Chapter 3 of Ma Pettengill is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Ma Pettengill is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
And I had to cheer her up on another point. This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father. Yes, sir; she was grieving sorely about that. It give me a new line on her. I saw all at once she was mostly mother--a born one.
Chapter 3 of Ma Pettengill is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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 “baby” — a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading “This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.”
brought into existence
From this reading “I saw all at once she was mostly mother--a born one.”
give encouragement to
From this reading “And I had to cheer her up on another point.”
sorrowful through loss or deprivation
From this reading “Yes, sir; she was grieving sorely about that.”
an iconic mental representation
From this reading “This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.”
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading “It give me a new line on her.”
in large part; mainly or chiefly
From this reading “I saw all at once she was mostly mother--a born one.”
to a great degree
From this reading “Yes, sir; she was grieving sorely about that.”
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 It give me a new line on her.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
(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 This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And I had to cheer her up on another point.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading And I had to cheer her up on another point.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I saw all at once she was mostly mother--a born one.
plural of “baby” — a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
brought into existence
From this reading I saw all at once she was mostly mother--a born one.
give encouragement to
From this reading And I had to cheer her up on another point.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading It give me a new line on her.
sorrowful through loss or deprivation
From this reading Yes, sir; she was grieving sorely about that.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading And I had to cheer her up on another point.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading And I had to cheer her up on another point.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading And I had to cheer her up on another point.
an iconic mental representation
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It give me a new line on her.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading It give me a new line on her.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It give me a new line on her.
in large part; mainly or chiefly
From this reading I saw all at once she was mostly mother--a born one.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading I saw all at once she was mostly mother--a born one.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading It give me a new line on her.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading And I had to cheer her up on another point.
on one occasion
From this reading I saw all at once she was mostly mother--a born one.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading I saw all at once she was mostly mother--a born one.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading And I had to cheer her up on another point.
cut with a saw
From this reading I saw all at once she was mostly mother--a born one.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
term of address for a man
From this reading Yes, sir; she was grieving sorely about that.
to a great degree
From this reading Yes, sir; she was grieving sorely about that.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And I had to cheer her up on another point.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading And I had to cheer her up on another point.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This was that she didn't have about three babies, all the image of their father.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, sir; she was grieving sorely about that.
Chapter 3 of Ma Pettengill by Harry Leon Wilson holds 415 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 3 holds 415 sentences of Ma Pettengill, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Ma Pettengill by Harry Leon Wilson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 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 3 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 Ma Pettengill by Harry Leon Wilson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5338 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14348 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14348, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 444 minutes of reading across 1068 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ma Pettengill section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Ma Pettengill 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 Ma Pettengill, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
