The Big Silver Book of Russian Verbs: 555 Fully Conjugated Verbs [Paperback]

***N.B. (Update written Dec. 15, 2007) This review was written before the third edition of "501 Russian Verbs" came out, and the new edition of that book is a significant upgrade over its predecessor. Author Thomas Beyer has added sample sentences for each verb, numerous practice exercises and a list of 55 essential verbs that receive extensive treatment. And the 100 verbs for the 21st century were retained in the third edition, meaning you actually get 601 verbs. "Big Silver" still has two advantages over "501": a much more in-depth introductory section on Russian verbs, and a list of 2,000 Russian verbs with a conjugation key. "Big Silver" author Jack Franke has another Russian book, titled "Streetwise Russian," due out in late May, although the release date has been moved back several times already.

Rather than say that this book is better or worse than "501 Russian Verbs," I'm going to compare it with its chief rival and point out what I consider the strengths and weaknesses of each. Please bear with a couple of random comments before I do that. As a newspaper copy editor, I know that errors invariably find their way into written material. Considering Mr. Franke's credentials as a teacher at the Defense Language Institute, I am sure his book is a reliable reference, even if it happens to contain the print peccadillos mentioned in a previous review. Also, in the spirit of fairness, I must point out that "501 Russian verbs" appends a partially conjugated list of 100 verbs "for the 21st Century" and therefore has the greater number of tabular verbs. Included in that list is zhevat' (to chew). I was unaware that chewing is a 21st-century phenomenon in Russia. But since that is neither here nor there, on to the salient points.

Advantages of Big Silver over 501:
*The usage examples, which are numerous and varied. The lack thereof is 501's biggest shortcoming.
*Clearer method of helping readers choose the correct case to go with the given verb.
*Verb exercises. They're not much, but a little practice is better than no practice. And there's an answer key.
*More thorough introductory section on Russian verbs, particularly the explanation of the ever-problematic verbs of motion.
*Russian verb index with more than 2,000 entries. It's also easy to find which one of the 555 verbs has the corresponding conjugation pattern.

Advantages of 501 over Big Silver
*Conjugated forms printed in larger type and with greater spacing between letters. I find 501's conjugations much more legible and an enormous help to memorization.
*Case cues that hint at the proper ending. I prefer Big Silver's method because it specifically states which case is required, so there's no need to consult the chart, but 501's way does help me visualize the case endings.
*Referring to the verb forms with the "biy" particle as conditional rather than subjunctive. Seems clearer to me.
*Fewer conjugation classifications. 501 follows the standard division, categorizing Russian verbs into either Type I or Type II. Big Silver, on the other hand, divides verbs into six classifications, which can cause an undue amount of confusion. I think 501's simplified approach works better.

So there you have it. I bought "501 Russian Verbs" first because it was the only one on the shelf when I went looking for a Russian verb book. My advice is to get both, unless you're just dabbling in the language. For about $35, you can ensure that you have at your fingertips the two best resources in English for making sense of Russian's notoriously tricky verbs.

As a university-level instructor of the Russian language, I am always on the lookout for user-friendly reference books for my students. Dr Franke's book is exceptional -- it presents Russian verbs in a manner that even first-year students can understand! His incorporation of each verb in sentence context, plus the inclusion of Russian idiomatic expressions, make this text a must-have for anyone interested in mastering the Russian language. I strongly endorse this reference book!

After using the 501 Russian Verb Book for so long "The Big Silver Book of Russian Verbs" is like a breath of fresh air. The presentation of verbs is much more intuitive and each verb offers actual every day usage examples... not one or two but five or more! This book is my new source for verbal usage. It should be a part of any student learning Russian's everyday study materials.

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