Chapter 12 of German Fiction is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of German Fiction is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual. And he kept his word and arrived an hour before sunset. Naturally he found Frau Doerr there. The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said: "Perhaps we could go into the garden."
Chapter 12 of German Fiction is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
earlier in time; previously
From this reading “That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.”
a German courtesy title or form of address for an adult woman
From this reading “Naturally he found Frau Doerr there.”
a Russian river in Siberia; flows northward into the Laptev Sea
From this reading “That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.”
as might be expected
From this reading “Naturally he found Frau Doerr there.”
the time in the evening at which the sun begins to fall below the horizon
From this reading “And he kept his word and arrived an hour before sunset.”
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading “The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:”
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading “The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:”
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading “That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.”
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.
In this reading “That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.”
In this reading “And he kept his word and arrived an hour before sunset.”
In this reading “"Perhaps we could go into the garden."”
to come or go into
In this reading “"Perhaps we could go into the garden."”
In this reading “The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:”
In this reading “That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.”
appear or become visible; make a showing
In this reading “That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.”
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 The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
later than; following
From this reading The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading And he kept his word and arrived an hour before sunset.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And he kept his word and arrived an hour before sunset.
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading And he kept his word and arrived an hour before sunset.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading And he kept his word and arrived an hour before sunset.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "Perhaps we could go into the garden."
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Naturally he found Frau Doerr there.
earlier in time; previously
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
divisible by two
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
set up or found
From this reading Naturally he found Frau Doerr there.
a German courtesy title or form of address for an adult woman
From this reading Naturally he found Frau Doerr there.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading "Perhaps we could go into the garden."
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Perhaps we could go into the garden."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And he kept his word and arrived an hour before sunset.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading And he kept his word and arrived an hour before sunset.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "Perhaps we could go into the garden."
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading And he kept his word and arrived an hour before sunset.
a Russian river in Siberia; flows northward into the Laptev Sea
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
as might be expected
From this reading Naturally he found Frau Doerr there.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
by chance
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
the time in the evening at which the sun begins to fall below the horizon
From this reading And he kept his word and arrived an hour before sunset.
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Naturally he found Frau Doerr there.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
precisely as stated
From this reading The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Perhaps we could go into the garden."
during the time that
From this reading The air was very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho said:
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading And he kept his word and arrived an hour before sunset.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following day, perhaps even earlier than usual.
Chapter 12 of German Fiction by William Allan [Editor] Neilson holds 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 12 holds 139 sentences of German Fiction, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of German Fiction by William Allan [Editor] Neilson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 12 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 German Fiction by William Allan [Editor] Neilson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9080 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34506 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34506, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1816 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through German Fiction section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of German Fiction 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 German Fiction, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
