Chapter 20 of Barren Ground is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Barren Ground is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Naw'm, hit was too fur fur mos' folks. Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood. Young Marse Bob en his wife wuz bofe un um on de train." "Well, make a good supper. Then you can go up to Ebenezer's.
Chapter 20 of Barren Ground is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading “Young Marse Bob en his wife wuz bofe un um on de train."”
your parents
From this reading “"Naw'm, hit was too fur fur mos' folks.”
the dressed hairy coat of a mammal
From this reading “"Naw'm, hit was too fur fur mos' folks.”
cause to move by striking
From this reading “"Naw'm, hit was too fur fur mos' folks.”
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading “Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.”
plural of “mo” — an indefinitely short time
From this reading “"Naw'm, hit was too fur fur mos' folks.”
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading “"Well, make a good supper.”
create by training and teaching
From this reading “Young Marse Bob en his wife wuz bofe un um on de train."”
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 upward
In this reading “Then you can go up to Ebenezer's.”
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, make a good supper.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading Young Marse Bob en his wife wuz bofe un um on de train."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Young Marse Bob en his wife wuz bofe un um on de train."
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Then you can go up to Ebenezer's.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then you can go up to Ebenezer's.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
half the width of an em
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
your parents
From this reading "Naw'm, hit was too fur fur mos' folks.
the dressed hairy coat of a mammal
From this reading "Naw'm, hit was too fur fur mos' folks.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Then you can go up to Ebenezer's.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Well, make a good supper.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Young Marse Bob en his wife wuz bofe un um on de train."
cause to move by striking
From this reading "Naw'm, hit was too fur fur mos' folks.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
engage in
From this reading "Well, make a good supper.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
plural of “mo” — an indefinitely short time
From this reading "Naw'm, hit was too fur fur mos' folks.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Naw'm, hit was too fur fur mos' folks.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Young Marse Bob en his wife wuz bofe un um on de train."
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading "Well, make a good supper.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then you can go up to Ebenezer's.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then you can go up to Ebenezer's.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "Naw'm, hit was too fur fur mos' folks.
create by training and teaching
From this reading Young Marse Bob en his wife wuz bofe un um on de train."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Young Marse Bob en his wife wuz bofe un um on de train."
an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security
From this reading Young Marse Bob en his wife wuz bofe un um on de train."
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Then you can go up to Ebenezer's.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Naw'm, hit was too fur fur mos' folks.
(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, make a good supper.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Young Marse Bob en his wife wuz bofe un um on de train."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Marse John Garlick, he wuz spendin' de night in de sto', en so was Marse Jim Ellgood.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Then you can go up to Ebenezer's.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Young Marse Bob en his wife wuz bofe un um on de train."
Chapter 20 of Barren Ground by Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 20 holds 411 sentences of Barren Ground, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Barren Ground by Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 20 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.
