Exercise-heavy textbooks?

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Vitance
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Exercise-heavy textbooks?

Post by Vitance »

Hey guys. I've been studying Greek for the last two weeks using Albert Harkness's "First Greek Book". I'm at about lesson 40 right now. Anyway, if you've ever used that book you'll know it is chart-happy and treats actual use of the language like a rare antique that it doesn't want guests to touch.

For instance, it places the entire Active Voice into a single chart, and expects you to memorize it before moving on to the next chapter. After which it assumes you know it by heart without review.

I guess that's to be expected when it calls itself a "complete analytical syntax." I don't know how I've managed to keep up with memorizing the charts at this pace, but I doubt I can keep up any longer.

What I want to know is are there any good books you guys know of that'll go heavy on the exercises / reading Greek? One that'll spread out the conjugation tables, maybe, so I get a lot of practice in each tense/mood/voice? I think Rushbrooke's "First Greek Reader" looks promising, but it seems to assume preknowledge of the vocabulary.

Any recommendations?

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Re: Exercise-heavy textbooks?

Post by daivid »

I found the exercises in JACT's Reading Greek as unfocused and in the main too tedious to do.

The best book for exercises is IMO John Taylor's Greek to GCSE part 1
The exercises are very focused and use a very selected vocabulary
and even detect a wry sense of humor in them.

In part 2 he doesn't maintain his high standard but it's still not
bad.
λονδον

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bedwere
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Re: Exercise-heavy textbooks?

Post by bedwere »

Do you know the Greek Ollendorff? It has a lot of exercises to help you grasp the grammar.
I made a printed edition for my own use and I'm working on creating an index of Greek and English words.

Laertiades
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Re: Exercise-heavy textbooks?

Post by Laertiades »

I used "Teach Yourself Ancient Greek". I found it heavy on the reading exercises and light on the grammar charts. I am convinced that grammar is better learned by reading than by memorization.

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Re: Exercise-heavy textbooks?

Post by Ahab »

I haven't used this one but it looks interesting:

Learn to Read Greek by Keller and Russell

http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book ... 0300167719

One can download some pdf examples from the above link to get a rough idea of the nature of the book.
Why, he's at worst your poet who sings how Greeks
That never were, in Troy which never was,
Did this or the other impossible great thing!
---Robert Browning

-------------------------------------------------------
Hal Friederichs

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