Chapter 16 of Elizabeth, Her Folks is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Elizabeth, Her Folks is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself: "I am a little love, and I'm sitting on the floor. They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor. A little girl I used to be Is sitting on the floor." "Don't you think you have sung almost enough, Madget?"
Chapter 16 of Elizabeth, Her Folks is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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.
plural of “cooky” — the cook on a ranch or at a camp
From this reading “They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.”
the act of consuming food
From this reading “They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.”
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading “They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.”
appealing to the emotions as well as the eye
From this reading “They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.”
deliver by singing
From this reading “They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.”
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading “MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself:”
be seated
From this reading “They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.”
the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy
From this reading “"Don't you think you have sung almost enough, Madget?"”
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.
a youthful female person
In this reading “A little girl I used to be Is sitting on the floor."”
In this reading “MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself:”
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 "I am a little love, and I'm sitting on the floor.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading "Don't you think you have sung almost enough, Madget?"
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I am a little love, and I'm sitting on the floor.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself:
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading A little girl I used to be Is sitting on the floor."
plural of “cooky” — the cook on a ranch or at a camp
From this reading They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't you think you have sung almost enough, Madget?"
the act of consuming food
From this reading They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading "Don't you think you have sung almost enough, Madget?"
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself:
a young female
From this reading A little girl I used to be Is sitting on the floor."
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Don't you think you have sung almost enough, Madget?"
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I am a little love, and I'm sitting on the floor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I am a little love, and I'm sitting on the floor.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A little girl I used to be Is sitting on the floor."
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "I am a little love, and I'm sitting on the floor.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading "I am a little love, and I'm sitting on the floor.
appealing to the emotions as well as the eye
From this reading They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself:
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself:
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself:
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.
deliver by singing
From this reading They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself:
be seated
From this reading They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself:
the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy
From this reading "Don't you think you have sung almost enough, Madget?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself:
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They put me here to sit and sing, Eating cookies as I sing, On Grandma Swiftie's lovely floor.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "Don't you think you have sung almost enough, Madget?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself:
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading A little girl I used to be Is sitting on the floor."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading MOTHER Madget was sitting on the floor, and singing to herself:
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Don't you think you have sung almost enough, Madget?"
Chapter 16 of Elizabeth, Her Folks by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Kelley holds 248 sentences, grouped into 50 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 16 holds 248 sentences of Elizabeth, Her Folks, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Elizabeth, Her Folks by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Kelley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 248 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 16 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 Elizabeth, Her Folks by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Kelley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4863 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53788 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53788, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 405 minutes of reading across 973 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Elizabeth, Her Folks section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Elizabeth, Her Folks 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 Elizabeth, Her Folks, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
