The reinvestigation of two allyl zinc compounds, parent bis(allyl)zinc [Zn(C3H5)(2)] (1) and 2-methallyl chloro zinc [Zn(C4H7)Cl] (2), revealed two new coordination modes in the solid state for the allyl ligand, viz cis- and trans- mu(2)-eta(1):eta(1). These results call for modification of the conventional interpretation of zinc allyl interactions. Computational results indicate that the classical eta(3)-bonding mode of the allyl ligand is not favored interaction in the dimer of [Zn(eta(1)-C3H5)(OC(C3H5)Ph-2)] was found in the in zinc compounds. A rare case of a zinc-olefin monoinsertion product of 1 with benzophenone.