Chapter 4 of So Big is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of So Big is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Pervus DeJong. By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.” Selina craned, peered. “The—oh—he’s very good looking, isn’t he?” “Sure.
Chapter 4 of So Big is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading “By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.””
past form of “crane” — stretch (the neck) so as to see better
From this reading “Selina craned, peered.”
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading “By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.””
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “Selina craned, peered.”
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading “By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.””
a garment worn on the upper half of the body
From this reading “By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.””
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading “By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.””
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading ““Sure.”
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 “By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.””
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
past form of “crane” — stretch (the neck) so as to see better
From this reading Selina craned, peered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Pervus DeJong.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “The—oh—he’s very good looking, isn’t he?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “The—oh—he’s very good looking, isn’t he?”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “The—oh—he’s very good looking, isn’t he?”
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “The—oh—he’s very good looking, isn’t he?”
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading Selina craned, peered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Pervus DeJong.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Selina craned, peered.
a garment worn on the upper half of the body
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading “Sure.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
precisely as stated
From this reading “The—oh—he’s very good looking, isn’t he?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading By Gerrit Pon he is sitting with the blue shirt and sad looking so.”
Chapter 4 of So Big by Edna Ferber holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 4 holds 420 sentences of So Big, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of So Big by Edna Ferber exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 4 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 So Big by Edna Ferber on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7956 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61686 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61686, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1592 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through So Big section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of So Big 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 So Big, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
