Chapter 8 of Meadow Grass: Tales of New England Life is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Meadow Grass: Tales of New England Life is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Molly's eyes filled with tears. "You've been real good to me," she said, simply. "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile. "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year. I 'ain't had much to do with folks.
Chapter 8 of Meadow Grass: Tales of New England Life is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “"I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.”
superlative of “bright” — emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading “"I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.”
your parents
From this reading “I 'ain't had much to do with folks.”
raise from a lower to a higher position
From this reading “"I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.”
plural of “mi” — destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle
From this reading “"You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.”
possessive form of “molly” — popular aquarium fish
From this reading “Molly's eyes filled with tears.”
past form of “respond” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading “"I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.”
directed up
From this reading “"I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.”
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 "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I 'ain't had much to do with folks.
(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 see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "You've been real good to me," she said, simply.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
superlative of “bright” — emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I 'ain't had much to do with folks.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Molly's eyes filled with tears.
(usually followed by “with” or used as a combining form) generously supplied with
From this reading Molly's eyes filled with tears.
your parents
From this reading I 'ain't had much to do with folks.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "You've been real good to me," she said, simply.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I 'ain't had much to do with folks.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
raise from a lower to a higher position
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "You've been real good to me," she said, simply.
plural of “mi” — destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
possessive form of “molly” — popular aquarium fish
From this reading Molly's eyes filled with tears.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading I 'ain't had much to do with folks.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading "You've been real good to me," she said, simply.
past form of “respond” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "You've been real good to me," she said, simply.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "You've been real good to me," she said, simply.
and nothing more
From this reading "You've been real good to me," she said, simply.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading Molly's eyes filled with tears.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You've been real good to me," she said, simply.
directed up
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
precisely as stated
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading "I wish I'd begun it afore," responded Dilly, with a quick upward lift of her head, and her brightest smile.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Molly's eyes filled with tears.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You see I didn't know ye very well, for all you'd lived with old Mis' Drew so many year.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You've been real good to me," she said, simply.
Chapter 8 of Meadow Grass: Tales of New England Life by Alice Brown holds 403 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 8 holds 403 sentences of Meadow Grass: Tales of New England Life, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Meadow Grass: Tales of New England Life by Alice Brown exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 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 8 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 Meadow Grass: Tales of New England Life by Alice Brown on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4454 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9367 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9367, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 371 minutes of reading across 891 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Meadow Grass: Tales of New England Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Meadow Grass: Tales of New England Life 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 Meadow Grass: Tales of New England Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
