Customer Reviews

Latin Grammar (Henle Latin)

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I am a doctoral student in Classics with an emphasis on Greek and Latin literature. This was the first Latin grammar I ever owned, and I still believe it is the best available for younger students and beginners in the language. The first half of the book concentrates on forms; grammatical paradigms are presented in logical order, with extraordinarily clear formatting and generously sized type. A surprising amount of information on exceptions is also present, relegated to footnotes where it will not confuse those who are still working to memorize regular forms. The section on verbs is particularly good, with the four conjugations presented in columns side-by-side to allow comparisons to be made. Irregular verbs like 'sum' and 'volo' get their own pages. The second half of the book deals with syntax. Major features of the language and all of the basic types of clauses are covered clearly and concisely, with the rules for each variety boiled down to perhaps three or four essential points. Each syntax entry contains at least one example, and most have several. I have found the examples to be good enough to use as simple prose composition assignments for classes working out of different books or series, too. Henle's Grammar is generally ignored by most Latin teachers at both the secondary and university levels nowadays, primarily because Henle's _textbooks_, which this grammar is designed to accompany, are outdated and need to be re-edited before they can really be used again. This Grammar, however, is definitely ready to go, and I highly recommend it. (I myself am now on my second copy, having destroyed my first one through overuse.)

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.

For those who are using either the First year Latin or this book by its self, you're a probably just a confused as I was. I had bought the First Year Latin book and was wondering where the declensions were and where the exercises for the units were. After I read more carefully, I realized that the First Year(etc) Latin book and this grammer book were supposed to be used together. For example the very first unit in the First Year Latin Book tells the reader to open to exercise 31 in the the grammer book! I wish that the editors or Amazon would have put a note with the book advertisment that these books went together. I had to go back and buy the grammer after I bought the First Year Latin book. I do like the First year Latin. It is a nice intermediate between Wheelock's Latin that makes me cringe whenever I open it and the Oxford Latin Series that isn't detailed enough.

I wouldn't use this book as the base textbook for learning Latin; it's not organized into lessons with vocabulary and exercises. I would highly recommend it as a supplement to whatever text you do choose to use, whether Balme, or Wheelock, or Ruck, or whatever else.

The first third of the book is a summary of forms: noun declensions, verb conjugations, etc. The real strength is the last two-thirds of the book, where the author gives excellent coverage of the syntax. It's well organized, with lots of examples and clear explanations.

My copy was printed in 1958, and from the sample sentences you can see that this work was probably designed for Catholic high schools; many examples have a "Caesar in Gaul" flavor. But the presentation of the grammar and syntax is clear, understandable and comprehensive. A definite help for beginners, and a good review for intermediate and advanced students.

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.

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.

I have quite a collection of Latin
language instruction books, but I
find myself continuously returning
to Henle's "Latin: Grammar" whenever
I want to quickly answer a question
about a point of grammar.

It is concise and nicely
organized for ease of use.

This is not a language learning
course book.
Henle did produce a series of Latin
language instruction books that have
been used in schools, Catholic schools
in particular, for years and currently
by many home-schoolers.
I do not like those books and disposed
of mine in favor of a number of better
ones, but the grammar book is a keeper.

This book is not the only good
Latin grammar available, but it is
one that every Latin student should
have at hand because it will be used
often.

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.

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.

Very good. Concise, yet contains all the necessary elements of Latin grammar. Highly recommended for beginners as well as those who want to refresh their knowledge of Latin. A handy reference for those studying Latin classics.