Chapter 5 of Pray You, Sir, Whose Daughter? is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Pray You, Sir, Whose Daughter? is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"They are empty," she said, aloud, "and they are untrained, and they are helpless. They are a pauper's hands." She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true. A pauper in lace and gold! I am over twenty-two.
Chapter 5 of Pray You, Sir, Whose Daughter? 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.
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
From this reading “She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.”
feelings of excessive pride
From this reading “She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.”
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading “She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.”
lacking in or deprived of strength or power
From this reading “"They are empty," she said, aloud, "and they are untrained, and they are helpless.”
spin, wind, or twist together
From this reading “A pauper in lace and gold!”
a person who is very poor
From this reading “They are a pauper's hands."”
the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-one and one
From this reading “I am over twenty-two.”
not disciplined or conditioned or made adept by training
From this reading “"They are empty," she said, aloud, "and they are untrained, and they are helpless.”
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.
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 They are a pauper's hands."
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
using the voice; not silently
From this reading "They are empty," she said, aloud, "and they are untrained, and they are helpless.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am over twenty-two.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "They are empty," she said, aloud, "and they are untrained, and they are helpless.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "They are empty," she said, aloud, "and they are untrained, and they are helpless.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
feelings of excessive pride
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading "They are empty," she said, aloud, "and they are untrained, and they are helpless.
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
coins made of gold
From this reading A pauper in lace and gold!
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading They are a pauper's hands."
lacking in or deprived of strength or power
From this reading "They are empty," she said, aloud, "and they are untrained, and they are helpless.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I am over twenty-two.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A pauper in lace and gold!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
spin, wind, or twist together
From this reading A pauper in lace and gold!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
above and across; more than
From this reading I am over twenty-two.
a person who is very poor
From this reading A pauper in lace and gold!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They are a pauper's hands."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "They are empty," she said, aloud, "and they are untrained, and they are helpless.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "They are empty," she said, aloud, "and they are untrained, and they are helpless.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
plural of “sound” — the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "They are empty," she said, aloud, "and they are untrained, and they are helpless.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading She smiled a little at the conceit, and then, slowly: "It sounds absurd, almost funny, but it is true.
the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-one and one
From this reading I am over twenty-two.
not disciplined or conditioned or made adept by training
From this reading "They are empty," she said, aloud, "and they are untrained, and they are helpless.
Chapter 5 of Pray You, Sir, Whose Daughter? by Helen H. (Helen Hamilton) Gardener 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 5 holds 403 sentences of Pray You, Sir, Whose Daughter?, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Pray You, Sir, Whose Daughter? by Helen H. (Helen Hamilton) Gardener 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 5 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 Pray You, Sir, Whose Daughter? by Helen H. (Helen Hamilton) Gardener on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2064 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37355 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37355, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 172 minutes of reading across 413 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Pray You, Sir, Whose Daughter? section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Pray You, Sir, Whose Daughter? 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 Pray You, Sir, Whose Daughter?, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
