Chapter 2 of Many Marriages is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Many Marriages is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house. He heard the front door close. His wife and daughter were driving out into the country. The window of his room was open and a breeze blew in and across his body. The next-door neighbor had a garden and cultivated flowers.
Chapter 2 of Many Marriages is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading “The window of his room was open and a breeze blew in and across his body.”
a slight wind (usually refreshing)
From this reading “The window of his room was open and a breeze blew in and across his body.”
(of land or fields) prepared for raising crops by plowing or fertilizing
From this reading “The next-door neighbor had a garden and cultivated flowers.”
having the power of driving or impelling
From this reading “His wife and daughter were driving out into the country.”
uniform worn by some menservants and chauffeurs
From this reading “He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.”
a person who lives (or is located) near another
From this reading “The next-door neighbor had a garden and cultivated flowers.”
having an owner; often used in combination
From this reading “He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.”
resistant to change of position or condition
From this reading “He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.”
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.
exterior door (at the entrance) at the front of a building
In this reading “He heard the front door close.”
In this reading “His wife and daughter were driving out into the country.”
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 He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading The window of his room was open and a breeze blew in and across his body.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading The window of his room was open and a breeze blew in and across his body.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading The window of his room was open and a breeze blew in and across his body.
a slight wind (usually refreshing)
From this reading The window of his room was open and a breeze blew in and across his body.
a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading He heard the front door close.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading His wife and daughter were driving out into the country.
(of land or fields) prepared for raising crops by plowing or fertilizing
From this reading The next-door neighbor had a garden and cultivated flowers.
a female human offspring
From this reading His wife and daughter were driving out into the country.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
compelled forcibly by an outside agency
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
having the power of driving or impelling
From this reading His wife and daughter were driving out into the country.
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading The next-door neighbor had a garden and cultivated flowers.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading He heard the front door close.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading The next-door neighbor had a garden and cultivated flowers.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The next-door neighbor had a garden and cultivated flowers.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He heard the front door close.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His wife and daughter were driving out into the country.
solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The window of his room was open and a breeze blew in and across his body.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading His wife and daughter were driving out into the country.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
uniform worn by some menservants and chauffeurs
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
a person who lives (or is located) near another
From this reading The next-door neighbor had a garden and cultivated flowers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next-door neighbor had a garden and cultivated flowers.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading The window of his room was open and a breeze blew in and across his body.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading His wife and daughter were driving out into the country.
having an owner; often used in combination
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The window of his room was open and a breeze blew in and across his body.
resistant to change of position or condition
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He owned a horse and carriage that was kept at a livery stable and now it was being driven up to the door of the house.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading His wife and daughter were driving out into the country.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading His wife and daughter were driving out into the country.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading The window of his room was open and a breeze blew in and across his body.
Chapter 2 of Many Marriages by Sherwood Anderson holds 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 2 holds 405 sentences of Many Marriages, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Many Marriages by Sherwood Anderson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 2 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 Many Marriages by Sherwood Anderson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4020 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #76745 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #76745, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 335 minutes of reading across 804 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Many Marriages section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Many Marriages 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 Many Marriages, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
