Polish: A Comprehensive Grammar (Routledge Comprehensive Grammars)

This book is extremely detailed which can make learning Polish even more intimidating. I first joined Duolingo and wanted to get a book to complement the learning process. I don’t think I would like trying to learn Polish with this book only, but it is very full of the details of the language, which is a difficult language for an English speaker to learn. I gave it 5 stars because it is a very good book, but I don’t think it’s what you want by itself if you are just beginning.

Package was left out in the rain, so some book pages were damp and wavy. They rang doorbell for 1st package delivered today, but not for this one. The book itself has good info.

Haven’t seen a good thorough book like this in a long time. Old-school excellence.

I find myself using this everyday. Yes, it is detailed and comprehensive. The author leaves NOTHING out. This textbook will answer ANY Polish grammar question that you may have.

Very comprehensive grammar, really. It comes without any exercises.

A little too scholarly for the beginner learner

This is by far the best, most comprehensive, and most up-to-date Polish grammar available. I recommend it highly.I have a small bookshelf full of Polish grammatical texts, most of which are dog-eared and disintegrating from years of heavy use. Among them are Bielec's "Polish: An Essential Grammar" (which, in my opinion, is good, but somewhat frustratingly organized, and more of an overview than a comprehensive reference), Janecki's indispensable "301 Polish Verbs", and Swan's "Grammar of Contemporary Polish" (which has an excellent explanation of, among other things, the declension of cardinal and ordinal numbers in Polish, a topic which I normally find completely inscrutable). I'd always considered Swan's work to be the gold standard when it comes to Polish grammatical reference texts for English-speakers, but Sadowska has easily surpassed it with her new "Polish: A Comprehensive Grammar". Her book is written with the intellectual rigor of a professional scholar, the accessibility and empathy of a natural teacher, and the rich insights into the grammar, syntax, and contemporary usage of Polish that only a native speaker can possess.The other texts mentioned above are quite good, in their own way, but Sadowska's book invariably goes two or three levels "deeper", to explore and elucidate nuances of language that other books usually don't even bother to mention at all. The lasting thought that I'm left with after reading Sadowska is that "If an element of Polish grammar isn't mentioned *somewhere* in her book, then it probably doesn't exist."Reading her text is like taking a Polish course with a patient, thoughtful native speaker who will walk you through everything that you could ever possible want or need to know about the form and usage of the Polish language. I especially appreciate the fact that her book isn't written in a dry, abstract style, but is brimming with sample sentences exemplifying all of the grammatical points. This is very helpful for people (like me) who find it easier to learn when rules and theoretical structures are complemented with a wealth of real-world examples.Personally, I imagine that every self-respecting school library ought to have a copy, and I think that the book will be an invaluable work for writers, translators, scholars, and intermediate or advanced students of Polish who have found books like Swan's "Grammar of Contemporary Polish" helpful but incomplete, and who have have been yearning for a truly comprehensive and up-to-date exploration of the most intricate (and beautiful) mysteries of the Polish language.I haven't yet seen the Kindle version, but if I ever have the chance, I'll try to update this review with any additional comments, if I notice that the Kindle version differs in any way from the printed book.

The English language has been crying out for a comprehensive, yet facile treatment of the Polish language. Surprisingly, such a book didn't exist before the publication of this fine new work from Iwona Sadowska, Chair of Polish Studies at Georgetown University. The chief value of the book is as the title suggests, it's thoroughness. Just about every possibility in the tricky Polish language is covered in a very specific, concrete manner that demystifies the language. Indeed, when one uses this book, I feel the only excuse for not learning correct Polish is failure to read it! At 672 pages, it packs a punch, but the beauty of it is you can rest assured you have the veritable Bible of the topic.But where the book moves past good to become brilliant, is its ease of use. Grammatical topics are organized in a very logical sequence which makes looking up questions easy. Plenty of tables and examples guide the reader through the book and provide quick visual references. At its length, such a book could be unwieldy, but the worlds seem to leap off the page in an airy fashion making you forget how dense and protracted the subject matter is. Such is Professor Sadowska's gift -- making the complex Polish language not only accessible, but a joy to study and understand. She doesn't shield the reader from the language's complexities, but embraces them and demystifies them in a way that turns the proposition of learning Polish around 180 degrees. What once was a daunting, conjugation & consonant-ridden task is now a gentler passage to Polish language proficiency.I highly recommend this book, no matter the price, to all students of the Polish language; in fact, I would classify it as essential. I can't imagine learning Polish without this book; for one, I wouldn't be assured what I was learning was correct or complete, and two, it would take a lot longer. With Polish: A Comprehensive Grammar, you have the best of both worlds -- technical excellence & thoroughness and extreme usability.

Good if you are learning polish as second language

No complaints. Does what it said it would. - m.

Thoroughly comprehensive, excellent grammar structure presentation, highly recommended over every other grammar book!

Thorough treatment of Polish grammar, but with some errors/typos. Nevertheless, a good buy!

This book was intended to be the backbone of my learning, the solid rock on which to build a foundation. Iwona Sadowska presents every topic with a lot of details, nicely structured. This book is indeed a grammar book, and it is wise to keep in mind that Polish grammar is very complex, compared to many other languages. Thus, any Polish comprehensive grammar would seem pretty heavy to someone who is not familiar with the language, such as myself.I started learning Polish four months ago, but I'm a bit familiar with many concepts of grammar, being a teacher of German and English. I am aware that there will be a lot of work needed, in order to comprehend all this content, and I obviously have a lot of work ahead of me.Perhaps needless to say; you will have a hard time learning Polish using this book alone. The book does not give you lessons or tell you what to do first. Each chapter deals with an aspect of the Polish language. I found the section on spelling and pronunciation particularly useful, but I would advice beginners to also use auditive sources for checking pronunciation. YouTube is full of good instructional films about learning Polish.The pronunciation instructions in my Polish dictionary contained at least two errors. I have not discovered any errors in this book, but perhaps I will when my skill in Polish increases, who knows. I was very pleased with the way nasal sounds were explained. Implementing these rules takes a lot of time, as the symbols are pronounced based on what letter follows them.In addition to this book, I use the Rough Guide Phrasebook to pick up useful phrases fast. I also use a dictionary to find words that I need. This comprehensive grammar I use in order to understand why certain variants or forms are used, and to be able to create my own sentences with correct grammar. As of right now, I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the rules there are, but some day I will have adjusted to them all, and expressing oneself will become easier.I also recommend 301 Polish Verbs, as it provides so many examples of correct grammar, all in one place. I think the vital challenge is designing a good strategy for learning Polish. Where do I begin? Which activities will lead to learning?An interactive course called "Transparent Polish Premium edition" is very good. This was my starting point, and I got a lot for my money, yet I missed someone to turn to who could explain. This someone became this book, and even though it contains much more than what I'm looking for here and now, I think I will always have something to learn from it, provided I have the patience to find it.I recommend buying various materials for learning a language. Expect a lot of work in order to learn, expect there to be tough and overwhelming challenges ahead of you, and find somewhere to start. Be patient, work hard, give up for a while, then return to work. Enjoy breakthroughs in understanding. This is where this book is vital.If the Polish language is new to you, as it is to me, spend a lot of time listening to it and reading it. I'm reading a classic, the Chronicles of Narnia, in Polish. I don't know the details of what I'm reading, but I get used to phrases, and every now and then I recognize a word or two.You could also search for "Polish web radio" on the Internet, or listen to Polish music. Right now I'm enjoying the voice of Polish rapper Sokol, appearing in Zary Zdarzen's song "do fury". Search YouTube for "Sokol do fury".I hope readers enjoy my advice; I hope to inspire more people to keep learning Polish, as I find this to be an exciting process, although very challenging at times.If you're serious about learning Polish thoroughly, get this book.If you only need to know a few phrases on a holiday, skip it.