Chapter 5 of Half-Past Bedtime is here in full — 451 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Half-Past Bedtime is here in full — 451 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He stopped for a moment. "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses." Marian turned and saw them, just as he had said. "Oh, I wish," she cried, "that I could hear them too." The painter smiled.
Chapter 5 of Half-Past Bedtime is here in full — 451 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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 grouping of a number of similar things
From this reading “"Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."”
an occurrence of something
From this reading “"Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."”
of or relating to or venerating the Virgin Mary
From this reading “Marian turned and saw them, just as he had said.”
an artist who paints
From this reading “The painter smiled.”
plural of “primrose” — any of numerous short-stemmed plants of the genus Primula having tufted basal leaves and showy flowers clustered in umbels or heads
From this reading “"Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."”
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading “"Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."”
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading “The painter smiled.”
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading “He stopped for a moment.”
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.
as an example
In this reading “"Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."”
temporarily
In this reading “He stopped for a moment.”
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 He stopped for a moment.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Marian turned and saw them, just as he had said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Marian turned and saw them, just as he had said.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."
a grouping of a number of similar things
From this reading "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "Oh, I wish," she cried, "that I could hear them too."
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Oh, I wish," she cried, "that I could hear them too."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He stopped for a moment.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Marian turned and saw them, just as he had said.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He stopped for a moment.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading "Oh, I wish," she cried, "that I could hear them too."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Oh, I wish," she cried, "that I could hear them too."
an occurrence of something
From this reading "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."
and nothing more
From this reading "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."
of or relating to or venerating the Virgin Mary
From this reading Marian turned and saw them, just as he had said.
a particular point in time
From this reading He stopped for a moment.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, I wish," she cried, "that I could hear them too."
an artist who paints
From this reading The painter smiled.
plural of “primrose” — any of numerous short-stemmed plants of the genus Primula having tufted basal leaves and showy flowers clustered in umbels or heads
From this reading "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Marian turned and saw them, just as he had said.
cut with a saw
From this reading Marian turned and saw them, just as he had said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Oh, I wish," she cried, "that I could hear them too."
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading The painter smiled.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading He stopped for a moment.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Oh, I wish," she cried, "that I could hear them too."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The painter smiled.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Marian turned and saw them, just as he had said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "Oh, I wish," she cried, "that I could hear them too."
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Marian turned and saw them, just as he had said.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Just behind us, for instance, there's a clump of anemones singing next to some primroses."
hope for; have a wish
From this reading "Oh, I wish," she cried, "that I could hear them too."
Chapter 5 of Half-Past Bedtime by H. H. (Henry Howarth), Sir Bashford holds 451 sentences, grouped into 91 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 5 holds 451 sentences of Half-Past Bedtime, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Half-Past Bedtime by H. H. (Henry Howarth), Sir Bashford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 451 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 5 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 Half-Past Bedtime by H. H. (Henry Howarth), Sir Bashford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2226 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35029 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35029, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 185 minutes of reading across 446 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Half-Past Bedtime section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Half-Past Bedtime 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 Half-Past Bedtime, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
