Chapter 1 of Kirsteen is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Kirsteen is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Where is Kirsteen?” “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day. You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you. And the poor lassie has not a meenit to hersel’. She’s on the run from morning to night.
Chapter 1 of Kirsteen is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading ““’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.”
a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it
From this reading ““’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.”
subject to guidance or control especially after launching
From this reading ““’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.”
plural of “habit” — an established custom
From this reading “You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.”
a girl or young woman who is unmarried
From this reading “And the poor lassie has not a meenit to hersel’.”
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading “You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.”
emit long loud cries
From this reading ““’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.”
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 “She’s on the run from morning to night.”
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 And the poor lassie has not a meenit to hersel’.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
any plant of the genus Canna having large sheathing leaves and clusters of large showy flowers
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She’s on the run from morning to night.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.
subject to guidance or control especially after launching
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
plural of “habit” — an established custom
From this reading You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And the poor lassie has not a meenit to hersel’.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And the poor lassie has not a meenit to hersel’.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Where is Kirsteen?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Where is Kirsteen?”
a girl or young woman who is unmarried
From this reading And the poor lassie has not a meenit to hersel’.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And the poor lassie has not a meenit to hersel’.
the 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading She’s on the run from morning to night.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading And the poor lassie has not a meenit to hersel’.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She’s on the run from morning to night.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading And the poor lassie has not a meenit to hersel’.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading She’s on the run from morning to night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She’s on the run from morning to night.
express in words
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And the poor lassie has not a meenit to hersel’.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.
emit long loud cries
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
in or at the place that
From this reading “Where is Kirsteen?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “’Deed, mem, I canna tell you; and if you would be guided by me you wouldna wail and cry for Kirsteen, night and day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You’re getting into real ill habits with her to do everything for you.
Chapter 1 of Kirsteen by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant holds 117 sentences, grouped into 24 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 1 holds 117 sentences of Kirsteen, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Kirsteen by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 117 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 1 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 Kirsteen by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7031 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58707 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58707, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 585 minutes of reading across 1407 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Kirsteen section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Kirsteen 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 Kirsteen, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
