Chapter 3 of Humorous Ghost Stories is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Humorous Ghost Stories is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Whut you all skeered fo'?" 'Ca'se ef anybody skeered, he want' to be skeered too. Dat's natural. But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say': "Fo' de lan's sake, we fought you was a ghost!"
Chapter 3 of Humorous Ghost Stories is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
any person at all
From this reading “'Ca'se ef anybody skeered, he want' to be skeered too.”
inflected form of “fight” — be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading “"Fo' de lan's sake, we fought you was a ghost!"”
a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading “"Fo' de lan's sake, we fought you was a ghost!"”
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say':”
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading “But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say':”
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading “Dat's natural.”
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading “"Fo' de lan's sake, we fought you was a ghost!"”
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “'Ca'se ef anybody skeered, he want' to be skeered too.”
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.
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 "Fo' de lan's sake, we fought you was a ghost!"
(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 "Whut you all skeered fo'?"
any person at all
From this reading 'Ca'se ef anybody skeered, he want' to be skeered too.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say':
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading 'Ca'se ef anybody skeered, he want' to be skeered too.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say':
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Ca'se ef anybody skeered, he want' to be skeered too.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dat's natural.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say':
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say':
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Ca'se ef anybody skeered, he want' to be skeered too.
an officer holding the rank of major or lieutenant colonel or colonel
From this reading "Whut you all skeered fo'?"
inflected form of “fight” — be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading "Fo' de lan's sake, we fought you was a ghost!"
a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading "Fo' de lan's sake, we fought you was a ghost!"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 'Ca'se ef anybody skeered, he want' to be skeered too.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say':
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Fo' de lan's sake, we fought you was a ghost!"
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say':
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading Dat's natural.
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading "Fo' de lan's sake, we fought you was a ghost!"
express in words
From this reading But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say':
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say':
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say':
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say':
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Whut you all skeered fo'?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 'Ca'se ef anybody skeered, he want' to be skeered too.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading 'Ca'se ef anybody skeered, he want' to be skeered too.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she say':
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading 'Ca'se ef anybody skeered, he want' to be skeered too.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Fo' de lan's sake, we fought you was a ghost!"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Fo' de lan's sake, we fought you was a ghost!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Whut you all skeered fo'?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Whut you all skeered fo'?"
Chapter 3 of Humorous Ghost Stories by Dorothy Scarborough holds 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 3 holds 434 sentences of Humorous Ghost Stories, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Humorous Ghost Stories by Dorothy Scarborough exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 3 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 Humorous Ghost Stories by Dorothy Scarborough on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4718 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26950 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26950, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 393 minutes of reading across 944 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Humorous Ghost Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Humorous Ghost Stories 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 Humorous Ghost Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
