Chapter 12 of Growth of the Soil is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Growth of the Soil is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
All is well now. Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in. Little Leopoldine comes and wants to sit on the roller. Sit on a roller?--nay, she's all too little and unknowing for that yet. Her brothers know better.
Chapter 12 of Growth of the Soil is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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 “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading “Her brothers know better.”
an old word for “no”
From this reading “Sit on a roller?--nay, she's all too little and unknowing for that yet.”
plural of “oat” — annual grass of Europe and North Africa; grains used as food and fodder (referred to primarily in the plural: “oats”)
From this reading “Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in.”
a grounder that rolls along the infield
From this reading “Little Leopoldine comes and wants to sit on the roller.”
plural of “roll” — rotary motion of an object around its own axis
From this reading “Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in.”
plural of “sow” — an adult female hog
From this reading “Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in.”
ignorance (especially of orthodox beliefs)
From this reading “Sit on a roller?--nay, she's all too little and unknowing for that yet.”
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading “Little Leopoldine comes and wants to sit on the roller.”
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 Sit on a roller?--nay, she's all too little and unknowing for that yet.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All is well now.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Her brothers know better.
plural of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading Her brothers know better.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading Little Leopoldine comes and wants to sit on the roller.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Sit on a roller?--nay, she's all too little and unknowing for that yet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her brothers know better.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading All is well now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Her brothers know better.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Little Leopoldine comes and wants to sit on the roller.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Little Leopoldine comes and wants to sit on the roller.
an old word for “no”
From this reading Sit on a roller?--nay, she's all too little and unknowing for that yet.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading All is well now.
plural of “oat” — annual grass of Europe and North Africa; grains used as food and fodder (referred to primarily in the plural: “oats”)
From this reading Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Little Leopoldine comes and wants to sit on the roller.
a grounder that rolls along the infield
From this reading Little Leopoldine comes and wants to sit on the roller.
plural of “roll” — rotary motion of an object around its own axis
From this reading Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sit on a roller?--nay, she's all too little and unknowing for that yet.
be seated
From this reading Little Leopoldine comes and wants to sit on the roller.
plural of “sow” — an adult female hog
From this reading Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Sit on a roller?--nay, she's all too little and unknowing for that yet.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Little Leopoldine comes and wants to sit on the roller.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Little Leopoldine comes and wants to sit on the roller.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Sit on a roller?--nay, she's all too little and unknowing for that yet.
ignorance (especially of orthodox beliefs)
From this reading Sit on a roller?--nay, she's all too little and unknowing for that yet.
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading Little Leopoldine comes and wants to sit on the roller.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading All is well now.
but in spite of that
From this reading Sit on a roller?--nay, she's all too little and unknowing for that yet.
Chapter 12 of Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun holds 231 sentences, grouped into 47 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 231 sentences of Growth of the Soil, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 231 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9383 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10984 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10984, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1877 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Growth of the Soil section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of Growth of the Soil 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 Growth of the Soil, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
