Excellent book for serious students of Spanish and treats the language at some depth. Includes usages from both Spain and Latin America in various registers. Words and and phrases appropriate for informal and more formal usage. Quibble in that the book has come apart with fairly light and careful use.

This book was an amazing tool in my study of Spanish. It is not a traditional grammar, but it is still amazingly quick, succint, and too-the-point. It is technical book, in the sense that it doesn't waste time or space with those corny dialogues and phrases that seem to abound in beginner books. Instead, this book fills a critical gap: what you need to know about the structure and syntax of the language in order to go from low-intermediate speaker to advanced fluency. Most intermediate-advanced books resemble "readers", this book is the opposite. There is a wealth of information on false cognates, "registers" (ways of speaking according to the situation), and - my favorite - the right prepositions to use after nouns and verbs, a constant source of errors for non-native speakers who have trouble grasping how "pensar en" means "to think about". This book was just what I needed to move from intermediate foreign Spanish speaker to a fluent speaker. It is especially accessible and meaningful for language learners who - like me - actually find "grammar" to be one of the exciting and valuable parts of language learning.

Having English as my first language I have appreciated the virtues of this book for a number of years. It is well organized with clear explanations and many examples. One of the features I value highly is the classification of words and expressions by their "register", meaning the social context in which the usage occurs. Anything from obscene to formal and legalistic. You will need a year or two of Spanish before the book can be useful.

I found much accurate and appropriate information in this stout tome, which I can heartily recommend to any intermediate or advanced student.

It tells you several ways in Spanish to say "thief", or different kinds of thieves, and many other concepts, like "invention", "disorder", etc.

Despite its usefulness -- comparable to that of its sister volumes on synonyms usage in German, Russian and Spanish --, I find that the labeling of the various synonyms is deficient, since there is no mention of the frequency with which a word is used (some words given are fairly recherche, but not noted as such).

The authors make a welcome and most timely concession to lexical diversity among the various Hispanic lands, by supplying what appears on first impression to be a fairly representative list of Argentine and Mexican terms. The choice is as representative as it can be if one restricts oneself to only 3 countries: the abovesaid two plus Spain. Spain, however, has no register of its own; rather it is conflated with the main register. Thus we see looming before us the the nemesis of Spanish-language lexicography in the 20th -- and hitherto 21st -- century. The rock upon which it constntly stumbles is that it has failed to record adequately the varied, often subtle, often dramatic differences in vocabulary between various countries.

And such a geographical labeling is really necessary, since some of the words listed are of geographically restricted use, and nonetheless appear as if universally valid. It is no longer, as in English-language lexicography, to use a common vocabulary in communion among the 21 Spanish-speaking countries.

It is my intention to rectify this deplorable state of affairs in the immediate future. Until then, trust your instincts.

Good book with synonyms in all registers. Excellent guide for those looking to improve their language skills

Why do you need to know synonyms in Spanish? "Owing to this is the thing does thy Spanish dive slippery besides relaxed, id est within the limit." (Trans: Because this is what makes your Spanish sound fluent and easy, not to mention comprehensible) This is the only comprehensive guide to Spanish synonyms that exists specifically for English-speakers. It covers nouns, verbs and adjectives; each one is listed indicating its register(formal, informal, colloquial, vulgar) and is used in sample sentences to illustrate its context. In 720 pages, the reader will find each grouping of synonyms under a generic headword (for example; chicken, goat, cow, horse, and sheep could be found under "barnyard animals"). Distinctions are also made among words which are either restricted to particular geographical areas (Argentina, Mexico and Spain), or are understood differently in these regions. Save yourself the embarrasment of using words out of context and buy this book!

This is a book that you can find a lot of explanations of French language which is classified into 3 main groups: R1, R2 & R3. The book explains that R1: very informal usage, R2: polite, but normal and R3:very formal(such as when you talk with the "big boss")...So by this classification you learn how to say sth. in an appropriate way depending on your situation. It is very useful, if you are thinking of living in France.