Hi,
I have recently starting to learn Attic using Athenaze, which I am enjoying. I have read in other posts, however, that some self-taught students have been disappointed to learn that they needed to re-learn some verb vocabulary, because the text does not teach all six of the principal parts for some time. Do you recommend looking up and memorizing the principal parts of the verbs as they are introduced in the text?
Thanks.
You are quite right. If I recall, for example, the aorist passive is introduced in volume 2.
However, the story unfolding from chapter to chapter is constructed so that only the introduced forms are used.
So, if you start with Athenaze, it is better to stay with it for the full 2 volumes.
However, It is a good textbook overall.
I wouldn’t recommend supplementing what the book gives you by learning all the principal parts in advance. Of course you can if you want, but then you’d be fighting the book’s pedagogical method, and that’s rarely a good idea. And some principal parts are hardly ever used. I’d just go along with the book as it comes, but as Jean points out, you will need to finish both volumes.
Thank you to both of you. I will follow the textbook as designed and trust the method!