Chapter 4 of Old Crow is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Old Crow is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good. You simply have to scrap it. "Who?" he inquired, in the same line of natural language. "Old Crow." Dick uttered the name in a low and hesitating tone.
Chapter 4 of Old Crow is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
dwell on with satisfaction
From this reading “"Old Crow."”
of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity
From this reading “Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.”
lacking decisiveness of character; unable to act or decide quickly or firmly
From this reading “Dick uttered the name in a low and hesitating tone.”
almost; nearly
From this reading “Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.”
obtain or seize by violence
From this reading “Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.”
a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
From this reading “You simply have to scrap it.”
the word class that serves as the predicate of a sentence
From this reading “Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.”
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.”
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.
special attention with intent to remember
In this reading “Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.”
if there happens to be need
In this reading “Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.”
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 Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
later than; following
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Dick uttered the name in a low and hesitating tone.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
an occurrence of something
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
plural of “case” — an occurrence of something
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
dwell on with satisfaction
From this reading "Old Crow."
someone who is a detective
From this reading Dick uttered the name in a low and hesitating tone.
any strong feeling
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You simply have to scrap it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Who?" he inquired, in the same line of natural language.
lacking decisiveness of character; unable to act or decide quickly or firmly
From this reading Dick uttered the name in a low and hesitating tone.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading "Who?" he inquired, in the same line of natural language.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading You simply have to scrap it.
a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols
From this reading "Who?" he inquired, in the same line of natural language.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading "Who?" he inquired, in the same line of natural language.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Dick uttered the name in a low and hesitating tone.
engage in
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
involving the mind or an intellectual process
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Dick uttered the name in a low and hesitating tone.
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading "Who?" he inquired, in the same line of natural language.
not any; not one
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
serving as or indicating the subject of a verb and words identified with the subject of a copular verb
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
a brief written record
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Old Crow."
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
almost; nearly
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
obtain or seize by violence
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
Identical; not different.
From this reading "Who?" he inquired, in the same line of natural language.
a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
From this reading You simply have to scrap it.
and nothing more
From this reading You simply have to scrap it.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading Dick uttered the name in a low and hesitating tone.
communicated in words
From this reading Dick uttered the name in a low and hesitating tone.
the word class that serves as the predicate of a sentence
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
which person or people
From this reading "Who?" he inquired, in the same line of natural language.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading Raven, as a writer of English, paused to make a mental note that, in cases of extreme emotion, the nominative case, after the verb to be, is practically no good.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You simply have to scrap it.
Chapter 4 of Old Crow by Alice Brown holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 4 holds 411 sentences of Old Crow, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Old Crow by Alice Brown exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 4 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 Old Crow by Alice Brown on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11881 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31372 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31372, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2377 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Old Crow section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Old Crow 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 Old Crow, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
