Polish: A Comprehensive Grammar

by Iwona Sadowska

A Comprehensive Grammar is a complete reference guide to the grammar system for all learners of Polish. It presents an accessible and systematic description of the language, focusing on real patterns of use in contemporary Polish.

The Grammar is a comprehensive work and an invaluable resource for students and anyone interested in linguistics and the way modern Polish works.

Features
The book is organized in such a way to promote a thorough understanding of Polish at all levels of structure; the sound system, formation of word and phrases and sentence construction. It offers a stimulating analysis of the complexities of the language, providing clear explanations and examples of each point.

A Comprehensive Grammar is the essential reference work on Polish grammar for all learners and users of the language.

Genres: Polish Literature

672 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is, as the title suggests, a very ample reference grammar of Polish written in English. In terms of depth of coverage, it blows Routledge’s shorter Polish: An Essential Grammar away, making one question why anyone should buy that book when they can get the Comprehensive one. All the more so considering that only this Comprehensive grammar contains everything the student needs to pass the Polish state language exam at B1 level, while the Essential grammar stops somewhere short of that.

Some of the organizational choices here make the Comprehensive grammar not entirely ideal for quickly looking up some detail of morphology, especially in the Noun part, hence my docking a star from the rating. But as a book that I could slowly read through to absorb all the basics of Polish, I was quite satisfied.

[Richard Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've put this down as read, but its not really a book one reads - it is one that is used, like a dictionary or other reference source. It is very thorough, and you can find a lot about Polish Grammar. The reason for only 3 stars is that it is actually pretty hard to use, as the way it is structured and the way the index is written can make it hard to find what you are looking for. It is an invaluable guide if you need a fairly detailed grammar reference - just prepare yourself for occasional frustrations looking things up. But I don't know any alternatives if you want this information in book format.