English Grammar to Ace New Testament Greek

by Samuel Lamerson

This book is for students of biblical Greek whose trouble understanding English grammar hampers their ability to learn Greek.

Genres: Language, Theology, Biblical Studies, Reference, Linguistics

110 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

Reviews

[Christian Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very pleased with this book as a primer for Greek grammar and a reminder for English grammar that I have forgotten over the years. As I head into Greek 1 I know that this book will be heavily relied on. It’s short, but effective.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars! This was a very helpful book. Honestly, this was exactly what I needed as I relearned Greek! It was perfect. So why the half star off? Well this probably attests to my laziness but I was frustrated that there was no answer sheet for all the questions at the end of each chapter. Other versions of this book (I.e. the Old Testament version) have answer keys, this one does not (I heard from the publisher, yes my laziness is that intense). But seriously some of these questions were difficult and I was pretty sure I got them right but wanted to confirm. Even on our vast internet no one has made an answer key. Sad. But anyway great book and I learned a ton!

[Samuel Kassing · Rating 3 out of 5]

A helpful primer on understanding the similarities and differences between English and koine Greek grammar.

[Mark Christenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful despite being a very dry subject.

[Jesse Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author does a relatively good job of explaining the concepts of English grammar and connecting them to their Greek counterparts, but at times his explanations left a little to be desired (i.e., trying to compare Greek contracting vowels to English contractions, even though they have almost nothing in common).

Aside from that I have only minor complaints and matters of opinion. I found most of the jokes to be cheesy and unhelpful and also found several spelling and grammar errors within the book (ironic, since the author explains the use of the subjunctive mood, but then commits the classic error "if there was...").

For the average English speaker who knows little to nothing about grammar, I would say this could be a very helpful book and for the more experienced grammarian, a decent refresher course.

[Mark Popovitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had Dr. Lamerson as a professor/lecturer while taking online classes through Knox Seminary. This book was recommended as a compliment to Bill Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek, which I am currently using while studying Greek. Dr. Lamerson’s book is a good review and refresher for students of Greek who have been out of the English grammar classroom for some time. The short devotionals at the beginning of each chapter are good for motivating the student to stick with the difficult task of learning a foreign language. Dr. Lamerson mixes in some slight humor that is his style with a good grasp of both languages. The book overall is short and to the point in its aim, so if someone is completely stumped by the rules of English grammar, this book won’t be as much help, as it really is a refresher to highlight some of the similarities and differences between English and Greek grammar.

[Kenneth · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is supposed to be a companion to Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar. Using the 4th edition of Mounce’s BBG, this book is entirely unnecessary. Mounce describes all the English grammar you need to know for Greek, and actually seems to be more helpful than this.

As for the actual content contained herein, this book wastes far too many words on pointless introduction stories in each chapter. The introductions are longer than the grammar discussion. The actual grammar information in this book is only about one page per chapter.

[Matt Pelto · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short book provides a helpful review of English grammar with a view towards Greek grammar. The humor of the book makes it an easy read. It also helps that this book is keyed to the grammar that I am using (Mounce's 3rd). My only major complaint is that, to my knowledge, there is no way to check your answers on the included exercises. I would recommend it to anyone starting Greek; it never hurts to review the basics.

[Bfleegs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helpful review of key English grammar concepts and their relation to Greek on a basic level that does not require one to know or have experienced with Greek. It would be a good companion to a first-year Greek student, but also to a layman hoping to understand more about Greek without studying it deeply.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was probably very useful when it was first released, but now the book doesn't match the latest version of Mounce. Mounce's latest edition also covers much of the same English grammar ground at the start of each chapter.

[John Weis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poorly titled, but probably still helpful. It was actually an introduction to Greek grammar, rather than what it was titled to be – a review of English grammar. The content and style was fairly informal, which does not function well in a primer.

[Craig Prather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great refresher for English grammar, as well as a look at how our grammatical rules compare to those of the Greek.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining and accessible. An extremely useful and beneficial grammar refresher course.

[Shane Williamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

2022 reads: 03

Rating: 2.5 stars

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatively helpful although it would be much more helpful if there were answers to the end-of-chapter exercises.

[Michael Schmid · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short helpful little book explaining Greek grammatical concepts to an English-speaking audience. Not really necessary for students with a good understanding of English grammar.

[Matthew Rawlings · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Jordan Litts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource!

[Bob O'Bannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lamerson does a good job of making Greek grammar kind of fun, if that can even be imagined. He gives clear and helpful instruction about all those grammatical terms (infinitive, participle, imperative) you have long forgotten since elementary school. One of the benefits of learning Greek is that it helps with your English -- this book works in the opposite direction, reminding the reader of basic English grammar to help prepare for Greek. Beneficial for the person heading off to seminary, but also for the seminary grad who hasn't done so well keeping up with his Greek.

[Annabelle]

This was a very brief review of English grammar that helped me make connections to the Greek. I think that it will be very helpful while taking my Greek class. The exercises were also nice and got me thinking about grammar again, but I would have appreciated an answer key in the back so I could check my work and make certain I understood the concepts.

[Sanjuro · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems almost embarrassing that a serious student of Greek would need to brush up on basic English, but that is the case for most Greek students. This book is here to help. By discussing English grammar, the book builds bridges to Greek counterparts to make them more understandable. For the most part, the book is quite helpful.

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of a watered down explanation of Greek grammatical concepts. The book would have been more effective with more emphasis placed on English grammar in formal, academic tone. While grammar may be dry as it is, the author's attempt to make the subject approachable costs him clarity in his silly explanations.

[Mayowa Adebiyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not at all helpful for a beginner, maybe if reviewed at a later date. This might also be because of the different approaches the Beginner Greek Text books use to teach - Duff and Mounce's approach are not the same.

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful.

[Daniel Alvers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for me and I need to review this book often...

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great refresher on English grammar as it relates to Greek language construction.

[Cole Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compares and contrasts Koine Greek grammar to English grammar. Usefully oversimplified.

[Justin Low · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the style of writing is casual and relaxed I found the explanations wanting. Despite rereading and using the handy glosary, I failed to make some of the big leaps from the cute stories and brief explanation to the increasingly complex end of chapter application questions. Some simple examples would not go astray. If I can't comprehend English, I won't ace NT Greek.