Five Best Greek Grammar Books

Greek grammar has many exceptions and might be challenging to understand. Getting yourself familiarized with Greek through a grammar book can help you advance in your Greek learning, whether you are doing it for academic purposes, a job, or living in Greece. Because there are plenty of books available, the following are the top Greek grammar books for you based on their ratings, layout, and how up-to-date they are to save you time.

Why Is It Essential To Invest In A Grammar Book

Nowadays, everyone has access to online websites and YouTube tutorials to learn a new language; however, the majority believe that having a physical copy of a book is more effective as you can write on it side by side to help you remember the more complex and essential parts. It also helps you learn the reason behind certain words and phrases instead of just showing you how to pronounce and memorize them.

Even dedicating as little as an hour of your daily time will you achieve fluency in Greek quickly. You will come to know about the beautiful language and maybe even improve if you have already learned it someplace else.

What Are The Best Greek Grammar Books?

We have chosen 5 of the best books to learn and achieve fluency in Greek. Each has its pros and cons, and you can look at them to find out which suits you the best. Each is rated highly and explained in English, so you have no trouble understanding the text.

Communicate In Greek For Beginners

Pros: You’ll benefit the most from this book if you still have a CD player. An excellent resource for beginners, “Communicate in Greek for Beginners” teaches every grammar principle as well as other vital ideas in English. The finest part is that it includes all the exercises you might expect to find in a textbook: texts, dialogues, grammar tables, a glossary, etc.

The book is ideal for individuals prepared to spend $50 or more on Greek study materials, teachers searching for an entertaining textbook, learners who require a regular learning path to success, and those of you learning Greek on your own.

Cons: None found.

Modern Greek

For beginning readers in high school through adulthood, there is the Advanced One Reader. The reader, which is currently in its eighth edition, has more than 400 pages of content, including instruction on Greek reading, grammar, and cultural parts of daily life in Greece.

Pros: For each reading, there is a dialogue segment in both Greek and English, as well as a question section. More than 2000 vocabulary terms and dictionaries from Greek to English and English to Greek included. The Modern Greek Reader has become the benchmark for students in households, high schools, and universities worldwide. It combines other resources for you to work on your listening as well as pronunciation.

Cons: There is no answer section provided for the question exercises. 

Complete Greek (Teach Yourself)

You may swiftly go from the fundamentals to understanding, speaking, and writing Greek confidently thanks to “Complete Greek: A Teach Yourself Guide’s” clear and thorough approach to the language.

Pros: Important language structures are explained through realistic dialogues in each of the 24 chapters. Grammar will be taught gradually so you won’t become overwhelmed by this challenging topic. Exercises accompanying the texts help students learn reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Additionally, this application includes up-to-date cultural information boxes that demonstrate contemporary social trends. It also has a dedicated app that you can make use of to get access to many exercises and audio material.

Cons: Slightly fast-paced and doesn’t miss some of the information you would need to learn Greek.

Greek: An Intensive Course

The first edition of this widely used two-volume Greek text has been adopted with success in many high schools and universities; the writers’ method of organization and approach also makes it a valuable resource for anyone who would want to learn the language independently.

Pros: This specific piece is relatively extensive in comparison. They start with a lot of information when they introduce a topic, unlike many other books. The definite article in all its forms, some information on word order and translation, three prepositions and their usage, and the first and second (both -os and -on forms) declensions are all intended to be learned in the first unit. It also uses English and Greek side by side, making it easier for the reader to grasp the concept. It provides complete texts for each chapter, so significantly less information is left out even from the beginning. 

Cons: It doesn’t contain an answer key for the exercises and is more advanced than others.

Living Language Greek, Complete Edition

Living Language Greek, Complete Edition is a unique multimedia course that progresses you from the beginning to the advanced level in a single handy bundle. It contains 3 books, 9 audio CDs and also provides online learning.

Pros: Includes a workbook so you can read and write simultaneously to learn the language quicker and more effectively. The online learning website contains flashcards, quizzes, and exercises to help you further in this journey. Provides English translation of the Greek texts so you can understand their meaning.

Cons: The set is expensive, and users described it as being dry and difficult to understand for absolute beginners.

Bonus: Learn To Read Greek In 5 Days

Learning a new alphabet need not be that challenging. Other language courses open with an alphabet table before moving into dialogues and grammatical explanations. With good practice along the way, “Learn to Read Greek in 5 Days” systematically teaches each letter of the Greek alphabet, ensuring that the reader learns the complete alphabet.

Pros: Helps understand the letters and shows you how to pronounce each one & in the back, it gives you a glossary with the word in Greek spelling – Pronunciation – English. It is very short compared to other books, containing the more commonly used words and phrases. Still, at the same time, it’s way easier and quicker to learn these.

Cons: Contains some errors.

Conclusion

Since Greek is written using a different alphabet than other languages, it’s essential to develop your reading and writing abilities first. However, making the transition to intermediate or advanced could feel nearly impossible after a while.

For a more thorough learning path, relying on grammar books and using online videos and apps, for example, can be beneficial. Never overlook any component of language learning, including speaking and listening.