Chapter 19 of Barren Ground is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of Barren Ground is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer. Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe." "He wasn't obliged to stay here," she observed scornfully. "No, but he was always too easy-going. A pleasant enough fellow when he was a boy; but soon ripe, soon rotten."
Chapter 19 of Barren Ground is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
a person who operates a farm
From this reading “"Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.”
a tool with a flat blade attached at right angles to a long handle
From this reading “Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."”
(Greek mythology) the husband of Medea and leader of the Argonauts who sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece
From this reading “Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."”
under a moral obligation to do something
From this reading “"He wasn't obliged to stay here," she observed scornfully.”
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."”
fully developed or matured and ready to be eaten or used
From this reading “A pleasant enough fellow when he was a boy; but soon ripe, soon rotten."”
very bad
From this reading “A pleasant enough fellow when he was a boy; but soon ripe, soon rotten."”
an arrangement of objects or people side by side in a line
From this reading “Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."”
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.
In this reading “"He wasn't obliged to stay here," she observed scornfully.”
a man who is very old
In this reading “Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."”
delete or remove
In this reading “"Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.”
In this reading “Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."”
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 "Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading "Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading "No, but he was always too easy-going.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
a youthful male person
From this reading A pleasant enough fellow when he was a boy; but soon ripe, soon rotten."
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "No, but he was always too easy-going.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading "Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading "Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No, but he was always too easy-going.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading A pleasant enough fellow when he was a boy; but soon ripe, soon rotten."
a person who operates a farm
From this reading "Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.
a boy or man
From this reading A pleasant enough fellow when he was a boy; but soon ripe, soon rotten."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading "Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He wasn't obliged to stay here," she observed scornfully.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "He wasn't obliged to stay here," she observed scornfully.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
a tool with a flat blade attached at right angles to a long handle
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
(Greek mythology) the husband of Medea and leader of the Argonauts who sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
not any; not one
From this reading "No, but he was always too easy-going.
the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
under a moral obligation to do something
From this reading "He wasn't obliged to stay here," she observed scornfully.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading "He wasn't obliged to stay here," she observed scornfully.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading A pleasant enough fellow when he was a boy; but soon ripe, soon rotten."
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
fully developed or matured and ready to be eaten or used
From this reading A pleasant enough fellow when he was a boy; but soon ripe, soon rotten."
very bad
From this reading A pleasant enough fellow when he was a boy; but soon ripe, soon rotten."
an arrangement of objects or people side by side in a line
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
without respect; in a disdainful manner
From this reading "He wasn't obliged to stay here," she observed scornfully.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He wasn't obliged to stay here," she observed scornfully.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
in the near future
From this reading A pleasant enough fellow when he was a boy; but soon ripe, soon rotten."
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading "He wasn't obliged to stay here," she observed scornfully.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Since the old man brought him back from the North, I reckon Jason has had a hard row to hoe."
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "No, but he was always too easy-going.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "No, but he was always too easy-going.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "He wasn't obliged to stay here," she observed scornfully.
(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 "Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.
at the time that
From this reading "Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, the country goes against you when you ain't cut out for a farmer.
Chapter 19 of Barren Ground by Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 19 holds 408 sentences of Barren Ground, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of Barren Ground by Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Barren Ground by Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9424 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66191 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66191, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1885 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Barren Ground section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of Barren Ground 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 Barren Ground, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
