Chapter 1 of Tender Buttons Objects—Food—Rooms is here in full — 496 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Tender Buttons Objects—Food—Rooms is here in full — 496 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing. All this and not ordinary, not unordered in not resembling. The difference is spreading. GLAZED GLITTER. Nickel, what is nickel, it is originally rid of a cover.
Chapter 1 of Tender Buttons Objects—Food—Rooms is here in full — 496 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/99 · 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.
the thing arranged or agreed to
From this reading “A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.”
(used of eyes) lacking liveliness
From this reading “GLAZED GLITTER.”
the quality of shining with a bright reflected light
From this reading “GLAZED GLITTER.”
a hard malleable ductile silvery metallic element that is resistant to corrosion; used in alloys; occurs in pentlandite and smaltite and garnierite and millerite
From this reading “Nickel, what is nickel, it is originally rid of a cover.”
in an original manner
From this reading “Nickel, what is nickel, it is originally rid of a cover.”
-ing form of “resemble” — appear like; be similar or bear a likeness to
From this reading “All this and not ordinary, not unordered in not resembling.”
something or someone seen (especially a notable or unusual sight)
From this reading “A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.”
process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space
From this reading “The difference is spreading.”
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 A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
(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 All this and not ordinary, not unordered in not resembling.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
the thing arranged or agreed to
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
provide with a covering or cause to be covered
From this reading Nickel, what is nickel, it is originally rid of a cover.
the quality of being unlike or dissimilar
From this reading The difference is spreading.
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
(used of eyes) lacking liveliness
From this reading GLAZED GLITTER.
the quality of shining with a bright reflected light
From this reading GLAZED GLITTER.
be the source of pain
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The difference is spreading.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Nickel, what is nickel, it is originally rid of a cover.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
a hard malleable ductile silvery metallic element that is resistant to corrosion; used in alloys; occurs in pentlandite and smaltite and garnierite and millerite
From this reading Nickel, what is nickel, it is originally rid of a cover.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading All this and not ordinary, not unordered in not resembling.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Nickel, what is nickel, it is originally rid of a cover.
a judge of a probate court
From this reading All this and not ordinary, not unordered in not resembling.
in an original manner
From this reading Nickel, what is nickel, it is originally rid of a cover.
-ing form of “point” — indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either spatially or figuratively
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
-ing form of “resemble” — appear like; be similar or bear a likeness to
From this reading All this and not ordinary, not unordered in not resembling.
relieve from
From this reading Nickel, what is nickel, it is originally rid of a cover.
being or characteristic of a single thing or person
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
something or someone seen (especially a notable or unusual sight)
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space
From this reading The difference is spreading.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
instrumentality that combines interrelated interacting artifacts designed to work as a coherent entity
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The difference is spreading.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading All this and not ordinary, not unordered in not resembling.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle and nothing strange a single hurt color and an arrangement in a system to pointing.
not arranged in order
From this reading All this and not ordinary, not unordered in not resembling.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Nickel, what is nickel, it is originally rid of a cover.
Chapter 1 of Tender Buttons Objects—Food—Rooms by Gertrude Stein holds 496 sentences, grouped into 100 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 496 sentences of Tender Buttons Objects—Food—Rooms, unabridged, divided into 100 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Tender Buttons Objects—Food—Rooms by Gertrude Stein exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 496 sentences, grouped into 100 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 100 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 100 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 Tender Buttons Objects—Food—Rooms by Gertrude Stein on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 992 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15396 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15396, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 82 minutes of reading across 199 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tender Buttons Objects—Food—Rooms section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Tender Buttons Objects—Food—Rooms 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 Tender Buttons Objects—Food—Rooms, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
