Chapter 8 of Patty's Perversities is here in full — 112 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Patty's Perversities is here in full — 112 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN ARRIVAL. The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford. Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back. "I forget that I am a cripple," she said. "Mother, how do you do?" exclaimed Mrs. Sanford, appearing in the doorway.
Chapter 8 of Patty's Perversities is here in full — 112 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
formal attendance (in court or at a hearing) of a party in an action
From this reading “"Mother, how do you do?" exclaimed Mrs. Sanford, appearing in the doorway.”
accomplishment of an objective
From this reading “AN ARRIVAL.”
deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless
From this reading “"I forget that I am a cripple," she said.”
the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close
From this reading “"Mother, how do you do?" exclaimed Mrs. Sanford, appearing in the doorway.”
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading “The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.”
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading “The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.”
small flat mass of chopped food
From this reading “Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back.”
a public square with room for pedestrians
From this reading “The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.”
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 “Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back.”
In this reading “The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.”
In this reading “"Mother, how do you do?" exclaimed Mrs. Sanford, appearing in the doorway.”
In this reading “The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.”
get going or set in motion
In this reading “Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back.”
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 forget that I am a cripple," she said.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I forget that I am a cripple," she said.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN ARRIVAL.
formal attendance (in court or at a hearing) of a party in an action
From this reading "Mother, how do you do?" exclaimed Mrs. Sanford, appearing in the doorway.
accomplishment of an objective
From this reading AN ARRIVAL.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless
From this reading "I forget that I am a cripple," she said.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Mother, how do you do?" exclaimed Mrs. Sanford, appearing in the doorway.
the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close
From this reading "Mother, how do you do?" exclaimed Mrs. Sanford, appearing in the doorway.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "Mother, how do you do?" exclaimed Mrs. Sanford, appearing in the doorway.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading "I forget that I am a cripple," she said.
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Mother, how do you do?" exclaimed Mrs. Sanford, appearing in the doorway.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I forget that I am a cripple," she said.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Mother, how do you do?" exclaimed Mrs. Sanford, appearing in the doorway.
come together
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "Mother, how do you do?" exclaimed Mrs. Sanford, appearing in the doorway.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Mother, how do you do?" exclaimed Mrs. Sanford, appearing in the doorway.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
small flat mass of chopped food
From this reading Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back.
a public square with room for pedestrians
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I forget that I am a cripple," she said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I forget that I am a cripple," she said.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back.
a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I forget that I am a cripple," she said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Patty started up as if to run to meet her, but fell back.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
which person or people
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading The silence of the pair upon the piazza was broken by the arrival at the gate of Will, who had been to the station to meet grandmother Sanford.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Mother, how do you do?" exclaimed Mrs. Sanford, appearing in the doorway.
Chapter 8 of Patty's Perversities by Arlo Bates holds 112 sentences, grouped into 23 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 112 sentences of Patty's Perversities, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Patty's Perversities by Arlo Bates exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 112 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 Patty's Perversities by Arlo Bates on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4765 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48396 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48396, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 397 minutes of reading across 953 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Patty's Perversities section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Patty's Perversities 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 Patty's Perversities, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
