About

The problem about Latin is that you can study it for six years and still not be able to read a Latin sentence.

Such begins Professor William C. Dowling’s webpage on his unorthodox technique for learning to read Latin fluently: Latin by the Dowling Method. His recipe for success is as follows:

  1. Learn a few simple concepts about Latin grammar, documented on his webpage (1 hour).
  2. Memorize six of the tables at the back of Wheelock’s Latin (6 months).
  3. Work through Lingua Latina, a wonderful workbook on Latin written in Latin (18 months).

This website will help you with the second goal: memorizing the tables. On his webpage, Professor Dowling recommends that you write out each table 200 times (but only 100 times for the Adjectives table). Using this website, you can type the tables instead of writing them out by hand. Moreover, we mark your words in green or red to show which are correct and which are incorrect.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why is the site called “Dowling’s Wheel”?

It helps you with part of the Dowling Method for learning Latin: memorizing the six tables in the appendix of the book Wheelock’s Latin.

I see “LiveCorrect enabled”. What’s that?

LiveCorrect gives you immediate feedback when you make a mistake, and when you successfully complete the table. When you make a mistake, the background turns light red. When you complete the table correctly, the background turns green. LiveCorrect is automatically enabled for browsers with JavaScript.

The words are in a different order than I’m used to. How come?

We use the order in Wheelock’s Latin: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative. In the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries, a different order is taught: nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative.

Is the source code available for this website?

Yes!