Chapter 12 of Half Portions is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Half Portions is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
An inarticulate sort of thing, that courtship. "Hello, Emma." "How do, Ben." "Thought you might like to walk a piece down the road. They got a calf at Aug Tietjens with five legs."
Chapter 12 of Half Portions is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
the month following July and preceding September
From this reading “They got a calf at Aug Tietjens with five legs."”
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading “"How do, Ben."”
young of domestic cattle
From this reading “They got a calf at Aug Tietjens with five legs."”
a man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage)
From this reading “An inarticulate sort of thing, that courtship.”
an expression of greeting
From this reading “"Hello, Emma."”
without or deprived of the use of speech or words
From this reading “An inarticulate sort of thing, that courtship.”
staying power
From this reading “They got a calf at Aug Tietjens with five legs."”
a separate part of a whole
From this reading “"Thought you might like to walk a piece down the road.”
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 "Thought you might like to walk a piece down the road.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An inarticulate sort of thing, that courtship.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading They got a calf at Aug Tietjens with five legs."
the month following July and preceding September
From this reading They got a calf at Aug Tietjens with five legs."
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading "How do, Ben."
young of domestic cattle
From this reading They got a calf at Aug Tietjens with five legs."
a man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage)
From this reading An inarticulate sort of thing, that courtship.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "How do, Ben."
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "Thought you might like to walk a piece down the road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hello, Emma."
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading They got a calf at Aug Tietjens with five legs."
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading They got a calf at Aug Tietjens with five legs."
an expression of greeting
From this reading "Hello, Emma."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How do, Ben."
without or deprived of the use of speech or words
From this reading An inarticulate sort of thing, that courtship.
staying power
From this reading They got a calf at Aug Tietjens with five legs."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "Thought you might like to walk a piece down the road.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading "Thought you might like to walk a piece down the road.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading An inarticulate sort of thing, that courtship.
a separate part of a whole
From this reading "Thought you might like to walk a piece down the road.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading "Thought you might like to walk a piece down the road.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading An inarticulate sort of thing, that courtship.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading An inarticulate sort of thing, that courtship.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Thought you might like to walk a piece down the road.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They got a calf at Aug Tietjens with five legs."
a special situation
From this reading An inarticulate sort of thing, that courtship.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "Thought you might like to walk a piece down the road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They got a calf at Aug Tietjens with five legs."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Thought you might like to walk a piece down the road.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading "Thought you might like to walk a piece down the road.
in the company of; together with
From this reading They got a calf at Aug Tietjens with five legs."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Thought you might like to walk a piece down the road.
Chapter 12 of Half Portions by Edna Ferber holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 410 sentences of Half Portions, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Half Portions by Edna Ferber exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Half Portions by Edna Ferber on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5692 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14714 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14714, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 474 minutes of reading across 1139 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Half Portions section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Half Portions 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 Portions, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
