Chapter 4 of Half a dozen boys is here in full — 234 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Half a dozen boys is here in full — 234 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE OTHER BOYS. Bess was in her element. "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?" "Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would. Who are coming?"
Chapter 4 of Half a dozen boys is here in full — 234 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.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading “"Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would.”
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading “THE OTHER BOYS.”
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading “Who are coming?"”
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading “"Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"”
an abstract part of something
From this reading “Bess was in her element.”
with gusto and without reservation
From this reading “"Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would.”
take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
From this reading “"Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"”
hope for; have a wish
From this reading “"Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would.”
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.
bring forth, usually something desirable
In this reading “"Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"”
In this reading “THE OTHER BOYS.”
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 "Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Who are coming?"
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bess was in her element.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading "Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading THE OTHER BOYS.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Who are coming?"
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
an abstract part of something
From this reading Bess was in her element.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
with gusto and without reservation
From this reading "Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Bess was in her element.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Bess was in her element.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading THE OTHER BOYS.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would.
take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE OTHER BOYS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Bess was in her element.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
which person or people
From this reading Who are coming?"
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "Cousin Bess," Rob had said that morning, "may some of us boys come up to-night, or will we be in the way?"
hope for; have a wish
From this reading "Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Not a bit of it!" replied Bess heartily; "I wish you would.
Chapter 4 of Half a dozen boys by Anna Chapin Ray holds 234 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 4 holds 234 sentences of Half a dozen boys, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Half a dozen boys by Anna Chapin Ray exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 234 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 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in Half a dozen boys, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
