Chapter 12 of It Never Can Happen Again is here in full — 358 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of It Never Can Happen Again is here in full — 358 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BREAKFAST IN GROSVENOR SQUARE. STRAINED RELATIONS OF TWO SISTERS. A BATTLE INTERRUPTED. SAMARIA A GOOD-NATURED PLACE. WHO WAS TO PAY?
Chapter 12 of It Never Can Happen Again is here in full — 358 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/71 · 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.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading “A BATTLE INTERRUPTED.”
eat an early morning meal
From this reading “BREAKFAST IN GROSVENOR SQUARE.”
discontinued temporarily
From this reading “A BATTLE INTERRUPTED.”
mutual dealings or connections or communications among persons or groups
From this reading “STRAINED RELATIONS OF TWO SISTERS.”
an ancient city in central Palestine founded in the 9th century BC as the capital of the northern Hebrew kingdom of Israel; the site is in present-day northwestern Jordan
From this reading “SAMARIA A GOOD-NATURED PLACE.”
plural of “sister” — a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading “STRAINED RELATIONS OF TWO SISTERS.”
make square
From this reading “BREAKFAST IN GROSVENOR SQUARE.”
lacking natural ease
From this reading “STRAINED RELATIONS OF TWO SISTERS.”
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 “STRAINED RELATIONS OF TWO SISTERS.”
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 A BATTLE INTERRUPTED.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading A BATTLE INTERRUPTED.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading BREAKFAST IN GROSVENOR SQUARE.
having an easygoing and cheerful disposition
From this reading SAMARIA A GOOD-NATURED PLACE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BREAKFAST IN GROSVENOR SQUARE.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading BREAKFAST IN GROSVENOR SQUARE.
discontinued temporarily
From this reading A BATTLE INTERRUPTED.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading STRAINED RELATIONS OF TWO SISTERS.
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading WHO WAS TO PAY?
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading SAMARIA A GOOD-NATURED PLACE.
mutual dealings or connections or communications among persons or groups
From this reading STRAINED RELATIONS OF TWO SISTERS.
an ancient city in central Palestine founded in the 9th century BC as the capital of the northern Hebrew kingdom of Israel; the site is in present-day northwestern Jordan
From this reading SAMARIA A GOOD-NATURED PLACE.
plural of “sister” — a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading STRAINED RELATIONS OF TWO SISTERS.
make square
From this reading BREAKFAST IN GROSVENOR SQUARE.
lacking natural ease
From this reading STRAINED RELATIONS OF TWO SISTERS.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading WHO WAS TO PAY?
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading STRAINED RELATIONS OF TWO SISTERS.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading WHO WAS TO PAY?
which person or people
From this reading WHO WAS TO PAY?
Chapter 12 of It Never Can Happen Again by William De Morgan holds 358 sentences, grouped into 72 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 358 sentences of It Never Can Happen Again, unabridged, divided into 72 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of It Never Can Happen Again by William De Morgan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 358 sentences, grouped into 72 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 72 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 72 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 It Never Can Happen Again by William De Morgan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 19361 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46228 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46228, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3873 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through It Never Can Happen Again section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of It Never Can Happen Again 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 It Never Can Happen Again, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
