Chapter 23 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1. Brother._ O Brother, see where Delya is! _2. Brother._ O Delya, happy are we to see thee here. _Delya._ What tell you mee of Delya, prating swaines?
Chapter 23 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading “Brother._ O Brother, see where Delya is!”
plural of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading “_Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.”
the act of digging
From this reading “_Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.”
to come or go into
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading “Brother._ O Delya, happy are we to see thee here.”
plural of “shirt” — a garment worn on the upper half of the body
From this reading “_Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.”
plural of “spade” — a playing card in the major suit that has one or more black figures on it
From this reading “_Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.”
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading “Brother._ O Delya, happy are we to see thee here.”
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 “_Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.”
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 _Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _2.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Brother._ O Delya, happy are we to see thee here.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading Brother._ O Brother, see where Delya is!
plural of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading _Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Brother._ O Brother, see where Delya is!
the act of digging
From this reading _Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.
to come or go into
From this reading _Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading Brother._ O Delya, happy are we to see thee here.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Brother._ O Delya, happy are we to see thee here.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Brother._ O Brother, see where Delya is!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Delya._ What tell you mee of Delya, prating swaines?
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading Brother._ O Brother, see where Delya is!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _Delya._ What tell you mee of Delya, prating swaines?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Delya._ What tell you mee of Delya, prating swaines?
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Brother._ O Brother, see where Delya is!
plural of “shirt” — a garment worn on the upper half of the body
From this reading _Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.
plural of “spade” — a playing card in the major suit that has one or more black figures on it
From this reading _Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Delya._ What tell you mee of Delya, prating swaines?
express in words
From this reading _Delya._ What tell you mee of Delya, prating swaines?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading Brother._ O Delya, happy are we to see thee here.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading _Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Brother._ O Delya, happy are we to see thee here.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading _Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Brother._ O Delya, happy are we to see thee here.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading _Delya._ What tell you mee of Delya, prating swaines?
in or at the place that
From this reading Brother._ O Brother, see where Delya is!
in the company of; together with
From this reading _Enter the two Brothers in their shirts, with spades, digging._ _1.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading _Delya._ What tell you mee of Delya, prating swaines?
Chapter 23 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare by Charles Mills [Editor] Gayley holds 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 23 holds 395 sentences of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 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 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 23 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.
