but this is certainly a good place to start for the beginning language learner.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're wanting to learn Swedish, and want a good background in the grammar, I recommend this book.

[Sara Anar]

excellent book