Greek Grammar Paperback – Illustrated, March 20, 2014

The book covers difficult grammatical systems with incredible succinctness and intuition.3RD DECLENSION: For example, the 3rd declension is turned from a complicated set of cases and exceptions for each type of sound (dental, nasal, palatal, etc.), which would require weeks of memorization, into 12 simple rules which cover everything. And I do mean simple, such as:"Nominative singular: if it does NOT end in ν, ρ, τ, or οντ, add -ς to the stem."Take 12 of those and you've got the whole 3rd declension.VERBS: The verbal system is also spectacularly handled. Smyth divides the stems into 9 simple, intuitive systems, wherein every other tense naturally fits on, like plugging an accessory into a phone.PRONOUNS: Smyth divides things logically when it comes to pronouns as well. In Cambridge's Grammar of Classical Greek, they isolate αὐτός away from any real case, and take very obscure routes in explaining the difference between the attributive, pronominal, and adverbial senses in the syntax (i.e. ὁ αὐτὸς θέος as opposed to ὁ θέος αὐτός). Smyth, however, correctly subdivides everything conceptually and intuitively.Out of all the Greek textbooks I have, Smyth's has proven to be the best in terms of authorship, convenience, intuitiveness, and scope. The one part I don't like is the section on the particles, which is mostly because Greek particles require a whole separate book (which you can find here on Amazon as well, by Denniston).

I would add one point worth mentioning that I’ve not seen mentioned here yet. Smyth’s Greek Grammar, in addition to being THE standard, contains two absolute gems: a list of “Advanced Works on Grammar and Dialects” from his Introduction and a very informative listing of grammatical and rhetorical “figures” tucked away toward the end of the book entitled “Some Grammatical and Rhetorical Figures”. Both are well worth a deep dive.

I'm a classics major transitioning from intermediate to advanced Greek, so I decided to invest in this seeing as I basically sleep with my A&G under my pillow and like knowing even the minutia of certain grammatical topics. However, I was wary of the price of the hardback and slightly scared by the bad reviews that indicated that some had purchased the incorrect book (it no longer appears that amazon is selling this book, smyth's school grammar, on this page so no need to worry) so I decided to take a risk and buy the new martino books paperback that no one's mentioned as of yet. I just got it and it matches up perfectly to the hardcover smyth and seems to be an exact facsimile. The printing is clear and there is no smudging. Granted, because the book is thick, I expect the softcover and spine to wear away in a few years but this is to be expected. If you want Smyth but don't want to shell out 50 clams, get this one for 26. Martino has also come out with an equally affordable intermediate L&S, which my friend owns (and loves) and which is waiting for me in my college PO box. Exactly what I was looking for. Apologies for the incoherent review, I was just very eager to get the word out.

Herbert Weir Smyth's pivotal grammar has been the grammar guide of choice for hellenophiles for nearly a century; it is so based on good reason. This work is an exhaustive survey of all the elements of Classical Greek (and also Koine Greek to an extent) grammar which may confound and enfuriate even the most avid of classicists.That being said, this is not intended to be an introductory guide to Greek. The vast scope of this work makes it cumbersome in some instances, and, without a clear notion of what you are seeking and how to navigate the text, it is often overwhelming. Therefore, only the motivated classicist (whether those in college or the extremely self-motivated amateur) should consider purchasing this book; however, for this group, Smyth's Greek Grammar is integral.For the beginning student of Greek: I used Shelmerdine's text which has a few editing errors (but what doesn't in the Greek alphabet) but is good at conveying the material adequately for the beginner. Any other intro text will probably work just as well. Also, a Liddell and Scott dictionary is a must for anyone studying Greek, although the unabridged (aka the Great Scott) is not necessary until later in your studies. Another useful text for the student of Greek is Deniston's the Greek Particle.

This review is for the Martino Publishing/Martino Fine Books reprint of the 1956 edition of Smyth's Greek Grammar originally published by Harvard. You can't do any better than this edition of Smyth's Greek Grammar, and when it comes to affordability AND quality, you can't get any better than this reprint. The book I received greatly exceeded my expectations when it came to EVERYTHING, from the quality of the paper (better than the original!), to the quality of the print. No smudged pages, no handwriting, no distorted or illegible print, it's perfect- as if it were an original printing rather than a scanned copy! The paperback cover is attractive, though I would have preferred a hardcover. I will definitely be purchasing more books from this publisher in the future. PLEASE NOTE: Amazon's links sometimes take you to to the Benedictine Books reprint of an older edition of Smyth's which reviewers seem to have universally found to be of significantly lesser quality. Stay away from the blue cover and make sure you get the one in the image I attached (or get an original of course!).

A gramática de H. W. Smyth é um clássico absoluto do helenismo, mas está obsoleta. Prefira a excelente "The Cambridge Grammar of Classical Greek", que é moderna e serve como um upgrade desta.Só compre se estiver em promoção. E por motivos afetivos. Ainda assim, vale um conselho extra: as letras desse fac-símile ficaram pequenas demais! Compre uma lupa junto.

A Unique Work of the Highest Intellectual Rigour, Pricelessly Authentic, A Testament to A Great Mind and A Great Thinker of this generation, The Very, Most Distinguished and Esteemed Late Eliot Professor of Greek Literature in Harvard University, The Most Celebrated Herbert Weir Smyth, Revised by A Most Distinguished Fellow Gordon M. Messing and recommended by The Very, Most Eminent, Most Distinguished, Highly Honourable Professor Richard Jude Thompson, PhDProfessorIsrael Institute of Biblical StudiesNear Eastern Languages and Civilizations,Harvard University, 2011.

Esta reseña se refiere exclusivamente a esta reimpresión de la gramática de Smyth,publicada por Martino,que es la que se ve en la foto que adjunto.Es la edición revisada de 1956.No diré mucho sobre el libro en sí.Es una obra docta,erudita,de consulta,que todo estudioso o estudiante avanzado de griego clásico debe tener.Sólo la sintaxis, que ocupa unas 300 páginas, constituye por sí un libro aparte.La cantidad vocálica está cuidadosamente marcada en casi todas las palabras(esencial para una correcta acentuación),la parte dedicada al verbo es magnífica,en definitiva,una joya.No obstante,no es una gramática de iniciación al griego clásico,sino de perfeccionamiento.Y en cuanto a la reimpresión, es simplemente perfecta,de altísima calidad(era algo que me preocupaba cuando compré el libro).Eso sí, la tipografía suele ser bastante pequeña, pero es algo inherente al la edición original y a practicamente todos los libros publicado por la época(véase la tipografía del Liddell Scott ,por ejemplo).Aún así, es perfectamente clara y legible.Resumiendo, una oportunidad única de poseer la gramática de Smyth y a un precio asombroso,de ganga, diría yo.

Great choice for academic consultation. The most complete grammar I've owned.

Très belle grammaire généraliste du grec ancien, très exhaustive sur la syntaxe, et qui couvre également largement la morphologie. À ma connaissance, il n'existe malheureusement pas d'équivalent en langue française, il s'en faut de beaucoup.La versification et la prosodie ne sont pas couverts.