Chapter 11 of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself is here in full — 26 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself is here in full — 26 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
QUARRELSOME MOTHERS. "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs. "No you won't, either, so there you told a lie," said Madge Griggs. "I'm the oldest, and ought to have it," screamed Martha. "And I'm the youngest, and the oldest ought to give up to the smallest one," said Madge.
Chapter 11 of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself is here in full — 26 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/5 · 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.
superlative of “big” — above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “"Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.”
a small replica of a person; used as a toy
From this reading “"Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.”
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 “QUARRELSOME MOTHERS.”
superlative of “old” — (used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “"I'm the oldest, and ought to have it," screamed Martha.”
given to quarreling
From this reading “QUARRELSOME MOTHERS.”
past form of “scream” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “"I'm the oldest, and ought to have it," screamed Martha.”
superlative of “small” — limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “"And I'm the youngest, and the oldest ought to give up to the smallest one," said Madge.”
superlative of “young” — (used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading “"And I'm the youngest, and the oldest ought to give up to the smallest one," said Madge.”
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.
lose (s.th.) or lose the right to (s.th.) by some error, offense, or crime
In this reading “"And I'm the youngest, and the oldest ought to give up to the smallest one," said Madge.”
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 "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I'm the oldest, and ought to have it," screamed Martha.
superlative of “big” — above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
a small replica of a person; used as a toy
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
one or the other of two
From this reading "No you won't, either, so there you told a lie," said Madge Griggs.
a young female
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "And I'm the youngest, and the oldest ought to give up to the smallest one," said Madge.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
a very loud utterance (like the sound of an animal)
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm the oldest, and ought to have it," screamed Martha.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading "No you won't, either, so there you told a lie," said Madge Griggs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No you won't, either, so there you told a lie," said Madge Griggs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
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 QUARRELSOME MOTHERS.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
not any; not one
From this reading "No you won't, either, so there you told a lie," said Madge Griggs.
superlative of “old” — (used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "I'm the oldest, and ought to have it," screamed Martha.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "And I'm the youngest, and the oldest ought to give up to the smallest one," said Madge.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading "I'm the oldest, and ought to have it," screamed Martha.
given to quarreling
From this reading QUARRELSOME MOTHERS.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
past form of “scream” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "I'm the oldest, and ought to have it," screamed Martha.
superlative of “small” — limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "And I'm the youngest, and the oldest ought to give up to the smallest one," said Madge.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "No you won't, either, so there you told a lie," said Madge Griggs.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "No you won't, either, so there you told a lie," said Madge Griggs.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I'm the oldest, and ought to have it," screamed Martha.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading "No you won't, either, so there you told a lie," said Madge Griggs.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "And I'm the youngest, and the oldest ought to give up to the smallest one," said Madge.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
belonging to which person
From this reading "Holloa! here's a doll, I'll have it," said the biggest girl, whose name was Martha Griggs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No you won't, either, so there you told a lie," said Madge Griggs.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "No you won't, either, so there you told a lie," said Madge Griggs.
superlative of “young” — (used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading "And I'm the youngest, and the oldest ought to give up to the smallest one," said Madge.
Chapter 11 of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself by Mary Curtis holds 26 sentences, grouped into 6 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 11 holds 26 sentences of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself, unabridged, divided into 6 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself by Mary Curtis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 26 sentences, grouped into 6 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 6 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 6 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 11 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 Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself by Mary Curtis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 491 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64139 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64139, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 40 minutes of reading across 99 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself 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 Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
