Chapter 7 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 VII
Chapter 7 of So Big is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road. “Fine talk. Fine talk.” “It isn’t talk. It’s plans.
Chapter 7 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.
at or in the front
From this reading “Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.”
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading “Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.”
possessive form of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
plural of “plan” — a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished
From this reading “It’s plans.”
an excavation that is (usually) filled with water
From this reading “Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.”
sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading “Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.”
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.”
successive (without a break)
From this reading “Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.”
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 “Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.”
In this reading “Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.”
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.
at or in the front
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading “Fine talk.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
possessive form of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It isn’t talk.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It isn’t talk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s plans.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
plural of “plan” — a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished
From this reading It’s plans.
an excavation that is (usually) filled with water
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
successive (without a break)
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading “Fine talk.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Pervus stared straight ahead down the road between his horse’s ears much as Klaas Pool had done so maddeningly on Selina’s first ride on the Halsted road.
Chapter 7 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 7 holds 420 sentences of So Big, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 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 7 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.
