Chapter 3 of Mercadet: A Comedy in Three Acts is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Mercadet: A Comedy in Three Acts is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Minard More than poor! There is nothing beyond that. Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment. Minard No, no, it is impossible! Mercadet Don't you believe it?
Chapter 3 of Mercadet: A Comedy in Three Acts is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 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.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading “Mercadet Don't you believe it?”
on the far side of; further than
From this reading “There is nothing beyond that.”
make loud demands
From this reading “Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.”
the state of owing something (especially money)
From this reading “Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.”
plural of “debt” — the state of owing something (especially money)
From this reading “Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.”
to a great depth psychologically or emotionally
From this reading “Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.”
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading “Minard No, no, it is impossible!”
a sum of money paid or a claim discharged
From this reading “Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading Mercadet Don't you believe it?
on the far side of; further than
From this reading There is nothing beyond that.
make loud demands
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
the state of owing something (especially money)
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
plural of “debt” — the state of owing something (especially money)
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
to a great depth psychologically or emotionally
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mercadet Don't you believe it?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading Minard No, no, it is impossible!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There is nothing beyond that.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Minard No, no, it is impossible!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Minard More than poor!
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Minard More than poor!
not any; not one
From this reading Minard No, no, it is impossible!
not one thing; not anything
From this reading There is nothing beyond that.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
a sum of money paid or a claim discharged
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Minard More than poor!
term of address for a man
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Minard More than poor!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There is nothing beyond that.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is nothing beyond that.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
an affirmative
From this reading Mercadet Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these debts clamor for payment.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Mercadet Don't you believe it?
Chapter 3 of Mercadet: A Comedy in Three Acts by Honoré de Balzac holds 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 3 holds 409 sentences of Mercadet: A Comedy in Three Acts, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Mercadet: A Comedy in Three Acts by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 3 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 Mercadet: A Comedy in Three Acts by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2026 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14246 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14246, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 168 minutes of reading across 406 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mercadet: A Comedy in Three Acts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Mercadet: A Comedy in Three Acts 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 Mercadet: A Comedy in Three Acts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
