Learning Greek with Plato : a beginner's course in Classical Greek, based on Plato, Meno 70a1 - 81e6 / by Frank Beetham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beetham, Frank.

Contributor:

Phi Beta Kappa Library Trust Fund.

Language:

English

Greek, Ancient (to 1453)

Subjects (All):

Greek language--Textbooks for foreign speakers--English.

Greek language.

Greek language--Problems, exercises, etc.

Genre:

Problems and exercises.

Textbooks -- for foreign speakers.

Textbooks.

Physical Description:

xxiv, 503 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Exeter : Bristol Phoenix, 2007.

Summary:

This course has been designed specifically to enable the newcomer to Classical Greek to begin to read the language in the original using Plato's Meno. The book can be used for independent study and assumes no prior knowledge of Classical Greek. The first seven sections prepare the way with step-by-step coverage of the alphabet and basic Greek grammar such as cases and the declensions of nouns, and the fundamental system of verb endings. From section eight onwards Beetham presents the first part of the Meno (70a1-81e6) - one of Plato's most important dialogues - together with further grammar and helpful notes encouraging a careful reading on the student's part. Throughout the book, manageable quantities of new vocabulary are introduced, and fully integrated exercises (with answers at the back of the book) will aid the learning process.

By the end of the course the student will be able to: understand the rudiments of Classical Greek grammar, appreciate Plato's distinctive style, begin to read Classical philosophy in Greek, relate a translation to the underlying Greek text with discrimination, follow a commentary on the text.

Contents:

Introduction: Background to Plato's Meno xii

Section 1 The Alphabet 1

Punctuation and Accents 6

Section 2 The Verb "I am" 9

Asking Questions 10

Nouns and Declensions 11

Adjectives 14

Plurals 15

Section 3 Subjects and Verbs - Verb Endings 19

Personal Pronouns 24

Neuter Plural Subjects 27

Section 4 The Object 30

Accusative of Respect or Manner 36

Note on Greek Dialects 40

Section 5 Verbs - Middle and Passive Endings 41

"This" 46

Section 6 The Present Infinitive 49

Adverbs 50

The Genitive Case 51

Section 7 Conjunctions 60

The Dative Case 61

"Who?" and "What?" 67

"Someone" and "Something" 67

The Vocative Case 70

Third and Mixed Declension Adjectivess 71

Section 8 Prepositions 72

Verbs - Overview of Tenses 75

The Imperfect Tense 76

Augments 78

Translating Plato's Meno 70a1-70c3 82

Section 9 The Perfect Tense 87

The Perfect Tense Middle and Passive 92

[Characters not reproducible] 94

Translating Plato's Meno 70c3-71c4 96

Section 10 Demonstrative Pronouns 99

Present Participles 100

The Perfect Active Participle 105

Middle and Passive Participles 107

Translating Plato's Meno 71c5-72a5 109

Section 11 "Every"/ "All" 115

The Aorist Tense 116

The Weak Aorist Indicative Active 118

The Weak Aorist Indicative Middle 124

Kinds of Condition 125

Translating Plato's Meno 72a6-72d3 128

Section 12 Multiple Questions 131

The Future Active 132

The Future Middle 133

The Subjunctive Mood 140

Infinitive as Subject and Object 145

Future and General Conditions 146

Translating Plato's Meno 72d4-73c5 147

Section 13 Adjectives with Masculine for Feminine 151

The Optative Mood 152

Future Unlikely Conditions 157

Translating Plato's Meno 73c6-74a6 160

Section 14 The Strong Aorist Active Tense 164

The Strong Aorist Middle Tense 171

Purpose Clauses 176

Translating Plato's Meno 74a7-74e10 177

Section 15 Imperatives 183

Prohibitions 188

Strong and Doubtful Denials 191

Translating Plato's Meno 74e11-75d7 192

Section 16 Contraction (Verbs) 196

[Characters not reproducible] 212

Translating Plato's Meno 75d7-76c3 213

Section 17 Relative Pronouns: "Who", "What", "Which", "That" 218

Translating Plato's Meno 76c4-77a2 223

Section 18 The Aorist Passive Tense 228

Translating Plato's Meno 77a2-77e4 238

Section 19 The Genitive Absolute 242

The Future Passive Tense 245

[Characters not reproducible] 248

Translating Plato's Meno 77e5-78c3 249

Section 20 Temporal Clauses 253

[Characters not reproducible] 256

The Pluperfect Tense 258

Translating Plato's Meno 78c4-79a2 260

Section 21 Contracted Adjective Endings (Third Declension) 265

Reported Speech 266

Accusative and Infinitive used for Reported Statements 268

Participle Construction with "Know" or "See" 272

Relative Clauses, Direct and Indirect Questions 273

Translating Plato's Meno 79a3-79c10 277

Section 22 [Characters not reproducible] ("Because") 281

[Characters not reproducible] ("Although") 284

[Characters not reproducible] with Adverb 286

Numerals 287

[Characters not reproducible] 289

Multiple Negatives 290

Translating Plato's Meno 79d1-79e6 291

Section 23 Irregular Adjectives 293

Comparatives and Superlatives 295

Translating Plato's Meno 79e7-80b7 304

Section 24 [Characters not reproducible] Verbs With Stems Ending -[alpha], -[epsilon] or -o ([Characters not reproducible]) 307

The Irregular Verb [Characters not reproducible] 324

Translating Plato's Meno 80b8-81a10 325

Section 25 The Irregular Verb [Characters not reproducible] 330

Impersonal Verbs 333

Accusative Absolute 335

Verbal Adjectives 336

Reflexive Pronouns 337

Translating Plato's Meno 81a10-81e6 341

Cases and Prepositions 347

Word Order 366

Duals 370

Numerals 374

Declension of Nouns, Adjectives and Pronouns 378

Reference List of Verb Endings and Irregular Verbs [Characters not reproducible] 395

Verbs ending -[omega] 396

Verbs ending [Characters not reproducible] 406

Word List 462

Principal Tenses of Some of the More Difficult Verbs 488.

Notes:

"First published in 2007 by University of Exeter Press ... Exeter".

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Phi Beta Kappa Library Trust Fund.

ISBN:

9781904675563

1904675565

OCLC:

61177536