Chapter 8 of Chains is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Chains is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The restaurant-keeper eyed him askance. “Must I therefore provide for thee daily? By Allah, I will not! Here is a pice for thee. Be off, and come not soon again!
Chapter 8 of Chains is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
Muslim name for the one and only God
From this reading “By Allah, I will not!”
with suspicion or disapproval
From this reading “The restaurant-keeper eyed him askance.”
every day; without missing a day
From this reading ““Must I therefore provide for thee daily?”
having an eye or eyes or eyelike feature especially as specified; often used in combination
From this reading “The restaurant-keeper eyed him askance.”
give something useful or necessary to
From this reading ““Must I therefore provide for thee daily?”
in the near future
From this reading “Be off, and come not soon again!”
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading ““Must I therefore provide for thee daily?”
for that reason; as a result
From this reading ““Must I therefore provide for thee daily?”
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 ““Must I therefore provide for thee daily?”
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 Here is a pice for thee.
anew
From this reading Be off, and come not soon again!
Muslim name for the one and only God
From this reading By Allah, I will not!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Be off, and come not soon again!
with suspicion or disapproval
From this reading The restaurant-keeper eyed him askance.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Be off, and come not soon again!
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By Allah, I will not!
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Be off, and come not soon again!
every day; without missing a day
From this reading “Must I therefore provide for thee daily?
having an eye or eyes or eyelike feature especially as specified; often used in combination
From this reading The restaurant-keeper eyed him askance.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “Must I therefore provide for thee daily?
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Here is a pice for thee.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The restaurant-keeper eyed him askance.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Must I therefore provide for thee daily?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Here is a pice for thee.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “Must I therefore provide for thee daily?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading By Allah, I will not!
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Be off, and come not soon again!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Here is a pice for thee.
give something useful or necessary to
From this reading “Must I therefore provide for thee daily?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The restaurant-keeper eyed him askance.
in the near future
From this reading Be off, and come not soon again!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The restaurant-keeper eyed him askance.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading “Must I therefore provide for thee daily?
for that reason; as a result
From this reading “Must I therefore provide for thee daily?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading By Allah, I will not!
Chapter 8 of Chains by Theodore Dreiser holds 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 8 holds 445 sentences of Chains, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Chains by Theodore Dreiser exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 8 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 Chains by Theodore Dreiser on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7555 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72326 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72326, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1511 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Chains section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Chains 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 Chains, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
