Chapter 5 of Materfamilias is here in full — 374 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Materfamilias is here in full — 374 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A LITTLE MISUNDERSTANDING. It was years, literally, before I got over it. Indeed, I have never got over it--never shall, while I have any power to remember things. Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed. To lose a child--the mothers know, at any rate!
Chapter 5 of Materfamilias is here in full — 374 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/74 · 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.
in a literal sense
From this reading “It was years, literally, before I got over it.”
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading “Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.”
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading “To lose a child--the mothers know, at any rate!”
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading “Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.”
putting the wrong interpretation on
From this reading “A LITTLE MISUNDERSTANDING.”
plural of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “To lose a child--the mothers know, at any rate!”
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading “To lose a child--the mothers know, at any rate!”
inflected form of “rob” — take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
From this reading “Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.”
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.
In this reading “To lose a child--the mothers know, at any rate!”
travel across or pass over
In this reading “It was years, literally, before I got over it.”
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 A LITTLE MISUNDERSTANDING.
(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 Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Indeed, I have never got over it--never shall, while I have any power to remember things.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading To lose a child--the mothers know, at any rate!
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It was years, literally, before I got over it.
a young person of either sex
From this reading To lose a child--the mothers know, at any rate!
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading It was years, literally, before I got over it.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Indeed, I have never got over it--never shall, while I have any power to remember things.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading It was years, literally, before I got over it.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading Indeed, I have never got over it--never shall, while I have any power to remember things.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was years, literally, before I got over it.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
in a literal sense
From this reading It was years, literally, before I got over it.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A LITTLE MISUNDERSTANDING.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading To lose a child--the mothers know, at any rate!
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
putting the wrong interpretation on
From this reading A LITTLE MISUNDERSTANDING.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
plural of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading To lose a child--the mothers know, at any rate!
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Indeed, I have never got over it--never shall, while I have any power to remember things.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
above and across; more than
From this reading It was years, literally, before I got over it.
possession of controlling influence
From this reading Indeed, I have never got over it--never shall, while I have any power to remember things.
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading To lose a child--the mothers know, at any rate!
To recall to mind.
From this reading Indeed, I have never got over it--never shall, while I have any power to remember things.
inflected form of “rob” — take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
From this reading Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Indeed, I have never got over it--never shall, while I have any power to remember things.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Indeed, I have never got over it--never shall, while I have any power to remember things.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Indeed, I have never got over it--never shall, while I have any power to remember things.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was years, literally, before I got over it.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
during the time that
From this reading Indeed, I have never got over it--never shall, while I have any power to remember things.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Death--we all know, more or less, what it means to the living whom it has robbed.
a late time of life
From this reading It was years, literally, before I got over it.
Chapter 5 of Materfamilias by Ada Cambridge holds 374 sentences, grouped into 75 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 5 holds 374 sentences of Materfamilias, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Materfamilias by Ada Cambridge exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 374 sentences, grouped into 75 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 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 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 5 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 Materfamilias by Ada Cambridge on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3219 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40659 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40659, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 268 minutes of reading across 644 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Materfamilias section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Materfamilias 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 Materfamilias, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
