Chapter 2 of The Birthplace is here in full — 581 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Birthplace is here in full — 581 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"What's the use of what?" her husband asked. "The use, you mean, of our coming here? Why the place is charming in itself. And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on." Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.
Chapter 2 of The Birthplace is here in full — 581 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/116 · 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.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading “And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."”
replying
From this reading “Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.”
pleasing or delighting
From this reading “Why the place is charming in itself.”
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading “"What's the use of what?" her husband asked.”
arousing or holding the attention
From this reading “And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."”
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading “Why the place is charming in itself.”
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading “Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.”
the act of using
From this reading “"What's the use of what?" her husband asked.”
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.
a young female
In this reading “Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.”
In this reading “Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.”
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 Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."
in addition
From this reading And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."
replying
From this reading Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "What's the use of what?" her husband asked.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.
pleasing or delighting
From this reading Why the place is charming in itself.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading "The use, you mean, of our coming here?
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "What's the use of what?" her husband asked.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "The use, you mean, of our coming here?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading "What's the use of what?" her husband asked.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Why the place is charming in itself.
arousing or holding the attention
From this reading And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Why the place is charming in itself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading Why the place is charming in itself.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "The use, you mean, of our coming here?
a particular point in time
From this reading Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "What's the use of what?" her husband asked.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "The use, you mean, of our coming here?
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Why the place is charming in itself.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "What's the use of what?" her husband asked.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And it's also interesting," he added to Gedge, "to know how you get on."
the act of using
From this reading "What's the use of what?" her husband asked.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What's the use of what?" her husband asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What's the use of what?" her husband asked.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why the place is charming in itself.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "The use, you mean, of our coming here?
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Gedge looked at him a moment in silence, but answering the young woman first.
Chapter 2 of The Birthplace by Henry James holds 581 sentences, grouped into 117 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 2 holds 581 sentences of The Birthplace, unabridged, divided into 117 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Birthplace by Henry James exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 581 sentences, grouped into 117 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 117 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 117 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 2 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 The Birthplace by Henry James on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1177 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55078 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55078, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 98 minutes of reading across 236 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Birthplace section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Birthplace 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 The Birthplace, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
