Chapter 11 of Lost Illusions is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Lost Illusions is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Oh! you know nothing of Parisian life, my boy. Some things cannot be helped. Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing. It all depends on the way that you look at it." Etienne and Lucien entered the stage-box, and found the manager there with Finot.
Chapter 11 of Lost Illusions is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading “Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.”
third-person singular of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading “It all depends on the way that you look at it."”
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading “Etienne and Lucien entered the stage-box, and found the manager there with Finot.”
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “Some things cannot be helped.”
someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading “Etienne and Lucien entered the stage-box, and found the manager there with Finot.”
joined in matrimony
From this reading “Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.”
of or relating to or characteristic of Paris or its inhabitants
From this reading “"Oh! you know nothing of Parisian life, my boy.”
express a supposition
From this reading “Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.”
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.
be contingent on
In this reading “It all depends on the way that you look at it."”
In this reading “Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “It all depends on the way that you look at it."”
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
In this reading “Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.”
In this reading “Some things cannot be helped.”
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 Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
(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 It all depends on the way that you look at it."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Etienne and Lucien entered the stage-box, and found the manager there with Finot.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It all depends on the way that you look at it."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Some things cannot be helped.
a youthful male person
From this reading "Oh! you know nothing of Parisian life, my boy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Some things cannot be helped.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
third-person singular of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading It all depends on the way that you look at it."
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Etienne and Lucien entered the stage-box, and found the manager there with Finot.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Etienne and Lucien entered the stage-box, and found the manager there with Finot.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Etienne and Lucien entered the stage-box, and found the manager there with Finot.
set up or found
From this reading Etienne and Lucien entered the stage-box, and found the manager there with Finot.
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Some things cannot be helped.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Oh! you know nothing of Parisian life, my boy.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading "Oh! you know nothing of Parisian life, my boy.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading It all depends on the way that you look at it."
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Etienne and Lucien entered the stage-box, and found the manager there with Finot.
someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading Etienne and Lucien entered the stage-box, and found the manager there with Finot.
joined in matrimony
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Oh! you know nothing of Parisian life, my boy.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "Oh! you know nothing of Parisian life, my boy.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Oh! you know nothing of Parisian life, my boy.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh! you know nothing of Parisian life, my boy.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading It all depends on the way that you look at it."
of or relating to or characteristic of Paris or its inhabitants
From this reading "Oh! you know nothing of Parisian life, my boy.
Identical; not different.
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some things cannot be helped.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Etienne and Lucien entered the stage-box, and found the manager there with Finot.
express a supposition
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Etienne and Lucien entered the stage-box, and found the manager there with Finot.
a special situation
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Some things cannot be helped.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading It all depends on the way that you look at it."
in the company of; together with
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Suppose that you fell in love with a married woman, it comes to the same thing.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Oh! you know nothing of Parisian life, my boy.
Chapter 11 of Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac holds 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 11 holds 413 sentences of Lost Illusions, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 11 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 Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11797 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13159 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13159, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2360 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Lost Illusions section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of Lost Illusions 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 Lost Illusions, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
