Chapter 16 of His Family is here in full — 291 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of His Family is here in full — 291 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
But she did not appear to care to be helped. Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all. He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years. "What has got into him?" Roger asked.
Chapter 16 of His Family is here in full — 291 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/58 · 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.
not being in a specified place
From this reading “He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.”
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “But she did not appear to care to be helped.”
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.”
any joyous diversion
From this reading “He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.”
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “But she did not appear to care to be helped.”
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading “He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.”
not caught with the senses or the mind
From this reading “He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.”
not often
From this reading “Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all.”
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 was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
not being in a specified place
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
(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 Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading But she did not appear to care to be helped.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Roger asked.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading But she did not appear to care to be helped.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But she did not appear to care to be helped.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading But she did not appear to care to be helped.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading But she did not appear to care to be helped.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all.
divisible by two
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
any joyous diversion
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "What has got into him?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What has got into him?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all.
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading But she did not appear to care to be helped.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "What has got into him?"
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "What has got into him?"
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
not caught with the senses or the mind
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But she did not appear to care to be helped.
not often
From this reading Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Roger asked.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But she did not appear to care to be helped.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But she did not appear to care to be helped.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Nor did Allan--he rarely came to the house, and he went to Edith's not at all.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What has got into him?"
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
a late time of life
From this reading He was even absent from her Christmas tree for the children, a jolly little festivity which neither he nor Deborah had missed in years.
Chapter 16 of His Family by Ernest Poole holds 291 sentences, grouped into 59 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 16 holds 291 sentences of His Family, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of His Family by Ernest Poole exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 291 sentences, grouped into 59 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 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 59 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 16 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 His Family by Ernest Poole on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7834 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14396 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14396, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1567 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through His Family section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of His Family 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 His Family, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
