Learn & Retain Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French with Spaced Repetition: 1,000+ Anki Notes with Comparative Grammar, Vocabulary, Common Phrases, ... & Retain Languages with Spaced Repetition)

by ADROS VERSE EDUCATION

Study, Learn, and Compare the four major Romance Languages Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French with this complete comparative grammar & vocabulary handbook and over 1,000 easy-to-use Anki flashcards!

*** The Flashcards are Available for FREE until December 31, 2026 using the coupon code in the Appendix ***

Specially designed as a fun, practical, and accessible path to learn and compare the four main Romance Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French at the same time through spaced repetition, this ultimate language learning handbook offers readers an engaging and enjoyable way of building their vocabulary and learning comparative grammar faster.

Featuring six levels of difficulty with multiple charts, tables, and examples, inside you will find an intuitive path to effortlessly improving your comprehension, memory, and comparative grammar skills of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French simultaneously. Instead of studying each language separately, this book allows you to save a great deal of time to study and compare the four main Romance languages at once.

This book can be very useful to you and serve as a great reference whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced student, whether you are a multilingual person or you just want to get an all-round knowledge, and whether you are a tourist or a businessman.

Drawing on the benefits of the spaced repetition learning system, including its power to challenge you with words you’re about to forget while downplaying vocabulary you’ve already mastered, Learn & Retain Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French with Spaced Repetition includes simple examples and lots of flashcards at Level I to help you build your confidence at your own pace. You’ll also uncover audio elements with the Anki decks to help you pronounce words and use grammar like a native speaker.

Book

Features a Complete Path to Learning Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French, With Six Levels of DifficultyCan Be Used in Conjunction with Over 1,000 Anki Deck Flashcards for Level IOver 4,000 Additional Anki Deck Flashcards can be Purchased from Our Website, or You can Create Your Own Cards Using the Templates from Level ILets You Review Tricky Material More Often, so You Can Learn More EfficientlyPerfect for Readers of All Skill Levels, From Beginner to Intermediate and BeyondIncludes Practical Examples, Audio Elements, and Step-By-Step Lessons for Grammar and VocabularyAnd Much More...
So, if you want to say goodbye to boring memory exercises, then Learn & Retain Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French with Spaced Repetition is for you! These intuitive lessons are designed to make learning a deeply enjoyable and rewarding process as you watch your comprehension skyrocket taking advantage of the grammatical and lexical similarities between the four Romance languages.

With Anki decks that are tailored to challenge you and present you with harder words and comparative grammar questions as you improve, now you can level up your knowledge, avoid repeating words you already know, and grow your vocabulary like never before.

Are you ready to transform your knowledge of Romance languages with the power of spaced repetition and flashcards? Then scroll up and grab your copy today!

Genres: Nonfiction, Language

605 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2024

About the author

Adros Verse Education S.R.L. is a passionate language learning company who are on a mission to turn learning a new language into a fun, easy, and interactive experience! Through a dedicated collection of educational material, including extensive books and flashcards through the Anki software, the team at Adros Verse Education S.R.L. are committed to empowering readers of all ages and backgrounds to achieve their language-learning goals.

As the publisher of Learn & Retain Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French with Spaced Repetition, as well as numerous collections of Anki flashcards to suit beginner and advanced learners, Adros Verse Education S.R.L. aims to provide people with an informative and user-friendly approach to picking up new vocabulary, learning new phrases, and building confidence through the powerful spaced repetition methodology.

Reviews

[Tim Cann · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review for the Kindle edition of this book and the accompanying flash cards focuses primarily on two of the languages since I am familiar with one of them and learning the other. I also got this book because the Anki flash card software got me through graduate school in an unrelated subject.

Although I got this book for two languages, it has details on four: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French. According to this book these are the “Romance” languages that the U.S. foreign service notes as being the easiest for native English-speakers to learn due to their similarity with that language.

The book is a great value for information on those four languages. However, I found the amount of detail and information to be a little distracting since I’m primarily interested in only two of the languages. In particular, this book is 600 pages long and sometimes one can get confused as to which language is being discussed.

This book is clearly designed for students who are simultaneously learning two or more of the four languages in the book, or who already know one or more of them and are learning another of them. If this describes you, then this is the right book for you. If you are like me, and know one of the languages and are learning another one of them, the other information might be a little distracting. I initially thought that I would get a little more value from the book by getting the four-language version, but now I think that maybe I should have just opted for the two-language version instead, and then gotten another textbook in the Adros Verse series later on if necessary—there are many of them. If you aren’t interested in speaking at least 3 out of 4 of these languages, you may want to consider making such a choice.

The book starts very simply with the Greek alphabet, progressing from A through Z, discussing the use and pronunciation of each letter in each of the four languages, sometimes digressing into differences between pronunciation in each language, after which it discusses unique accents and sounds in each language. The strengths and weaknesses of the whole book are apparent in this section. On one hand, it provides vital comparisons and contrasts between the four languages that you may not find in another book that focuses on fewer languages, but on the other hand, it is a little overwhelming for a reader who is primarily interested in two out of the four languages.

The lessons continue with pronunciations of equivalent words, which I found to be especially valuable. These tables do not contain random words but are organized by consonant and vowel sounds so that learners have a convenient way to acclimate themselves to the differences of the other language. The book then progresses to colors, days of the week, verb conjugation charts, and the usual language book fare—just in four languages. Throughout, the authors provide valuable discussions of similarities and differences between the languages. Phonetics are also provided throughout the book and some familiarity with them would be very helpful.

The last quarter of the book focuses on advanced topics and focuses slightly more on Italian and French than the other languages.

As for the Anki flash cards, they come with the sounds of words being spoken, but some of the sounds do not work in Anki. One of them had a loud chirp that hurt my ears—I recommend you use the flash cards without headphones. I removed one star from my rating because some of the sounds did not work in the flash cards, though I suppose that if you’re curious, you could always get the pronunciation from Google Translate though it wouldn’t be from a human.

In summary, this is a valuable reference book, particularly for the language learner who wants to speak at least 3 of these languages. If you’re like myself, and know one of the languages and are interested in learning a second, you might consider getting one of Adros Verse’s other two-language books. However, I must say that reading through this book does make me feel like I might actually be able to speak three or all four of the languages, which is a kind of exciting prospect, and if you already bought the book, then why not give it a try?

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Learn and Retain Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French with Spaced Repetition is a manual of comparative grammar of the four principal Romance languages spoken in the world today. I hold a Ph.D. in French and have taught French for many years at all levels and to all ages. I am also actively learning Portuguese. My comments on the book will mostly focus on these two languages, but I did also enjoy the exposure to Spanish and Italian grammar.

The Pros:

• This is a fairly comprehensive manual. It not only presents the grammar of four distinct languages, but it also includes notes on pronunciation, spelling, and vocabulary. As far as French is concerned, I could think of nothing that the authors had left out. The pronunciation section will be difficult for naïve learners of the languages—in my experience as an instructor and a student of language, it is much more efficient to learn pronunciation by ear with audio and video examples. But the list of pronunciation rules, especially for French, could be quite useful to learners.

• It is fascinating to see these four languages presented together. The similarities in grammar and vocabulary are numerous. Even though I have never studied Italian, for example, I now have a grasp of how it works, including its divergences and convergences with French and Portuguese. For speakers of one or two Romance languages, this book will very quickly engage you in the other languages and facilitate your general understanding of the structure and mechanics.

• Although it took me a little while to get the Anki Notes to work on my devices, I think they are an excellent complement to this book. The spaced repetition model works very well, especially because students are able to control it by marking the words and expressions that they find difficult or easy.

The Cons:

• I found numerous mistakes. Some of these are copy editing mistakes—repetitions, places where one language is indicated but the text is in another language, and mis-translations. [E.g. p. 174 “Ce cadeau est pour vous” does not translate to “I trust in you.”] These types of mistakes are not a big deal for an expert but could be confusing and misleading to someone who is trying to learn one of these languages and does not know enough to spot the error.

--One larger error I spotted concerns the way plural commands in the first person are taught for French. French does not derive the first-person plural command from the present subjunctive, but rather from the present indicative (p. 328). The examples in French are correct, so this may again be another copy-editing error.

• I disagree with the organization of some of the topics. For example, I think expressions using “to have” and “to do” belong in the elementary section of the book and not intermediate. These are frequently used expressions that are fairly easy to grasp and should be available to the beginner. Topics also follow one another with no transition and no clear logic. I found it disorientating to go from studying the ordinal numbers to the imperfect subjunctive tense, for example.

• The authors make it clear in the introduction that they are focusing on Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Spanish, though I do wish they could have included the continental versions of these languages and noted the grammar differences more comprehensively.

In sum, if you are already proficient in one of these four languages and interested in formally studying the grammar of one or the others, this manual will definitely be helpful and you will be amazed at just how similar these languages are.

[Tim Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's get the disclaimers out of the way: I received a free review copy. I've also written two text books in the Teach Yourself series, so have my own ideas about what works for teaching a language.

Learn & Retain [...] with Spaced Repetition is a series by Andros Verse Education. The name of the author isn't visible in the books. There have been several already: this particular one is more of a compendium, featuring four languages. That results in a larger book, at 409 pages in total. It's text-heavy, lacking in white space. In other words, the learner is getting bang for their buck.

This particular book presents Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian. The introduction sets out that we're generally looking at the Latin American and Brazilian versions of the first two languages, which is important to know, since there are distinctions between them depending on which side of the Atlantic they're from. The presence of the Brazilian flag on the cover helps to make this apparent. I don't see what alternative the author had to using the Spanish one, so can overlook its being there.

The introduction explains the approach that this book proposes which distinguishes it from others: spaced repetition. This is similar to traditional flashcards but with a modern tweak: an algorithm determines which cards the learner sees in study sessions, foregoing items already mastered in favour of those that are proving problematic. That's a clear improvement.

Anki is the app of choice for this role, and there is a commendably clear explanation in the introduction in how to set it up, which includes a link to a video, plus downloadable flashcards to be used with the book. Learners are advised to finish a lesson in a section and then activate Anki, little and often being favoured to reading the book like a novel.

The vast bulk of the book (page 14 to 397) consists of the learning material, comprising six numbered "levels", with accompanying description from "basic" to "fluent". There's an awful lot to take in: the first level is over 100 pages in length, eating up over a quarter of the book. It's too long: learners need to feel that they're making progress, that the end is in sight. Even though it's broken down into nine numbered headings, we're still talking much to digest and no respite from the fact that you're a long way from finishing the first section.

The subsequent levels get progressively shorter, although Level II ("beginner") is still a lengthy 80 pages. I found the labelling to be unclear: how really are "basic", "beginner" and "elementary" (the description of Level III) distinct from each other? Learners have to wait until page 259 to get material labelled "intermediate". That's too long a journey to jump from what I would consider one level (beginner/basic/elementary) to another clearly demarcated one.

There are occasions where I struggle to see how the content in each unit matches the label. We meet the subjunctive (a concept which is not obvious to native English-speakers, and which requires alternative conjugations to the forms we've already learned) in the same unit as the very obvious and grammatically easy degrees of comparison. The conditional mood, which is elementary as a concept because we have the same thing, even if it does require some new conjugations, comes later. And the final level, labelled "fluent", teaches some truly tricky concepts but also the passive voice, which is an everyday feature for us (indeed, used much more readily in English than in these target languages) and much less tricky to formulate than those moods from earlier sections. The placement, in my opinion, quite often doesn't match the description.

A feature of the book which I personally love is that all of the languages get treated in every lesson. This does mean an awful lot of tables featuring four often similar sentences plus English, which is going to be daunting to learners. On several occasions, noteworthy concepts affecting a subset of the four languages (e.g. The preposition "da" in Italian) are presented: this is an excellent feature for the learner, helping to underscore something which would otherwise be problematic or incomplete.

The text-heavy nature of the book, replete with tables, might well be off-putting to some people. I love it: I know all four languages to different degrees and so really enjoy seeing them side-by-side, their similarities (and occasional contrasts) laid bare. It's a source of fascination for me, and I could easily flick through the book for fun, nodding my head in equal turns of approval and amazement at seeing the evidence of linguistic diversion from a common source presented before my eyes. As far as learning goes, though ... I'm afraid I just don't see it. I can't picture how anybody could even partway effectively learn these four largely similar languages at the same time, irrespective of whether they're presented in the same book. The fact that anybody attempting all four is going to have to distinguish once|onze|undici|onze, doce|doze|dodici|douze, trece|treze|tredici|treize, and so on means that frustration will abound.

I can't speak to the benefit of spaced repetition because I haven't tried it and it's not how I learn. The theory seems solid enough to me, however, with the algorithmic element lending itself to a better experience than conventional flashcards. I can imagine, on the other hand, that it will feel very frustrating to continually be getting, say, numbers on your cards because the learner is continually mixing up similar words from other languages.

Don't get me wrong: this is an interesting book, particularly for people like me who derive some pleasure at seeing the commonality of these related languages presented together. The presentation of the grammatical concepts is good: those features which schools would avoid, such as imperfect subjunctives, are covered. But this title is not going to help anybody intending to learn all four languages simultaneously. (I don't think any number of resources could. If you want to learn four languages simultaneously, ideally make sure that they're not related!)

The author appears to know these languages very well: the coverage is good. So do yourself a favour: stick to learning one of them at a time, and buy one of the author's other books, which concentrate on just that language, so that the unwanted intrusions of the other languages don't hinder your learning. This book isn't so good for those actively learning because of how overwhelming seeing four versions of the same thing is, but it does serve as a handy (and dare I say fun) reference for those of us who already started those adventures.

[Chriseee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Integrated System for Language Learning

This book introduces an impressive and comprehensive approach to language learning, based on the theory of Anki—a Japanese concept centered on repeating and learning in short, frequent sessions. The system adapts by presenting less of what you already know and focusing on what you haven’t mastered yet.

What makes this book stand out is its integration with websites and apps for your phone or computer, making it an excellent resource for learners.

I was fluent in Spanish about 30 years ago but hadn’t practiced it since. A couple of months ago, I decided to pick it up again, so this book was very timely.

That said, I am a bit puzzled by the decision to combine four languages—Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French—into a single book. While I understand that these languages share Latin roots and have strong similarities, which makes it interesting to compare them, I found the mix distracting when focusing on relearning Spanish. For someone like me, Portuguese and Italian felt like interference, though I didn’t mind French, as I am fluent in it.

This format may appeal to language enthusiasts who enjoy exploring multiple languages simultaneously, but for practical learning, I wonder if publishing separate books for each language would better serve the readers.

[Mary C. N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Science has repeatedly shown that spaced repetition is one of the most effective ways to retain information in long-term memory. Knowing that, the fact that this book includes more than 1,000 Anki flashcards is simply fantastic. That alone was enough to convince me to buy it—especially because, when it comes to language learning, this kind of tool is absolutely crucial.

What I love most is how practical and well thought out this approach is. Instead of relying only on passive reading, the book actively supports memory and recall, which makes a huge difference over time. It turns studying into something structured and efficient rather than overwhelming.

I’m a native English speaker, but I’m currently learning Spanish and Italian, and this resource fits perfectly into my routine. It complements my classes extremely well and gives me a reliable way to reinforce vocabulary and concepts consistently. For me, this book isn’t just helpful—it’s exactly what a good language-learning tool should be.

[Raul Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learn & Retain Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French with Spaced Repetition

This book is very interesting. For years I've been using the repetition method to learn English and worked a lot for me, this book has good ideas of how to improve it. Also, it has several ways to pronounce the language in Spanish my native language. The tables are good and the author really add a lot of work on this, it is high quality. The grammar is also well explained. I am very impressed with this book.

[R.A. Bentinck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Must Be Studied to Reap it's Benefits

Learn & Retain Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French with Spaced Repetition is a well-structured language-learning tool that requires patience and consistency. I didn’t complete it, as I quickly realized it demands a slower, more detailed approach. However, from what I have read so far, its built around a method that is effective for long-term retention if you commit to the process.

[Fay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Game-Changer for Aspiring Multilinguals!

As someone who’s tried learning Spanish and French separately, I found this book to be a real breakthrough. By organizing four Romance languages into a unified system, it makes patterns and grammar easier to grasp. The parallel comparisons and spaced repetition make memorization smooth and intuitive. A fantastic resource for anyone serious about mastering multiple languages.

[Welle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never thought learning two languages in the same book is doable, not to mention 4, and this book proved me wrong completely. It is designed to teach 4 languages in the same book, side by side, in an innovative way in my opinion as this is my first time seeing a book like this. I liked the charts and they way information was provided with tables to simplify learning. The creation of the Anki cards is also a great addition. Highly recommended.

[Cheyenne Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well dang this was not at all what I was expecting and it was so well worth it because it does stick with you in the best ways possible.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[GABRIELE · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea behind this book is fantastic: leveraging the similarities between these four languages to learn them more efficiently. For someone with a base in one Romance language (I know some Spanish), the comparative grammar sections are genuinely insightful.

[Petros Eshetu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Book!

This a great book to learn Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian all at the same time.There’s alot good resources that accompanies this book.

[TheLazyCatLady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did find this a great instruction book but it was more intensive than I expected and I can't commit right now. If you have time to devote to learning these languages then this is good for you.

[Kerri Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book because it helps me study Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French all together instead of one by one. The explanations and charts are clear and easy to follow, and the free Anki flashcards make learning vocabulary much more enjoyable. The spaced repetition system actually helps me remember better without feeling overwhelmed. It’s great for beginners like me, but I think intermediate learners could benefit a lot too. Overall, it’s a useful and practical guide that makes learning these languages less boring and more effective.

[Raul Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very interesting. For years I've been using the repetition method to learn English and worked a lot for me, this book has good ideas of how to improve it. Also, it has several ways to pronounce the language in Spanish my native language. The tables are good and the author really add a lot of work on this, it is high quality. The grammar is also well explained. I am very impressed with this book.

[T Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've learned both French and Spanish as foreign languages, and I certainly see the logic in studying the Latin languages together. I also find this book to be very comprehensive and it's easy to look up grammar and basic vocabulary. But herein is the problem, as I prefer a much more practical approach to learning, with everyday language and examples. As for the software, it's too complicated with too many options.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had trouble downloading the flash cards therefore I could only use the book. I really liked the charts and the lessons on pronunciation they were very helpful. If you can download the anki app and get it to work then I feel like this would really help to learn the different languages. I received a free book from LibraryThing.

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helps you learn Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French in a smart and simple way. It compares the four languages side by side, so you can see what's similar and what's different. I think its great for people who like to study on their own and want to save time by learning more than one language at once.

[rosey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very well written and goes in a lot of depth to the different languages.
However I found it a bit too much information to take in which can be a bit off putting.
If you like learning languages and can keep all the information they supply in your head this is the book for you.

[Kenax · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book offers a practical guide for anyone looking to pick up multiple Romance languages at once. It uses spaced repetition to boost memory and makes it easy to spot similarities and differences between the languages. Great for self-learners.