Chapter 11 of Shallow Soil is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Shallow Soil is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He was silent. Finally they reached the last crossing. Ole Henriksen's house could be seen in the distance. The sight of that house seemed to bring her to her senses. Whatever could she have said?
Chapter 11 of Shallow Soil is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 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.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading “The sight of that house seemed to bring her to her senses.”
traveling across
From this reading “Finally they reached the last crossing.”
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading “Ole Henriksen's house could be seen in the distance.”
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading “Finally they reached the last crossing.”
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading “Finally they reached the last crossing.”
plural of “sens” — street names for marijuana
From this reading “The sight of that house seemed to bring her to her senses.”
marked by absence of sound
From this reading “He was silent.”
any or all of a kind, it does not matter which
From this reading “Whatever could she have said?”
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 with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Ole Henriksen's house could be seen in the distance.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The sight of that house seemed to bring her to her senses.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Ole Henriksen's house could be seen in the distance.
traveling across
From this reading Finally they reached the last crossing.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading Ole Henriksen's house could be seen in the distance.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading Finally they reached the last crossing.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Whatever could she have said?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was silent.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ole Henriksen's house could be seen in the distance.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The sight of that house seemed to bring her to her senses.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Ole Henriksen's house could be seen in the distance.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Ole Henriksen's house could be seen in the distance.
immediately past
From this reading Finally they reached the last crossing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The sight of that house seemed to bring her to her senses.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ole Henriksen's house could be seen in the distance.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Finally they reached the last crossing.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Whatever could she have said?
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The sight of that house seemed to bring her to her senses.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Ole Henriksen's house could be seen in the distance.
plural of “sens” — street names for marijuana
From this reading The sight of that house seemed to bring her to her senses.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Whatever could she have said?
an instance of visual perception
From this reading The sight of that house seemed to bring her to her senses.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading He was silent.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The sight of that house seemed to bring her to her senses.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Finally they reached the last crossing.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Finally they reached the last crossing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The sight of that house seemed to bring her to her senses.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was silent.
any or all of a kind, it does not matter which
From this reading Whatever could she have said?
Chapter 11 of Shallow Soil by Knut Hamsun holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 11 holds 410 sentences of Shallow Soil, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Shallow Soil by Knut Hamsun exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 11 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 Shallow Soil by Knut Hamsun on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5660 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7537 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7537, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 471 minutes of reading across 1132 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shallow Soil section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Shallow Soil 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 Shallow Soil, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
