The order of words in a Greek sentence is much freer and less predictable than in most European languages. The author explains and illustrates the principles which govern word order in Greek. He finds three: the tendency of certain words to take a constant position; certain types of logical relation between the sentence and its context; and the tendency to adhere to familiar patterns. His three main chapters discuss word order dictated by lexical or semantic, by syntactical, and by logical determinants.

All students of Greek from the first year undergraduates upwards, and all teachers of Greek need copies of this book – the only one in English on the subject. It has been reissued, after a considerable period out of print, and appears for the first time in paperback.