Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Very Informative April 23, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is necessary if one is using the Henle Latin series, and must be purchased in addition to the First Year Latin Text. It is easy to use and understand.
 Not for beginners July 24, 2005
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
I am a studying linguist and hoped to get a bit of knowledge about Latin because bit of work that I complete involving the Romance languages. I must say that the book's reputation was not deserved. Even for one with an extensive knowledge of Grammar and comparative grammars, I found Robert Henle's explation of certain rules to be under-developed. I also believe that the numbering of the rules seemed to be more of a distraction than a heuristic device. However, the grammar does seem to be a very inclusive one, and those who know or have studied grammar can gain a lot of information at a fast pace (provided they know what they are looking for). Explanations of the case system could have been a bit clearer, as well as the explanation of the morphology of the verbs. This is not a book for a begining student of foreign languages unless they have studied their own grammar extensively.
 Good for learning, great for review July 3, 2004
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I had Henle's text 'Latin Grammar' as a companion during my second year of Latin in college -- we'd used Wheelock's text for the first year, and the second year was a readings year, with Henle's text as a companion. Henle's book is set up in what I tend to call 'the old fashioned' format -- each paragraph is a numbered unit. There are 1025 numbered units here, each one addressing a point of grammar. The arrangement is logical, divided into two primary sections -- Forms and Syntax. Under Forms, Henle introduces nouns (all five declensions), adjectives, adverbs, numerals, pronouns, and finally, verbs (the four main conjugations, active and passive voice, and special cases). The majority of the book is taken up with Syntax -- here Henle discusses the issues of order of words (much more flexible in Latin than in English), types of clauses and statements, questions, and how the various noun declensions and verb conjugations work to make sense in the language. This is not a stand-alone book for learning Latin. The primary drawback to this application is the lack of a vocabulary section or progressive teaching of vocabulary for use in the constructions. Henle and others have outside books for that use. That makes this text more worthwhile to those who have had some preliminary Latin training. It is a great guide for looking up the rules, given the numbered-unit format and good index, but I would opt for other texts as a first book for Latin.
A good handbook for those brushing up on Latin August 26, 2003
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
An excellent Grammar handbook for those who have a little bit of Latin knowledge and want to brush up on their grammar skills. It is not a book for beginners since very little explanation is given. It is used primarily as a summary for what you learn in more extensive Latin learning books. A must-have for those who are using Henle's Latin 1 book.
A Systematic Study of the Fundamentals September 28, 2002
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
This is an excellent essentials text. In other words, the Henle Latin Series from Loyola Press has put together a very comprehensive series and this is one of the better editions. This text covers the basics or fundamentals of the Latin language - i.e. the grammar. The text includes nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, pronouns, numerals, and how these are all ordered in certain sentence structure, etc. Moreover, detail on syntax is covered for each of the above things mentioned, as well as special cases or uses for each. All the clauses are covered, conjugations, declensions, rules for time, gender, etc. Prepositions are given special attention as well as methods of diagraming. Everything and anything anyone would need to know in order to gain a better understanding of the Latin language is within this books covers.
Thus, this text is great for the beginner as well as the more learned student of the language. It also helps you sharpen your Latin grammar skill, if perhaps you might be a little rusty. This is definitely a great reference and study text for everyone.
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