Chapter 7 of Imperfectly Proper is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Imperfectly Proper is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
We were particularly interested in the hens. They all belonged to the royal families of hendom. Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens. They certainly were beautiful in a poultry way, but they seemed cold and proud. Our host said they didn’t lay very well.
Chapter 7 of Imperfectly Proper is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
past form of “belong” — be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading “They all belonged to the royal families of hendom.”
past form of “exhibit” — show an attribute, property, knowledge, or skill
From this reading “Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.”
plural of “family” — a social unit living together
From this reading “They all belonged to the royal families of hendom.”
plural of “hen” — adult female chicken
From this reading “We were particularly interested in the hens.”
a person who invites guests to a social event (such as a party in his or her own home) and who is responsible for them while they are there
From this reading “Our host said they didn’t lay very well.”
plural of “medal” — an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event
From this reading “Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.”
a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl
From this reading “They certainly were beautiful in a poultry way, but they seemed cold and proud.”
plural of “ribbon” — any long object resembling a thin line
From this reading “Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.”
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.
In this reading “We were particularly interested in the hens.”
royal persons collectively
In this reading “They all belonged to the royal families of hendom.”
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 They certainly were beautiful in a poultry way, but they seemed cold and proud.
(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 They all belonged to the royal families of hendom.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading They certainly were beautiful in a poultry way, but they seemed cold and proud.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
past form of “belong” — be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading They all belonged to the royal families of hendom.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading They certainly were beautiful in a poultry way, but they seemed cold and proud.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading They certainly were beautiful in a poultry way, but they seemed cold and proud.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading They certainly were beautiful in a poultry way, but they seemed cold and proud.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Our host said they didn’t lay very well.
past form of “exhibit” — show an attribute, property, knowledge, or skill
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
plural of “family” — a social unit living together
From this reading They all belonged to the royal families of hendom.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They all belonged to the royal families of hendom.
plural of “hen” — adult female chicken
From this reading We were particularly interested in the hens.
a person who invites guests to a social event (such as a party in his or her own home) and who is responsible for them while they are there
From this reading Our host said they didn’t lay very well.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We were particularly interested in the hens.
having or showing interest; especially curiosity or fascination or concern
From this reading We were particularly interested in the hens.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Our host said they didn’t lay very well.
plural of “medal” — an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They all belonged to the royal families of hendom.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Our host said they didn’t lay very well.
to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
From this reading We were particularly interested in the hens.
a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl
From this reading They certainly were beautiful in a poultry way, but they seemed cold and proud.
feeling self-respect or pleasure in something by which you measure your self-worth; or being a reason for pride
From this reading They certainly were beautiful in a poultry way, but they seemed cold and proud.
plural of “ribbon” — any long object resembling a thin line
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
of or relating to or indicative of or issued or performed by a king or queen or other monarch
From this reading They all belonged to the royal families of hendom.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Our host said they didn’t lay very well.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading They certainly were beautiful in a poultry way, but they seemed cold and proud.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We were particularly interested in the hens.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They all belonged to the royal families of hendom.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They all belonged to the royal families of hendom.
precisely as stated
From this reading Our host said they didn’t lay very well.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading They certainly were beautiful in a poultry way, but they seemed cold and proud.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We were particularly interested in the hens.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Our host said they didn’t lay very well.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We were particularly interested in the hens.
any or all of a kind, it does not matter which
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
the basic unit of money in South Korea
From this reading Most of them had been exhibited and had won ribbons or medals or whatever it is they give hens.
Chapter 7 of Imperfectly Proper by Peter Donovan holds 446 sentences, grouped into 90 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 7 holds 446 sentences of Imperfectly Proper, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Imperfectly Proper by Peter Donovan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 446 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 7 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 Imperfectly Proper by Peter Donovan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3579 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52438 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52438, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 298 minutes of reading across 716 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Imperfectly Proper section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Imperfectly Proper 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 Imperfectly Proper, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
