Chapter 10 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte. 45 _R. Royster._ Yea, for were not I an husbande for hir fitte? Well what should I now doe? _M. Mery._ In faith I can not tell. _R. Royster._ I will go home and die.
Chapter 10 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
the person or thing chosen or selected
From this reading “_M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.”
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “_R. Royster._ I will go home and die.”
the federal department responsible for maintaining a national energy policy of the United States; created in 1977
From this reading “Well what should I now doe?”
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading “_M. Mery._ In faith I can not tell.”
where you live at a particular time
From this reading “_R. Royster._ I will go home and die.”
accept an excuse for
From this reading “_M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.”
express in words
From this reading “_M. Mery._ In faith I can not tell.”
an old word for “yes”
From this reading “45 _R. Royster._ Yea, for were not I an husbande for hir fitte?”
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.
return home
In this reading “_R. Royster._ I will go home and die.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 45 _R. Royster._ Yea, for were not I an husbande for hir fitte?
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading 45 _R. Royster._ Yea, for were not I an husbande for hir fitte?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading _M. Mery._ In faith I can not tell.
the person or thing chosen or selected
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading _R. Royster._ I will go home and die.
the federal department responsible for maintaining a national energy policy of the United States; created in 1977
From this reading Well what should I now doe?
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading _M. Mery._ In faith I can not tell.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 45 _R. Royster._ Yea, for were not I an husbande for hir fitte?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading _R. Royster._ I will go home and die.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading _R. Royster._ I will go home and die.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 45 _R. Royster._ Yea, for were not I an husbande for hir fitte?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 45 _R. Royster._ Yea, for were not I an husbande for hir fitte?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _M. Mery._ In faith I can not tell.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading 45 _R. Royster._ Yea, for were not I an husbande for hir fitte?
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Well what should I now doe?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
accept an excuse for
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading 45 _R. Royster._ Yea, for were not I an husbande for hir fitte?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 45 _R. Royster._ Yea, for were not I an husbande for hir fitte?
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Well what should I now doe?
express in words
From this reading _M. Mery._ In faith I can not tell.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well what should I now doe?
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading 45 _R. Royster._ Yea, for were not I an husbande for hir fitte?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Well what should I now doe?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading _R. Royster._ I will go home and die.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading _M. Mery._ Ye shall have choice of a thousande as good as shee, And ye must pardon hir, it is for lacke of witte.
an old word for “yes”
From this reading 45 _R. Royster._ Yea, for were not I an husbande for hir fitte?
Chapter 10 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare by Charles Mills [Editor] Gayley holds 415 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 10 holds 415 sentences of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare by Charles Mills [Editor] Gayley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 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 10 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 Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare by Charles Mills [Editor] Gayley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 15004 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49710 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49710, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3001 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare 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 Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
