Chapter 4 of The Brighton Boys in the Trenches is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Brighton Boys in the Trenches is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of. You have no reason to scrap, except a mutual dislike. Better agree to disagree. Shake hands and call it off." "Shake?
Chapter 4 of The Brighton Boys in the Trenches is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
give sanction to
From this reading “A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.”
plural of “combatant” — someone who fights (or is fighting)
From this reading “A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.”
be of different opinions
From this reading “Better agree to disagree.”
an inclination to withhold approval from some person or group
From this reading “You have no reason to scrap, except a mutual dislike.”
a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
From this reading “A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.”
common to or shared by two or more parties
From this reading “You have no reason to scrap, except a mutual dislike.”
a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
From this reading “You have no reason to scrap, except a mutual dislike.”
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading “A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.”
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.
take someone's hands and shake them as a gesture of greeting or congratulation
In this reading “Shake hands and call it off."”
In this reading “A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.”
In this reading “A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.”
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 FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
be in accord; be in agreement
From this reading Better agree to disagree.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Shake hands and call it off."
give sanction to
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Better agree to disagree.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Shake hands and call it off."
plural of “combatant” — someone who fights (or is fighting)
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
be of different opinions
From this reading Better agree to disagree.
an inclination to withhold approval from some person or group
From this reading You have no reason to scrap, except a mutual dislike.
apart from; not including
From this reading You have no reason to scrap, except a mutual dislike.
plural of “fellow” — a boy or man
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Shake hands and call it off."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You have no reason to scrap, except a mutual dislike.
a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Shake hands and call it off."
common to or shared by two or more parties
From this reading You have no reason to scrap, except a mutual dislike.
not any; not one
From this reading You have no reason to scrap, except a mutual dislike.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Shake hands and call it off."
plural of “officer” — any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading You have no reason to scrap, except a mutual dislike.
precisely, exactly
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
From this reading You have no reason to scrap, except a mutual dislike.
move or cause to move back and forth
From this reading Shake hands and call it off."
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
a special situation
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
unfulfilled or frustrated in realizing an ambition
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading A FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT "I want to warn you fellows," said Herb, stepping between the would-be combatants, "that this sort of thing is not what our officers would approve of.
Chapter 4 of The Brighton Boys in the Trenches by James R. Driscoll holds 137 sentences, grouped into 28 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 137 sentences of The Brighton Boys in the Trenches, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Brighton Boys in the Trenches by James R. Driscoll exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 137 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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.
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About 223 minutes of reading across 537 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Brighton Boys in the Trenches section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Brighton Boys in the Trenches 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 Brighton Boys in the Trenches, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
