Chapter 8 of Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child. MME. DE RONCHARD You ask an impossibility. MARTINEL And so do you. The principal judge in the matter, look you, is my nephew himself.
Chapter 8 of Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “DE RONCHARD You ask an impossibility.”
a young person of either sex
From this reading “Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.”
incapability of existing or occurring
From this reading “DE RONCHARD You ask an impossibility.”
possessive form of “jean” — a coarse durable twill-weave cotton fabric
From this reading “Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.”
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading “The principal judge in the matter, look you, is my nephew himself.”
a son of your brother or sister
From this reading “The principal judge in the matter, look you, is my nephew himself.”
the original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated
From this reading “The principal judge in the matter, look you, is my nephew himself.”
be shown or be found to be
From this reading “Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.”
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading DE RONCHARD You ask an impossibility.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading MARTINEL And so do you.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading DE RONCHARD You ask an impossibility.
a young person of either sex
From this reading Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading DE RONCHARD You ask an impossibility.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading MARTINEL And so do you.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading The principal judge in the matter, look you, is my nephew himself.
incapability of existing or occurring
From this reading DE RONCHARD You ask an impossibility.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The principal judge in the matter, look you, is my nephew himself.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.
possessive form of “jean” — a coarse durable twill-weave cotton fabric
From this reading Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading The principal judge in the matter, look you, is my nephew himself.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The principal judge in the matter, look you, is my nephew himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MARTINEL And so do you.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading The principal judge in the matter, look you, is my nephew himself.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MME.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading The principal judge in the matter, look you, is my nephew himself.
a son of your brother or sister
From this reading The principal judge in the matter, look you, is my nephew himself.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.
the original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated
From this reading The principal judge in the matter, look you, is my nephew himself.
be shown or be found to be
From this reading Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DE RONCHARD You ask an impossibility.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading MARTINEL And so do you.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The principal judge in the matter, look you, is my nephew himself.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then first prove to me that it is not Jean's child.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading DE RONCHARD You ask an impossibility.
Chapter 8 of Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales by Guy de Maupassant holds 392 sentences, grouped into 79 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 392 sentences of Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales by Guy de Maupassant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 392 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales by Guy de Maupassant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4657 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9161 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9161, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 388 minutes of reading across 932 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales 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 Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
