Chapter 1 of Man and Wife is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Man and Wife is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years. You know all that--and you only suspect I am tired of her. Bless your innocence! Have you any thing more to say?” “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
Chapter 1 of Man and Wife is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 37/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 181–185
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.
give a benediction to
From this reading “Bless your innocence!”
to certain extent or degree
From this reading ““If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.”
the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
From this reading ““If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.”
the quality of innocent naivete
From this reading “Bless your innocence!”
imagine to be the case or true or probable
From this reading “You know all that--and you only suspect I am tired of her.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of twelve and one
From this reading ““She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.”
being five more than thirty
From this reading ““She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.”
-ing form of “treat” — interact in a certain way
From this reading ““If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.”
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.
(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 You know all that--and you only suspect I am tired of her.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Have you any thing more to say?”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
give a benediction to
From this reading Bless your innocence!
to certain extent or degree
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
a powerful effect or influence
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
being two more than forty
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
the quality of innocent naivete
From this reading Bless your innocence!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You know all that--and you only suspect I am tired of her.
joined in matrimony
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Have you any thing more to say?”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading You know all that--and you only suspect I am tired of her.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
and nothing more
From this reading You know all that--and you only suspect I am tired of her.
express in words
From this reading Have you any thing more to say?”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
imagine to be the case or true or probable
From this reading You know all that--and you only suspect I am tired of her.
carry out
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading You know all that--and you only suspect I am tired of her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
a special situation
From this reading Have you any thing more to say?”
the cardinal number that is the sum of twelve and one
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
being five more than thirty
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading You know all that--and you only suspect I am tired of her.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
-ing form of “treat” — interact in a certain way
From this reading “If you force me to it, I take the freedom of an old friend, and I say you are not treating her fairly.
a late time of life
From this reading “She is forty-two, and I am thirty-five; and I have been married to her for thirteen years.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You know all that--and you only suspect I am tired of her.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Bless your innocence!
Chapter 1 of Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins 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 1 holds 415 sentences of Man and Wife, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins 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 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 Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 16495 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1586 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1586, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3299 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Man and Wife section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Man and Wife 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 Man and Wife, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
