Chapter 5 of Tales is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Tales is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TALE VIII. THE MOTHER. What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless? SHAKESPEARE, As You Like It. I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
Chapter 5 of Tales is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
(Old Testament) in Judeo-Christian mythology; the first man and the husband of Eve and the progenitor of the human race
From this reading “I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.”
provided or supplied or equipped with (especially as by inheritance or nature)
From this reading “I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.”
take in marriage
From this reading “I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.”
without mercy or pity
From this reading “What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?”
feeling self-respect or pleasure in something by which you measure your self-worth; or being a reason for pride
From this reading “What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?”
English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
From this reading “SHAKESPEARE, As You Like It.”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “TALE VIII.”
past form of “transgress” — act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
From this reading “I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.”
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.
(Old Testament) in Judeo-Christian mythology; the first man and the husband of Eve and the progenitor of the human race
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading SHAKESPEARE, As You Like It.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?
the qualities that give pleasure to the senses
From this reading What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?
earlier than; in front of
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
provided or supplied or equipped with (especially as by inheritance or nature)
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading SHAKESPEARE, As You Like It.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading SHAKESPEARE, As You Like It.
take in marriage
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading THE MOTHER.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
without mercy or pity
From this reading What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?
feeling self-respect or pleasure in something by which you measure your self-worth; or being a reason for pride
From this reading What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?
English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
From this reading SHAKESPEARE, As You Like It.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading TALE VIII.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MOTHER.
for that reason; as a result
From this reading What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?
in spite of the fact that
From this reading What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?
past form of “transgress” — act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
the cardinal number that is the sum of seven and one
From this reading TALE VIII.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?
in the company of; together with
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgressed.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading What though you have beauty, Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?
Chapter 5 of Tales by George Crabbe holds 132 sentences, grouped into 27 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 5 holds 132 sentences of Tales, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Tales by George Crabbe exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 132 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 5 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 Tales by George Crabbe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1908 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5217 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5217, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 159 minutes of reading across 382 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Tales 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 Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
