Chapter 19 of Alice Adams is here in full — 287 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of Alice Adams is here in full — 287 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk. “Isn't it the most BEAUTIFUL evening!” the daughter said. “WHY can't summer last all year? Did you ever know a lovelier twilight than this, mama?” Mrs. Adams laughed, and answered, “Not since I was your age, I expect.”
Chapter 19 of Alice Adams is here in full — 287 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/57 · 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.
American Revolutionary leader and patriot; an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1722-1803)
From this reading “Mrs. Adams laughed, and answered, “Not since I was your age, I expect.””
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading “Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.”
singing in a soft low tone
From this reading “Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.”
regard something as probable or likely
From this reading “Mrs. Adams laughed, and answered, “Not since I was your age, I expect.””
informal terms for a mother
From this reading “Did you ever know a lovelier twilight than this, mama?””
with low volume
From this reading “Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “Did you ever know a lovelier twilight than this, mama?””
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 Did you ever know a lovelier twilight than this, mama?”
American Revolutionary leader and patriot; an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1722-1803)
From this reading Mrs. Adams laughed, and answered, “Not since I was your age, I expect.”
how long something has existed
From this reading Mrs. Adams laughed, and answered, “Not since I was your age, I expect.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
(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 “WHY can't summer last all year?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Mrs. Adams laughed, and answered, “Not since I was your age, I expect.”
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading “Isn't it the most BEAUTIFUL evening!” the daughter said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “WHY can't summer last all year?
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
singing in a soft low tone
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
a female human offspring
From this reading “Isn't it the most BEAUTIFUL evening!” the daughter said.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Did you ever know a lovelier twilight than this, mama?”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading “Isn't it the most BEAUTIFUL evening!” the daughter said.
at any time
From this reading Did you ever know a lovelier twilight than this, mama?”
regard something as probable or likely
From this reading Mrs. Adams laughed, and answered, “Not since I was your age, I expect.”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Mrs. Adams laughed, and answered, “Not since I was your age, I expect.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Isn't it the most BEAUTIFUL evening!” the daughter said.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Isn't it the most BEAUTIFUL evening!” the daughter said.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Did you ever know a lovelier twilight than this, mama?”
immediately past
From this reading “WHY can't summer last all year?
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading Mrs. Adams laughed, and answered, “Not since I was your age, I expect.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Did you ever know a lovelier twilight than this, mama?”
informal terms for a mother
From this reading Did you ever know a lovelier twilight than this, mama?”
used to form the superlative
From this reading “Isn't it the most BEAUTIFUL evening!” the daughter said.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Adams laughed, and answered, “Not since I was your age, I expect.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Mrs. Adams laughed, and answered, “Not since I was your age, I expect.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Isn't it the most BEAUTIFUL evening!” the daughter said.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading Mrs. Adams laughed, and answered, “Not since I was your age, I expect.”
with low volume
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading “WHY can't summer last all year?
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Did you ever know a lovelier twilight than this, mama?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Did you ever know a lovelier twilight than this, mama?”
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading Did you ever know a lovelier twilight than this, mama?”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Alice was softly crooning to herself as her mother turned the corner of the house and approached through the dusk.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “WHY can't summer last all year?
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading “WHY can't summer last all year?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Did you ever know a lovelier twilight than this, mama?”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Mrs. Adams laughed, and answered, “Not since I was your age, I expect.”
Chapter 19 of Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington holds 287 sentences, grouped into 58 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 19 holds 287 sentences of Alice Adams, unabridged, divided into 58 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 287 sentences, grouped into 58 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 58 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 58 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 19 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 Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5996 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #980 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #980, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 499 minutes of reading across 1200 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Alice Adams section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Alice Adams 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 Alice Adams, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
