Gildersleeve's Latin Grammar

In the four years that I have studied Latin, I must tell you that this book is by far the best Latin grammar book out there. Written in 1895 by Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve, it has a huge amount of footnotes and linguistic history; the charts it has are unreal. If you are studying Latin in college or you've progressed beyond Latin III or so in high school (I took Spanish, so I wouldn't really know), this book is for you. If you're like me and you study it on your own, this book is for you. You simply cannot go wrong with this book.

For those classicists, who have yet to master German, Gildersleeve's Latin Grammar is the sine qua non for serious students of Latin. No Latin reference collection is complete without it. The metrical indices, the copious supply of notes and subpoints noting grammatical exceptions and common usages are a great resource. The book is not recommended for the beginning student as the most fruitful use of the Gildersleeve's extensive knowledge will only be available to those who already have a good understanding of Latin grammar.

I recommend this book to you if you've progressed beyond your original textbook. I won't recommend that you buy this with your Wheelock textbook; I will, however, that you consider buying it when you've finished Chapter 40 of Wheelock! If you're planning to do composition, the consideration ought to be so much shorter, since you'll need a good grammar. Other choices with which I've been pleased are the books 'New Latin Grammar' and 'New Latin Syntax', both of which are also from Bolchazy-Carducci. The first is interchangeable with this title, IMO, while the latter book you may wish to buy even in addition to one of these. And for those who are seeking a small grammar that can be of use to a beginner or an intermediate student, I recommend to them 'A Student's Latin Grammar' by Oxford Press. That book features all of the necessary grammar for reading Latin well, although it likely isn't detailed enough to help with the composition of good Latin.