used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He and his papa would read a chapter in the Bible together, verse by verse, once a day.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Then, when his papa had time, he would talk a little to his son about what they had read.
ALFREDnounUS /ˈælfrəd/
king of Wessex; defeated the Vikings and encouraged writing in English (849-899)
From this reading ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He and his papa would read a chapter in the Bible together, verse by verse, once a day.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old.
the sacred writings of the Christian religions
From this reading He and his papa would read a chapter in the Bible together, verse by verse, once a day.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading THE SILLY BIRD.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading He and his papa would read a chapter in the Bible together, verse by verse, once a day.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading He and his papa would read a chapter in the Bible together, verse by verse, once a day.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
drown'd
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Then, when his papa had time, he would talk a little to his son about what they had read.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He and his papa would read a chapter in the Bible together, verse by verse, once a day.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
no person; not anyone
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old.
on one occasion
From this reading He and his papa would read a chapter in the Bible together, verse by verse, once a day.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading He and his papa would read a chapter in the Bible together, verse by verse, once a day.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old.
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading THE SILLY BIRD.
a male human offspring
From this reading Then, when his papa had time, he would talk a little to his son about what they had read.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Then, when his papa had time, he would talk a little to his son about what they had read.
inflected form of “teach” — impart skills or knowledge to
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SILLY BIRD.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, when his papa had time, he would talk a little to his son about what they had read.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then, when his papa had time, he would talk a little to his son about what they had read.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading He and his papa would read a chapter in the Bible together, verse by verse, once a day.
literature in metrical form
From this reading He and his papa would read a chapter in the Bible together, verse by verse, once a day.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
(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 ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Then, when his papa had time, he would talk a little to his son about what they had read.
at the time that
From this reading Then, when his papa had time, he would talk a little to his son about what they had read.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “The poor bird did not know, For nobody taught her, That her nice little nest Would be drown’d in the water.”
a late time of life
From this reading ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old.
