Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar

by Joseph Henry Allen, James Bradstreet Greenough, George Lyman Kittredge (Editor)

A venerable resource for more than a century, Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar is still regarded by students and teachers as the finest Latin reference grammar available. Concise, comprehensive, and well organized, it is unrivaled in depth and clarity, placing a wealth of advice on usage, vocabulary, diction, composition, and syntax within easy reach of Latin scholars at all levels.
This sourcebook's three-part treatment starts with words and forms, covering parts of speech, declensions, and conjugations. The second part, syntax, explores cases, moods, and tenses. The concluding section offers information on archaic usages, Latin verse, and prose composition, among other subjects. Extensive appendixes feature a glossary of terms and indexes. Students of history, religion, and literature will find lasting value in this modestly priced edition of a classic guide to Latin.

Genres: Reference, Language, Classics, Nonfiction, Classical Studies, Linguistics, School

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1903

About the author

Joseph Henry Allen was a Unitarian clergyman, editor and scholar. He graduated at Harvard College, and then at the Divinity School in 1843. He was pastor at the First Congregational Society in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts (1843), the Unitarian church in Washington, D.C. (1847), and a church in Bangor, Maine (1850). In 1857 he departed from full-time ministry and took up teaching (in Jamaica Plain, Northborough and West Newton) and editing Unitarian periodicals (Christian Examiner, 1863-5; Unitarian Review, 1887-1891). He lectured at Harvard for four years (1887-1891). He died at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource as I study Latin.

[Lauren Hatcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This definitely isn’t a book you’re supposed to sit down and “read” cover to cover, but doing so was very interesting! I learned a lot of interesting tidbits about Latin’s formation from Proto Indo European that I probably wouldn’t have learned. Also a great review method!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite of mine. I find the organization of the content to be intuitive, and the writing style uncluttered yet detailed - just as I wish to see in a reference grammar. I'm interested in how the Latin language changed over the centuries; this grammar doesn't hesitate to point out the origins or prior forms of words.

I have yet to tackle the updated portion of the text concerning meter, but am glad to have it on hand for future study.

[Torie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful, when it's not inscrutable.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

"PREPOSITIONS
219. Prepositions were not originally distinguished from Adverbs in form or meaning, but have become specialized in use. They developed comparatively late in the history of language. In the early stages of language development the cases alone were sufficient to indicate the sense, but, as the force of the case-endings weakened, adverbs were used for greater precision (cf. § 338). These adverbs, from their habitual association with particular cases, become Prepositions; but many retained also their independent functions as adverbs.

Most prepositions are true case-forms: as, the comparative ablatives extrā, īnfrā, suprā (for †exterā, †īnferā, †superā), and the accusatives circum, cōram, cum (cf. § 215). Circiter is an adverbial formation from circum (cf. § 215. b N.); praeter is the comparative of prae, propter of prope.[1] Of the remainder, versus is a petrified nominative (participle of vertō; adversus is a compound of versus; trāns is probably an old present participle (cf. in-trā-re); while the origin of the brief forms ab, ad, dē, ex, ob, is obscure and doubtful.

[1] The case-form of these prepositions in -ter is doubtful."

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martino's Fine Books 2017 Edition may actually be the prettiest edition of the book, which has been reprinted by Dover for quite a while now, 1975 actually....

It's the book you buy after you finish Latin: An Intensive Course by Floyd Moreland and
Rita Fleischer, University of California Press 1977.

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend 'Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar' to students or anyone that wants a compilation of varoius accounts of the grammar of Latin.

[Laurelyn Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have an ancient edition of this book (1904), found oddly enough at an antique bookshop in Tulsa.

The text itself was incredibly helpful to me in college while I took several courses of Latin. I wish I had had this in high school when I was doing poorly in AP Latin Poetry my junior year of high school.

Much later on, I also found this text helpful for my Latin students, using excerpts for packets and worksheets where the school district's preferred textbooks were weak. I'd recommend this text to any serious student of Latin and teachers looking for additional resources.

[Kamal · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're serious about studying Latin, then you're going to need a copy of this book. There is no substitute that is as reasonably priced as the Dover edition. All of the obscurities and conundrums of Latin grammar are spelled out (with examples) in this tome. Don't be deterred by the fact that the text is over a century old; it's accessible and valuable.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think you could say that I "read" this book, as in read it from cover-to-cover, but I used it as a reference throughout the semester and it is incredibly helpful! I will obviously continue to use it.

[Greg Heynen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable.

[jabot scrob]

Another of the books from a friend who used to do Latin.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

La mejor gramática latina, incluso para los hispanoparlantes.