Chapter 4 of Fanny Herself is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Fanny Herself is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!” Fanny stirred. She had learned that a brief half hour ago. The service marched on, a moving and harrowing thing. The amens rolled out with a new fervor from the listeners.
Chapter 4 of Fanny Herself is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
capability to perform or produce
From this reading ““Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!””
the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
From this reading “Fanny stirred.”
feelings of great warmth and intensity
From this reading “The amens rolled out with a new fervor from the listeners.”
extremely painful
From this reading “The service marched on, a moving and harrowing thing.”
(used especially of ideas or principles) deeply rooted; firmly fixed or held
From this reading ““Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!””
plural of “listener” — someone who listens attentively
From this reading “The amens rolled out with a new fervor from the listeners.”
past form of “march” — march in a procession
From this reading “The service marched on, a moving and harrowing thing.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “Fanny stirred.”
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 She had learned that a brief half hour ago.
in the past
From this reading She had learned that a brief half hour ago.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The amens rolled out with a new fervor from the listeners.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The service marched on, a moving and harrowing thing.
of short duration or distance
From this reading She had learned that a brief half hour ago.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!”
capability to perform or produce
From this reading “Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!”
the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
From this reading Fanny stirred.
feelings of great warmth and intensity
From this reading The amens rolled out with a new fervor from the listeners.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The amens rolled out with a new fervor from the listeners.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had learned that a brief half hour ago.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading She had learned that a brief half hour ago.
extremely painful
From this reading The service marched on, a moving and harrowing thing.
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!”
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading She had learned that a brief half hour ago.
(used especially of ideas or principles) deeply rooted; firmly fixed or held
From this reading “Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!”
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading “Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!”
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading She had learned that a brief half hour ago.
plural of “listener” — someone who listens attentively
From this reading The amens rolled out with a new fervor from the listeners.
past form of “march” — march in a procession
From this reading The service marched on, a moving and harrowing thing.
in motion
From this reading The service marched on, a moving and harrowing thing.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading The amens rolled out with a new fervor from the listeners.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The service marched on, a moving and harrowing thing.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The amens rolled out with a new fervor from the listeners.
especially of petals or leaves in bud; having margins rolled inward
From this reading The amens rolled out with a new fervor from the listeners.
work done by one person or group that benefits another
From this reading The service marched on, a moving and harrowing thing.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had learned that a brief half hour ago.
estrangement from god
From this reading “Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Fanny stirred.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She had learned that a brief half hour ago.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!”
a special situation
From this reading The service marched on, a moving and harrowing thing.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading “Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!”
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Thou hast implanted in us the capacity for sin, but not sin itself!”
in the company of; together with
From this reading The amens rolled out with a new fervor from the listeners.
Chapter 4 of Fanny Herself by Edna Ferber holds 222 sentences, grouped into 45 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 4 holds 222 sentences of Fanny Herself, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Fanny Herself by Edna Ferber exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 222 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 4 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 Fanny Herself by Edna Ferber on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7615 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #350 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #350, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1523 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Fanny Herself section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of Fanny Herself 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 Fanny Herself, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
