Chapter 1 of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. is here in full — 307 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. is here in full — 307 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Miss Pilbeam, only daughter of Sergeant Pilbeam, caught her breath sharply. "What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice. "Nothing," said the skipper, airily, "nothing. I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it." "Well?" said Miss Pilbeam, impatiently.
Chapter 1 of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. is here in full — 307 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 5/61 · 5 reading units · Lines 21–25
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.
power to direct or determine
From this reading “"What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.”
with impatience; in an impatient manner
From this reading “"Well?" said Miss Pilbeam, impatiently.”
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading “"What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.”
a rhythmic thrusting movement of the legs as in swimming or calisthenics
From this reading “I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."”
a course of conduct
From this reading “I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."”
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading “Miss Pilbeam, only daughter of Sergeant Pilbeam, caught her breath sharply.”
in an aggressive manner
From this reading “Miss Pilbeam, only daughter of Sergeant Pilbeam, caught her breath sharply.”
a student who fails to attend classes
From this reading “"Nothing," said the skipper, airily, "nothing.”
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 “I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."”
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 was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
in a flippant manner
From this reading "Nothing," said the skipper, airily, "nothing.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading Miss Pilbeam, only daughter of Sergeant Pilbeam, caught her breath sharply.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Miss Pilbeam, only daughter of Sergeant Pilbeam, caught her breath sharply.
power to direct or determine
From this reading "What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.
a female human offspring
From this reading Miss Pilbeam, only daughter of Sergeant Pilbeam, caught her breath sharply.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading "What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Miss Pilbeam, only daughter of Sergeant Pilbeam, caught her breath sharply.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
with impatience; in an impatient manner
From this reading "Well?" said Miss Pilbeam, impatiently.
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading "What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
a rhythmic thrusting movement of the legs as in swimming or calisthenics
From this reading I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Miss Pilbeam, only daughter of Sergeant Pilbeam, caught her breath sharply.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "Nothing," said the skipper, airily, "nothing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Miss Pilbeam, only daughter of Sergeant Pilbeam, caught her breath sharply.
and nothing more
From this reading Miss Pilbeam, only daughter of Sergeant Pilbeam, caught her breath sharply.
a course of conduct
From this reading I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Miss Pilbeam, only daughter of Sergeant Pilbeam, caught her breath sharply.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Nothing," said the skipper, airily, "nothing.
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading Miss Pilbeam, only daughter of Sergeant Pilbeam, caught her breath sharply.
in an aggressive manner
From this reading Miss Pilbeam, only daughter of Sergeant Pilbeam, caught her breath sharply.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.
a student who fails to attend classes
From this reading "Nothing," said the skipper, airily, "nothing.
in the near future
From this reading "What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Nothing," said the skipper, airily, "nothing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was kicking a stone along the path and he told me to stop it."
(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?" said Miss Pilbeam, impatiently.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What have you been doing?" she inquired, as soon as she could control her voice.
Chapter 1 of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. by W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs holds 307 sentences, grouped into 62 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 1 holds 307 sentences of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4., unabridged, divided into 62 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. by W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 307 sentences, grouped into 62 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 62 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 62 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 1 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 Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. by W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 307 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10784 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10784, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 25 minutes of reading across 62 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. 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 Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4., each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
