Chapter 17 of A farewell to arms is here in full — 136 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of A farewell to arms is here in full — 136 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
When I was awake after the operation I had not been away. You do not go away. They only choke you. It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward. I saw sandbags at the end of the bed.
Chapter 17 of A farewell to arms is here in full — 136 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading “It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.”
a digestive juice secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder; aids in the digestion of fats
From this reading “It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.”
relating to or used in chemistry
From this reading “It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.”
breathe with great difficulty, as when experiencing a strong emotion
From this reading “They only choke you.”
Causing difficulty in breathing.
From this reading “It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.”
stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading “It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.”
the state of being in effect or being operative
From this reading “When I was awake after the operation I had not been away.”
plural of “sandbag” — a bag filled with sand; used as a weapon or to build walls or as ballast
From this reading “I saw sandbags at the end of the bed.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
move away from a place into another direction
In this reading “You do not go away.”
In this reading “I saw sandbags at the end of the bed.”
In this reading “It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.”
eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth
In this reading “It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
later than; following
From this reading When I was awake after the operation I had not been away.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I saw sandbags at the end of the bed.
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading When I was awake after the operation I had not been away.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading When I was awake after the operation I had not been away.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading I saw sandbags at the end of the bed.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading When I was awake after the operation I had not been away.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
a digestive juice secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder; aids in the digestion of fats
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
relating to or used in chemistry
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
breathe with great difficulty, as when experiencing a strong emotion
From this reading They only choke you.
Causing difficulty in breathing.
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading You do not go away.
stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
in or associated with the process of passing from life or ceasing to be
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading I saw sandbags at the end of the bed.
apart from; not including
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading You do not go away.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading When I was awake after the operation I had not been away.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading When I was awake after the operation I had not been away.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
and nothing more
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading When I was awake after the operation I had not been away.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I saw sandbags at the end of the bed.
and nothing more
From this reading They only choke you.
the state of being in effect or being operative
From this reading When I was awake after the operation I had not been away.
plural of “sandbag” — a bag filled with sand; used as a weapon or to build walls or as ballast
From this reading I saw sandbags at the end of the bed.
cut with a saw
From this reading I saw sandbags at the end of the bed.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When I was awake after the operation I had not been away.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They only choke you.
propel through the air
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When I was awake after the operation I had not been away.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading It is not like dying it is just a chemical choking so you do not feel, and afterward you might as well have been drunk except that when you throw up nothing comes but bile and you do not feel better afterward.
at the time that
From this reading When I was awake after the operation I had not been away.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You do not go away.
Chapter 17 of A farewell to arms by Ernest Hemingway holds 136 sentences, grouped into 28 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 17 holds 136 sentences of A farewell to arms, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of A farewell to arms by Ernest Hemingway exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 136 sentences, grouped into 28 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 17 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A farewell to arms by Ernest Hemingway on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9383 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75201 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75201, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1877 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A farewell to arms section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of A farewell to arms to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A farewell to arms, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
