I bought this book after having looked far and wide to discover that there is not a single good Polish grammar book in the English language. This one is at least comprehensive and well organised.
On the other hand, it has instances of language so obsolete that no Poles use it at all and many Poles do not even know about it (e.g. 'miA '). It's clear the author has relied too much on written sources and lacks an intimate knowledge of the language, which is a pity, considering the reputation of the university she works for.
Worst of all is the contextualisation of the grammar. 'There are no trees in this forest'. So where's the forest then? It was proven decades ago in the English language teaching industry that poorly contextualised examples hinder the acquisition of language. When will Polish book writers learn this?
So why not only one star? Because it's the best on the market. If you hope to learn Polish grammar with the help of a book, I strongly reccommend this one and only this one. It helped me immensely. |
Polish: An Essential Grammar (Routledge Grammar) Books In Print, Audio Books.