Chapter 2 of Duty, and Other Irish Comedies is here in full — 472 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Duty, and Other Irish Comedies is here in full — 472 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CONSTABLE Some of us get more than our share. An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am. MRS. COTTER Excuse me, Constable. I can't keep me eyes open with the sleep.
Chapter 2 of Duty, and Other Irish Comedies is here in full — 472 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/94 · 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.
a lawman with less authority and jurisdiction than a sheriff
From this reading “CONSTABLE Some of us get more than our share.”
a peasant farmer in the Scottish Highlands
From this reading “COTTER Excuse me, Constable.”
accept an excuse for
From this reading “COTTER Excuse me, Constable.”
a woman of refinement
From this reading “An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.”
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading “An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.”
have in common
From this reading “CONSTABLE Some of us get more than our share.”
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading “I can't keep me eyes open with the sleep.”
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading “An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.”
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 An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I can't keep me eyes open with the sleep.
a lawman with less authority and jurisdiction than a sheriff
From this reading CONSTABLE Some of us get more than our share.
a peasant farmer in the Scottish Highlands
From this reading COTTER Excuse me, Constable.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
accept an excuse for
From this reading COTTER Excuse me, Constable.
opinion or judgment
From this reading I can't keep me eyes open with the sleep.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading CONSTABLE Some of us get more than our share.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I can't keep me eyes open with the sleep.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading I can't keep me eyes open with the sleep.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
a woman of refinement
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading COTTER Excuse me, Constable.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading CONSTABLE Some of us get more than our share.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading CONSTABLE Some of us get more than our share.
and nothing more
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading I can't keep me eyes open with the sleep.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading CONSTABLE Some of us get more than our share.
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
have in common
From this reading CONSTABLE Some of us get more than our share.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading I can't keep me eyes open with the sleep.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading CONSTABLE Some of us get more than our share.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading CONSTABLE Some of us get more than our share.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading CONSTABLE Some of us get more than our share.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I can't keep me eyes open with the sleep.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading An' 'tis far from troublin' a dacent woman like you I'd be, only for the Sergeant, ma'am.
Chapter 2 of Duty, and Other Irish Comedies by Seumas O'Brien holds 472 sentences, grouped into 95 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 2 holds 472 sentences of Duty, and Other Irish Comedies, unabridged, divided into 95 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Duty, and Other Irish Comedies by Seumas O'Brien exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 472 sentences, grouped into 95 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 95 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 95 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 2 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Duty, and Other Irish Comedies, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
