Chapter 5 of Pygmalion 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 V
Chapter 5 of Pygmalion is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HIGGINS. Oh, I can’t be bothered with young women. My idea of a loveable woman is something as like you as possible. I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed. [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
Chapter 5 of Pygmalion 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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading “[Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.”
caused to show discomposure
From this reading “Oh, I can’t be bothered with young women.”
plural of “habit” — an established custom
From this reading “I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.”
plural of “idiot” — a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading “[Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.”
plural of “key” — metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading “[Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.”
a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment
From this reading “I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.”
plural of “pocket” — a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading “[Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.”
a garment (or part of a garment) designed for or relating to trousers
From this reading “[Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.”
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 My idea of a loveable woman is something as like you as possible.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
quickly and without warning
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading My idea of a loveable woman is something as like you as possible.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Oh, I can’t be bothered with young women.
in addition to; as well as
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
caused to show discomposure
From this reading Oh, I can’t be bothered with young women.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, I can’t be bothered with young women.
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
plural of “habit” — an established custom
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HIGGINS.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Oh, I can’t be bothered with young women.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading My idea of a loveable woman is something as like you as possible.
plural of “idiot” — a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading My idea of a loveable woman is something as like you as possible.
having a series of high-pitched ringing sounds like many small bells
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
plural of “key” — metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading My idea of a loveable woman is something as like you as possible.
a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
having characteristics that attract love or affection
From this reading My idea of a loveable woman is something as like you as possible.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My idea of a loveable woman is something as like you as possible.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading My idea of a loveable woman is something as like you as possible.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, I can’t be bothered with young women.
plural of “pocket” — a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
capable of happening or existing
From this reading My idea of a loveable woman is something as like you as possible.
advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
in a serious manner
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading My idea of a loveable woman is something as like you as possible.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
a garment (or part of a garment) designed for or relating to trousers
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
close enough to be walked to
From this reading [Rising abruptly and walking about, jingling his money and his keys in his trouser pockets] Besides, they’re all idiots.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Oh, I can’t be bothered with young women.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading My idea of a loveable woman is something as like you as possible.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Oh, I can’t be bothered with young women.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading My idea of a loveable woman is something as like you as possible.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Oh, I can’t be bothered with young women.
Chapter 5 of Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 411 sentences of Pygmalion, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw exactly as it stands in the public-domain 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 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 Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3679 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3825 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3825, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 306 minutes of reading across 736 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Pygmalion section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Pygmalion 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 Pygmalion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
