Chapter 12 of A Group of Noble Dames is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of A Group of Noble Dames is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'Oh, I should like to have her!' 'But you can't! She's mine!' said the other greedily. A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment. Lady Mottisfont, too, was in a wretched mood all the way home that day.
Chapter 12 of A Group of Noble Dames is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment.”
female equivalent of a count or earl
From this reading “A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment.”
weak from exhaustion
From this reading “A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment.”
in a greedy manner
From this reading “She's mine!' said the other greedily.”
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment.”
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “She's mine!' said the other greedily.”
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading “Lady Mottisfont, too, was in a wretched mood all the way home that day.”
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading “Lady Mottisfont, too, was in a wretched mood all the way home that day.”
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 A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Lady Mottisfont, too, was in a wretched mood all the way home that day.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading 'But you can't!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'But you can't!
female equivalent of a count or earl
From this reading A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Lady Mottisfont, too, was in a wretched mood all the way home that day.
weak from exhaustion
From this reading A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment.
in a greedy manner
From this reading She's mine!' said the other greedily.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading 'Oh, I should like to have her!'
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading 'Oh, I should like to have her!'
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Lady Mottisfont, too, was in a wretched mood all the way home that day.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'Oh, I should like to have her!'
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading Lady Mottisfont, too, was in a wretched mood all the way home that day.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading 'Oh, I should like to have her!'
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading She's mine!' said the other greedily.
a particular point in time
From this reading A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment.
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading Lady Mottisfont, too, was in a wretched mood all the way home that day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lady Mottisfont, too, was in a wretched mood all the way home that day.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading 'Oh, I should like to have her!'
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading She's mine!' said the other greedily.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading She's mine!' said the other greedily.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She's mine!' said the other greedily.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading 'Oh, I should like to have her!'
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A drooping manner appeared in the Countess from that moment.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She's mine!' said the other greedily.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 'Oh, I should like to have her!'
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Lady Mottisfont, too, was in a wretched mood all the way home that day.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Lady Mottisfont, too, was in a wretched mood all the way home that day.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Lady Mottisfont, too, was in a wretched mood all the way home that day.
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading Lady Mottisfont, too, was in a wretched mood all the way home that day.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 'But you can't!
Chapter 12 of A Group of Noble Dames by Thomas Hardy holds 158 sentences, grouped into 32 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 12 holds 158 sentences of A Group of Noble Dames, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of A Group of Noble Dames by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 158 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 12 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 Group of Noble Dames by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3055 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3049 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3049, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 254 minutes of reading across 611 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Group of Noble Dames section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of A Group of Noble Dames 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 Group of Noble Dames, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
