Chapter 3 of Combed Out is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Combed Out is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Our Sergeant had gone to get instructions. He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before. We nearly groaned with apprehension. He leered at us and did not, for a moment, say what the mistake had been. Then he told us: "It's all right, me lads.
Chapter 3 of Combed Out is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading “We nearly groaned with apprehension.”
past form of “groan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading “We nearly groaned with apprehension.”
a manual usually accompanying a technical device and explaining how to install or operate it
From this reading “Our Sergeant had gone to get instructions.”
plural of “lad” — a boy or man
From this reading “Then he told us: "It's all right, me lads.”
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading “He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.”
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading “We nearly groaned with apprehension.”
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading “He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.”
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading “Our Sergeant had gone to get instructions.”
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 He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.
(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 Then he told us: "It's all right, me lads.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading We nearly groaned with apprehension.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He leered at us and did not, for a moment, say what the mistake had been.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He leered at us and did not, for a moment, say what the mistake had been.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He leered at us and did not, for a moment, say what the mistake had been.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Our Sergeant had gone to get instructions.
destroyed or killed
From this reading Our Sergeant had gone to get instructions.
past form of “groan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading We nearly groaned with apprehension.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Our Sergeant had gone to get instructions.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.
a manual usually accompanying a technical device and explaining how to install or operate it
From this reading Our Sergeant had gone to get instructions.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then he told us: "It's all right, me lads.
plural of “lad” — a boy or man
From this reading Then he told us: "It's all right, me lads.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He leered at us and did not, for a moment, say what the mistake had been.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Then he told us: "It's all right, me lads.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.
a particular point in time
From this reading He leered at us and did not, for a moment, say what the mistake had been.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading We nearly groaned with apprehension.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He leered at us and did not, for a moment, say what the mistake had been.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Our Sergeant had gone to get instructions.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Then he told us: "It's all right, me lads.
express in words
From this reading He leered at us and did not, for a moment, say what the mistake had been.
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading Our Sergeant had gone to get instructions.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he told us: "It's all right, me lads.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Our Sergeant had gone to get instructions.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He returned and told us a mistake had been made the day before.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We nearly groaned with apprehension.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He leered at us and did not, for a moment, say what the mistake had been.
in the company of; together with
From this reading We nearly groaned with apprehension.
Chapter 3 of Combed Out by F. A. (Frederick Augustus) Voigt holds 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 3 holds 440 sentences of Combed Out, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Combed Out by F. A. (Frederick Augustus) Voigt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 3 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 Combed Out by F. A. (Frederick Augustus) Voigt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3523 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16355 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16355, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 293 minutes of reading across 705 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Combed Out section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Combed Out 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 Combed Out, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
