Essential Modern Greek Grammar

by Douglas Q. Adams

Written primarily for the tourist or business traveler with limited learning time, this concise, well-organized grammar provides a clear-cut system for learning to communicate, in both speech and writing, in simple everyday Greek. The book will introduce you to the most common structures and forms of Modern Greek and to a selection of the most useful rules, enabling you to achieve reasonable fluency in a short period of time. The book opens with helpful suggestions for vocabulary building, then covers the major divisions of grammar: the alphabet, word order, negation, nouns and articles, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, verbs, participles and more. Complicated sentences are avoided in favor of simple constructions and sentence patterns that will allow you to communicate and be understood on a basic level. Many easy-to-understand examples are given, enabling you to test your grasp of grammatical rules. Ideal for self-study or as a supplement to a first-year course, Essential Modern Greek Grammar offers a rapid easy-to-use method for mastering the fundamentals of Modern Greek. For those with some knowledge of Modern Greek, it is an excellent review and refresher course.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486251330
• ISBN13: 9780486251332
• Release Date: September 1987
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.27 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.4" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Almost perfect for learning Modern Greek grammar quickly

The choice of grammars for modern Greek is severely limited. This is the best available grammar if you plan to spend some time in Greece and you want to become conversant quickly. At a price of six dollars, don't fret about whether to buy it. If you are a casual or professional traveler to Greece, it should be part of your kit. The book is brief and small. It gives you the basics to an adequate depth, without becoming burdensome. It does not provide phonetic spellings in English or much in the way of conversation. The introduction explains that the grammar is intended to be used in combination with a CD course (to learn the sounds of Greek) and a phrasebook (for practical examples and phonetic spellings). In my experience, that's a convenient combination. The book is a bit dated, mainly in using an older and more complex system of accents. It's a small anachronism that is easy to ignore. Someone who is unfamiliar with Greek should start several months before departure by listening to one or more of the CD courses and learning practical expressions from one or more of the phrasebooks. Use this grammar in the background to understand the structure of the language. Before arriving in Greece, get a lightweight Greek-English dictionary.

Excellent Grammar Book

This is the second book I have used in this language series. The other is Italian. These are both outstanding books. Small and concise. You DO get the essentials, just as they promise.

Good and Concise

This is a good book for the person who has some knewledge of the language and wants to learn more about the general aspects of grammar, it consists just in the necessary rules, it isn't a conversational or a deeper grammatical treatise.The only objection I have to it is that still uses the old orthography prior to the '80s reform (three accents, two breathings), but if you know how to make the right changes (just one accent, the acute, no accent in the monosylables, except as a diachritic, no breathings) there will be no problem at all.For that price, a very good adquisition.

Not for beginners

It's an excellent book but would not be useful as a beginner's introduction to the language. It's directed at someone who has some knowledge of Greek and wants to understand more about the structure of the language. It's easier to follow for a person who has studied Indo-European languages, such as Latin or German, with noun inflections and verb changes.

Good for the price

The book is not an extensive study of modern greek grammar; as it says in the title, this book contians the essentials. Look for another grammar book if you're looking for a comprehensive guide. With that said, the book is an excellent tool to use as a quick reference. Well-organized and succint. For the price, it's a good book to add to your library.