UPDATE: Ignore all of the below (or at least the links!) Textkit.com no longer hosts the answer key. I was able to find it here, however; save it while it’s there, as I’m not sure how long it will remain.
Before I forget…
I was taking a look at my copy of Wheelock’s Latin yesterday, and while looking at it, I recalled having a hard time getting an answer key to the exercises, when I was using the book years ago on my own. I dropped by the amazon.com page for the book, and found that some other folks had issues with getting it as well. (Oddly, some people didn’t have any trouble getting it – it seems that the publisher is quite random as to whether or not they’ll give you the login information for the answer key.)
I think it’s silly that the answer key isn’t made available for free on the Wheelock site, without the need for any login information, but I suppose HarperCollins is making a killing on selling the answer keys to instructors (sarcasm alert).
I thought that perhaps, after all this time of so many people having issues in getting the answer key, someone might have made up an answer key and made it available for free. I was right. The site Textkit.com has a free answer key for Wheelock’s Latin; the key is up-to-date for the 6th edition of the book. Here is the associated forum thread about the answer key, and any errors that have been corrected in it.
By the way, if you’re learning Latin or ancient Greek (or want to get started doing so), definitely dig around at Textkit.com. They have free books and other resources for learning the languages.
thanks,
planning on purchasing Wheelocks Latin and didn’t realize answers were not with the book!
Thank you!!! I actually have been given a login and password and can get into the answer key site… but none of the links work! I’ve complained about this with no luck, so thanks for the link.
I’ll look into that and get resolved. Jeff, Textkit.
I can’t find the key link.
To all who were unable to find the key, I’ve added a new link to the top of the post.
Thank you soo much ! It was life-saving while studying for the final exam..
It is quite annoying that it is so difficult to obtain the answer key. How do they expect you to successfully learn a new language when you can’t even check yourself for correctness?
Thank you Thank you Thank you! I’ve been trying for awhile to find translations for Wheelocks sententiae and practice/review, I was totally crushed when the bassinius one was gone! You rule
Glad I could be of some help, Dee. Best of luck in your studies.
A couple of hours ago I found the site with detailed answers–not just the translations, but good explanations. Now I can’t find it anymore. Please help.
Thank you very much for letting people use your answers to “practice and review” and “sententiae antiquae”. I am studying Latin as independent student, in Barcelona (Catalonia), and often I am not sure about my answers. So, your key is goint to be a great help for me. I apologize for my insure English.
There’s a reason there is not an answer key to the lessons in the book. It’s so that the students have to actually figure out the translation on their own. The learning process is through trial and error. It is up to the teacher guide the student through the process not just radomly give answers. Blame the teacher for lack of understanding not the book. Almost all language books have excersizes without answers. There are excersizes at the back with a key for more practice. Learning a language should take time and work. I’m appalled that you have posted the translations. Please shut this down.
The tests will determine whether the students are able to understand the material. Not having the answers is simply an unnecessary handicap. I struggled for years with math because I didn’t understand the process. Once I had answer keys available to me I could check my work and find my own errors. It helps a great deal. Furthermore the book is designed for self-study as well as school-study. If I don’t have answer key and I don’t have an instructor how am I going to get anywhere?
My one confusion is that my text does appear to have an answer key. It is the revised sixth edition, maybe they started including them.
Oops, someone already said all this for me. Correction to: I agree with Josh!
Hi Megan,
Sorry, but I don’t really agree. While I can understand that you, as a teacher of Latin, might bristle at this, the fact is this: lots of people use Wheelock’s Latin independently, without a teacher. For those people, having a key is helpful. Certainly, no one is going to learn much by just looking at the answers and moving on, but it’s nice to have a way to check the answers that you’ve spent time working out. If a learner spends a few hours translating a Latin passage and has no way to check that his translation is correct, what exactly is the gain?
Furthermore, I’m not sure what language books you’re looking at, but I have my fair share of them (and then some), and the vast majority of them all have keys for the exercises. That’s kind of the point – do the exercise, check your work. Perhaps you’re just talking about textbooks designed to be used in a classroom setting.
If I might go out on a limb, I’m going to guess that you’re concerned that your students will just copy the answers instead of actually learning. I can understand that concern, but I don’t agree with the idea that the answer key is the problem. If you have students that would rather copy answers than learn, taking away the answer key isn’t going to change the fundamental problem: they don’t want to learn. Answer key or no, if a student doesn’t want to learn, they’re not going to learn. I believe there’s a wonderful little saying about leading a horse to water that might apply here…
As for you being appalled, you have my apologies. Wanting to take away the answers from independent learners who truly would like to check their work, just to try to force some lazy classroom students to do their homework… now that seems appalling, if you ask me.
Just so you know, we instructors do not pay for the answer key. Since Wheelock’s is a TEXTBOOK, it is used in university classrooms around the country, and students are meant to work out their own answers as part of class assignments. That is why the answer key is hard to obtain. Some past students have posted their own translations to the exercises, many of which are so very wrong. As for me, I now use other assignments in order to give my students practice and to test their continuing knowledge; I care about what they are learning, not what they are copying. Please remember that the majority of students are not teaching themselves.
J A Granese:
I’m well aware it’s a textbook. I’m also well aware that, while it may not be the majority, there are people who do use the text for independent learning. And again: I fail to see why it is the responsibility of self learners to be put at a disadvantage, just so lazy classroom students can’t copy answers for their homework. Surely you would agree that the problem lies with students being willing to copy their answers? If so, are you arguing that the minority (self learners) should not be allowed access to an answer key to check their progress, just so some of the majority can’t copy their answers?
If that is your argument, I’m sorry, but I don’t at all agree. The problem is not with self learners wanting access to a key. The problem is with classroom students wanting to copy things instead of learning things. Furthermore, my response to Megan still stands: if you truly are seeing masses of students copying answers, I’m not sure why you’re up in arms over an answer key, because such students don’t want to learn anyway. Locking down the answer keys isn’t going to force them to study. If they don’t want to learn, they aren’t going to learn.
Thank you so much!! Was just finishing some chapter one exercises and looking at the key in my book but I only had it for the OPTIONAL exercises. Why they would give a key for the optional exercises and not for the ones that are in the chapter confused me as I was trying to match up the answers…I knew I had difficulty but I didn’t think I was getting it that far off the mark…
I learned Latin in high school. At that time almost the entire second year course was devoted to a line-by-line translation of Caesar’s Gallic Wars (with, of course, extensive grammar work). There were what we called “trot” books available at all the local bookstores, so any student could purchase one and thus avoid doing all the work. Those students also avoided learning any Latin. Most of us didn’t own or use the printed translations at all.
As an adult who is relearning Latin, I really appreciate the availability of the answer key. I have no teacher save for an online friend who has a life and certainly can’t be expected to go over each of my translations. I would be interested in what Megan would recommend for those of us who are, in fact, independent learners struggling to get the translations correct. Surely she wouldn’t want us to keep making the same mistakes over and over, becoming hopelessly lost in the maze of Latin grammar. What would be her suggestion?
Thank you so much for posting this! I was an avid student of Latin in high school, over a decade ago now. I decided recently to refresh my skills and relearn on my own what I’ve forgotten over the years. Bought Wheelock’s, as I was told it was one of the better books these days. Imagine my surprise when the book arrived and didn’t have any way to verify any of my translations. Talk about frustrating! So, I’m very grateful for the pdf key you’ve posted! Now, I can get back to work in earnest! Thank you!
I’m frankly disgusted that this is available by simply searching for this online. I’m another Latin teacher, and the fact that my students can simply Google a sentence from Wheelock and find this answer key is ridiculous.
Just to let you know, students do get expelled for plagiarism. The students, of course, are responsible for making the decision to use this, but life would be much easier if this was not available. Or, would require some kind of verification sign-on that would prevent students from wanting to access it.
Please keep in mind that this isn’t helping the academic process at all for high school students. All it does is encourage them to be lazy and copy these.
Oh, and Josh, your “If students don’t want to learn, they don’t want to learn” mantra clearly demonstrates that you have no educational experience. If students don’t have an easy out, it forces them to put more effort into it. That’s the case the vast majority of the time.
Mark:
I’m sorry you’re disgusted, but as I tried to explain previously, my concern isn’t really directed at high school (or college) students learning in a classroom environment. My blog is very clearly aimed at self learners such as myself, and for those people, accessing an answer key is quite helpful.
A suggestion? There are plenty of Latin texts out there with answer keys. Ecce Romani. Cambridge Latin. Latin for Americas. All of them have teacher books with answers. Wheelocks does not have an answer key, but there are plenty of others that do.
Wheelock’s *does* have an answer key, one which can be requested from the publishers. I’m going to edit this post to reflect that, and then, perhaps, this army of Latin teachers who find my behavior appalling will get off my back.
the new link does not work:(
please help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The link does not work anymore, for some reason…