Comedies and Errors

Chapter VI

Chapter 6 of Comedies and Errors is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Henry Harland • Curated US English Learning Edition

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“Reformed, of course.

The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

“You know perfectly well what he did,” said she.

“He petitioned the German Diet to annul the marriage.

You see, having exhausted the dowry of the Princess Anna, it occurred to him that if she could only be got out of the way, he might marry another heiress, and have the spending of another fortune.”

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LEARNER DICTIONARY

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Chapter VI Reading 1/80

Comedies and Errors

Chapter VI

Chapter 6 of Comedies and Errors is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

“Reformed, of course.

/rɪˈfɔːrmd ʌv kɔːrs/

Line 2

The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

Line 3

“You know perfectly well what he did,” said she.

/juː noʊ ˈpɜːrfəktli wel wʌt hiː dɪd sed ʃiː/

Line 4

“He petitioned the German Diet to annul the marriage.

/hiː pəˈtɪʃənd ðə ˈdʒɜːrmən ˈdaɪət tuː ˈænəl ðə ˈmerɪdʒ/

Line 5

You see, having exhausted the dowry of the Princess Anna, it occurred to him that if she could only be got out of the way, he might marry another heiress, and have the spending of another fortune.”

/juː siː ˈhævɪŋ ɪɡˈzɔːstɪd ðə ˈdaʊri ʌv ðə ˈprɪn.ses ˈænə ɪt əˈkɜːrd tuː hɪm ðæt ɪf ʃiː kʊd ˈoʊnli biː ɡɑːt aʊt ʌv ðə weɪ hiː maɪt ˈmeri əˈnʌðər ˈerəs ənd hæv ðə ˈspendɪŋ ʌv əˈnʌðər ˈfɔːrtʃən/

Learner Dictionary

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.

annul verb US /ˈænəl/

declare invalid

From this reading ““He petitioned the German Diet to annul the marriage.”

Diet noun US /ˈdaɪət/

a prescribed selection of foods

From this reading ““He petitioned the German Diet to annul the marriage.”

dowry noun US /ˈdaʊri/

money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage

From this reading “You see, having exhausted the dowry of the Princess Anna, it occurred to him that if she could only be got out of the way, he might marry another heiress, and have the spending of another fortune.””

heiress noun US /ˈerəs/

a female heir

petitioned verb US /pəˈtɪʃənd/

past form of “petition” — write a petition for something to somebody; request formally and in writing

From this reading ““He petitioned the German Diet to annul the marriage.”

Reformed adjective US /rɪˈfɔːrmd/

of or relating to the body of Protestant Christianity arising during the Reformation; used of some Protestant churches especially Calvinist as distinct from Lutheran

From this reading ““Reformed, of course.”

reforms noun US /rəˈfɔːrmz/

plural of “reform” — a change for the better as a result of correcting abuses

From this reading “The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.”

spending noun US /ˈspendɪŋ/

the act of spending or disbursing money

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

of course preposition + noun

as might be expected

In this reading ““Reformed, of course.”

got out verb + adjective counted as “get out”

move out of or depart from

In this reading “You see, having exhausted the dowry of the Princess Anna, it occurred to him that if she could only be got out of the way, he might marry another heiress, and have the spending of another fortune.””

know perfectly verb + particle

In this reading ““You know perfectly well what he did,” said she.”

more money adjective + noun

In this reading “The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.”

All words in this reading · 58

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

alwaysadverbUS /ˈɔːlweɪz/

at all times; all the time and on every occasion

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

AnnanounUS /ˈænə/

a former copper coin of Pakistan and India

From this reading You see, having exhausted the dowry of the Princess Anna, it occurred to him that if she could only be got out of the way, he might marry another heiress, and have the spending of another fortune.”

annulverbUS /ˈænəl/

declare invalid

From this reading “He petitioned the German Diet to annul the marriage.

anotherdeterminerUS /əˈnʌðər/

one more of the same kind, or a different one

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

bornadjectiveUS /bɔːrn/

brought into existence

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

childnounUS /tʃaɪld/

a young person of either sex

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

coursenounUS /kɔːrs/

education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings

From this reading “Reformed, of course.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading “You know perfectly well what he did,” said she.

DietnounUS /ˈdaɪət/

a prescribed selection of foods

From this reading “He petitioned the German Diet to annul the marriage.

dowrynounUS /ˈdaʊri/

money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage

exhaustedadjectiveUS /ɪɡˈzɔːstɪd/

drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted

fortunenounUS /ˈfɔːrtʃən/

an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another

generalisedadjective

not biologically differentiated or adapted to a specific function or environment

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

GermannounUS /ˈdʒɜːrmən/

a person of German nationality

From this reading “He petitioned the German Diet to annul the marriage.

gotverbUS /ɡɑːt/

inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

havingauxiliary verbUS /ˈhævɪŋ/

the -ing form of “have”

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

heiressnounUS /ˈerəs/

a female heir

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

husbandnounUS /ˈhʌzbənd/

a married man; a woman's partner in marriage

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

knowverbUS /noʊ/

be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about

From this reading “You know perfectly well what he did,” said she.

marriagenounUS /ˈmerɪdʒ/

the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)

From this reading “He petitioned the German Diet to annul the marriage.

marryverbUS /ˈmeri/

take in marriage

mightmodal verbUS /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

moneynounUS /ˈmʌni/

the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

moreadjectiveUS /mɔːr/

(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

occurredverbUS /əˈkɜːrd/

inflected form of “occur” — come to pass

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading “Reformed, of course.

onlyadverbUS /ˈoʊnli/

and nothing more

outadjectiveUS /aʊt/

not allowed to continue to bat or run

perfectlyadverbUS /ˈpɜːrfəktli/

completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers

From this reading “You know perfectly well what he did,” said she.

petitionedverbUS /pəˈtɪʃənd/

past form of “petition” — write a petition for something to somebody; request formally and in writing

From this reading “He petitioned the German Diet to annul the marriage.

PrincessnounUS /ˈprɪn.ses/

The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.

ReformedadjectiveUS /rɪˈfɔːrmd/

of or relating to the body of Protestant Christianity arising during the Reformation; used of some Protestant churches especially Calvinist as distinct from Lutheran

From this reading “Reformed, of course.

reformsnounUS /rəˈfɔːrmz/

plural of “reform” — a change for the better as a result of correcting abuses

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading “You know perfectly well what he did,” said she.

seeverbUS /siː/

perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading “You know perfectly well what he did,” said she.

spendingnounUS /ˈspendɪŋ/

the act of spending or disbursing money

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

there's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading “He petitioned the German Diet to annul the marriage.

waynounUS /weɪ/

how something is done or how it happens

welladverbUS /wel/

(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 “You know perfectly well what he did,” said she.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading “You know perfectly well what he did,” said she.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

wickedadjectiveUS /ˈwɪkəd/

morally bad in principle or practice

From this reading The wicked husband always reforms when a child is born, and there’s no more money,” he generalised.

YoupronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “You know perfectly well what he did,” said she.

Chapter 6 of Comedies and Errors by Henry Harland holds 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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.

What does chapter 6 of Comedies and Errors contain?

Chapter 6 holds 402 sentences of Comedies and Errors, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 6 of Comedies and Errors by Henry Harland exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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.

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Chapter VI

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