Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar by William D. Mounce
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Book Reviews of Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar
Book Review: Just a few words about it
Summary: 5 Stars
Please go on and read the longer, more detailed reviews. They will give you good advice; they are all helpful and positive.
I want to add to the voices that say, "This is a great book for self-learning."
However, I have one little quibble: having learned and taught other, modern languages and Latin (which I detested), I was expecting more drill-type exercises. I'm old, 64, do not memorize easily, but still find that sometimes that is easier than learning a list of rules, and trying to apply them. At Chapter 20, I am going back and writing out the declensions of all the nouns and conjugations of the verbs we have had up to here. Maybe then it will "stick" better.
I love the fact that it's based on the New Testament, and that I know what the verses are, if only I can get started with each one. It's a little like puzzles, and then, when it comes to the "Additional" work in the workbook - oh, didn't I say, you MUST get the workbook, too - the fact that many of the sentences and verses come from other sources is a nice challenge. By that point, you would hope to have some grasp of the concepts being taught. Still, here I am, going back to review the whole book.
I just love Greek, though, and it must be because this is a great learning tool.
Book Review: Fantastic Beginning Koine Greek Textbook
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been taking Koine Greek @ my church, and we have been using William Mounce's Textbook and workbook. His material, accompanying CD with software and lectures is just simply outstanding. I HIGHLY recommend his method for learning Greek. He really has a gift for making the language easier to understand and learn. Our class is half away through nouns, and will be getting into Verbs very shortly. Mounce, from what I have been told, has simplified the learning process for Greek to a completely new level. Years before, one would need to learn and memorize 48+ paradigms for just nouns alone, but he has simplified it to primarily one paradigm with 8 noun rules that must be accurately followed. Mounce's work is simply the best. He has collected and put together not only a challenging but also an enjoyable collection of material that makes even learning by yourself very acheivable. http://www.teknia.com is his website that includes an offer to buy an entire year or two semester worth of Lectures that go into further detail than the lectures found on the CD included with the Textbook, second edition. He has made learn Koine Greek so straight forward and approachable. What he has done has simply been an incredible blessing to me.Book Review: Excellant for self study
Summary: 5 Stars
Mounce does a great job of keeping what you need to memorize to a minimum and explaining things clearly and focusing on the key points. I had a year of classical greek 20 years ago but never really mastered it. When I picked up Mounce a couple of years ago it was a breath of fresh air and I have since reached a point where I can read koine with some proficiency (you can never learn enough vocabulary!). I did run into a roadblock at about chapter 25 but I put it down for a while then started again at the beginning and worked through it all the way the second time. For me many of the nuances of syntax have become fairly intuitive after seeing them a couple of times so I don't think a lack of more detailed explanation of them ala Wallace is a disadvantage of Mounce. Memorize what he tells you to memorize and as much vocabulary as possible and you will be able to read koine. I recommend A Summer Greek Reader as a follow-up for practice reading with easy syntax and additional vocabulary memorization. After that Mounce's Graded Reader and then the New Testament, focusing more on the gospels or Acts initially and with A Reader's Lexicon to cut down on time spent thumbing through a lexicon.
Book Review: If you really want to learn Greek, buy this book
Summary: 5 Stars
Mounce does a good job laying out the material in this book. Each chapter builds on previous chapters as it introduces new material making the entire language seem to unfold as you go along. If you are self-studying Greek, this makes an ideal text book. Treat each chapter as a lesson, thoroughly learn each chapter before moving on, and when you're finished you'll be amazed at how much of the GNT you can read.
Mounce's use of rules, endings, and the verb chart is a unique approach that might help some students who've been struggling with memorizing paradigms.
My only complaint with this book is that, while it's long on explanation, it's a little short on translation. You must buy the workbook to have any translation exercises and I think the workbook could be a little better.
I do recommend this book only for the serious student. If you're just trying to pick up a little Greek, I'd recommend "Learn New Testament Greek" by John Dobson instead.
Book Review: Different than older grammars
Summary: 5 Stars
This grammar uses a different system for breaking down words in Greek. So if you teach first year Greek and have learned your paradigms in the older methods that were common (Machen, Summers, etc...) you better spend some time in this before using it in the classroom.
I like this grammar a lot for people who are studying Greek to read the bible. It gives you the 314 most commonly used NT words...and around 30 lessons...so you are not learning words which never appear in the Greek NT. If you plan to read other Greek material, then this may not be as great of a method. It is focused on the NT vocabulary. After two semesters a student should be able to navigate eighty percent of the Greek NT using this method. That's about as fast as one can possibly gain competency.
The binding and pages are laid out in nice fonts and durable material. It's a sound method and I really love this book. Get a copy if you can!