Chapter 4 of If: A Play in Four Acts is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of If: A Play in Four Acts is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Poor fellow. We'd better send for him. MIRALDA Why do you say "poor fellow"? ARCHIE BEAL Oh, because he's so much in debt. It's awful to be in debt.
Chapter 4 of If: A Play in Four Acts is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading “It's awful to be in debt.”
for the reason that
From this reading “ARCHIE BEAL Oh, because he's so much in debt.”
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading “We'd better send for him.”
the state of owing something (especially money)
From this reading “ARCHIE BEAL Oh, because he's so much in debt.”
a boy or man
From this reading “Poor fellow.”
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “Poor fellow.”
express in words
From this reading “MIRALDA Why do you say "poor fellow"?”
cause to go somewhere
From this reading “We'd better send for him.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ARCHIE BEAL Oh, because he's so much in debt.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading It's awful to be in debt.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It's awful to be in debt.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ARCHIE BEAL Oh, because he's so much in debt.
for the reason that
From this reading ARCHIE BEAL Oh, because he's so much in debt.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading We'd better send for him.
the state of owing something (especially money)
From this reading ARCHIE BEAL Oh, because he's so much in debt.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading MIRALDA Why do you say "poor fellow"?
a boy or man
From this reading Poor fellow.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading We'd better send for him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ARCHIE BEAL Oh, because he's so much in debt.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading We'd better send for him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ARCHIE BEAL Oh, because he's so much in debt.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's awful to be in debt.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MIRALDA Why do you say "poor fellow"?
to a great degree or extent
From this reading ARCHIE BEAL Oh, because he's so much in debt.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading ARCHIE BEAL Oh, because he's so much in debt.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Poor fellow.
express in words
From this reading MIRALDA Why do you say "poor fellow"?
cause to go somewhere
From this reading We'd better send for him.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading ARCHIE BEAL Oh, because he's so much in debt.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It's awful to be in debt.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We'd better send for him.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading MIRALDA Why do you say "poor fellow"?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading MIRALDA Why do you say "poor fellow"?
Chapter 4 of If: A Play in Four Acts by Lord Dunsany holds 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 202 sentences of If: A Play in Four Acts, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of If: A Play in Four Acts by Lord Dunsany exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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.
Common questions about reading If: A Play in Four Acts by Lord Dunsany on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1044 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1311 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1311, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 87 minutes of reading across 209 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through If: A Play in Four Acts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of If: A Play in Four Acts 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 If: A Play in Four Acts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
