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adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
aboveprepositionUS /əˈbʌv/
higher than, or over, something
From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
altar
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The pews and galleries and walls were of unpainted fir, and the ceiling was whitewashed.
arrival
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From this reading The service had begun some time before the arrival of our friends.
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Inside, this church was found to be exceedingly plain, but very clean.
beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The service had begun some time before the arrival of our friends.
begun
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From this reading The service had begun some time before the arrival of our friends.
building
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
butconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Inside, this church was found to be exceedingly plain, but very clean.
candles
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
Catholic
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
ceiling
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From this reading The pews and galleries and walls were of unpainted fir, and the ceiling was whitewashed.
ceremonial
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From this reading It was a Lutheran church, and the ceremonial resembled that of the English Church in some respects, that of the Roman Catholic in others.
church
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From this reading Inside, this church was found to be exceedingly plain, but very clean.
clean
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From this reading Inside, this church was found to be exceedingly plain, but very clean.
crucifix
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
devoid
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
English
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From this reading It was a Lutheran church, and the ceremonial resembled that of the English Church in some respects, that of the Roman Catholic in others.
entire
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
exceedingly
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From this reading Inside, this church was found to be exceedingly plain, but very clean.
exceptprepositionUS /ɪkˈsept/
apart from; not including
From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
few
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
fir
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From this reading The pews and galleries and walls were of unpainted fir, and the ceiling was whitewashed.
foundnounUS /found/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Inside, this church was found to be exceedingly plain, but very clean.
friends
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From this reading The service had begun some time before the arrival of our friends.
galleries
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From this reading The pews and galleries and walls were of unpainted fir, and the ceiling was whitewashed.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The service had begun some time before the arrival of our friends.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
Inside
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From this reading Inside, this church was found to be exceedingly plain, but very clean.
ItpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a Lutheran church, and the ceremonial resembled that of the English Church in some respects, that of the Roman Catholic in others.
large
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
Lutheran
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From this reading It was a Lutheran church, and the ceremonial resembled that of the English Church in some respects, that of the Roman Catholic in others.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The pews and galleries and walls were of unpainted fir, and the ceiling was whitewashed.
ornament
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
other
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
others
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a Lutheran church, and the ceremonial resembled that of the English Church in some respects, that of the Roman Catholic in others.
ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading The service had begun some time before the arrival of our friends.
pews
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From this reading The pews and galleries and walls were of unpainted fir, and the ceiling was whitewashed.
plain
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From this reading Inside, this church was found to be exceedingly plain, but very clean.
resembled
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a Lutheran church, and the ceremonial resembled that of the English Church in some respects, that of the Roman Catholic in others.
resembling
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
respects
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a Lutheran church, and the ceremonial resembled that of the English Church in some respects, that of the Roman Catholic in others.
Roman
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
round
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
service
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The service had begun some time before the arrival of our friends.
some
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From this reading The service had begun some time before the arrival of our friends.
somewhat
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was a Lutheran church, and the ceremonial resembled that of the English Church in some respects, that of the Roman Catholic in others.
ThedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The pews and galleries and walls were of unpainted fir, and the ceiling was whitewashed.
there
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
things
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Inside, this church was found to be exceedingly plain, but very clean.
thosedeterminerUS /ðoʊz/
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
timenounUS /time/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading The service had begun some time before the arrival of our friends.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Inside, this church was found to be exceedingly plain, but very clean.
unpainted
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The pews and galleries and walls were of unpainted fir, and the ceiling was whitewashed.
used
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
utterly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
very
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Inside, this church was found to be exceedingly plain, but very clean.
walls
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The pews and galleries and walls were of unpainted fir, and the ceiling was whitewashed.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Inside, this church was found to be exceedingly plain, but very clean.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The pews and galleries and walls were of unpainted fir, and the ceiling was whitewashed.
whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
whitewashed
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The pews and galleries and walls were of unpainted fir, and the ceiling was whitewashed.
worship
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From this reading The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament, except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a few candles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in Roman Catholic worship.
