Chapter 6 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
VAIN. Yes, when I feed myself. But I hate to be crammed. By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short. I stumble over the game I would pursue.
Chapter 6 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 “balk” — refuse to comply
From this reading “By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.”
go after with the intent to catch
From this reading “By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.”
inflected form of “cram” — crowd or pack to capacity
From this reading “But I hate to be crammed.”
provide as food
From this reading “Yes, when I feed myself.”
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading “But I hate to be crammed.”
carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in
From this reading “I stumble over the game I would pursue.”
an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition
From this reading “By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.”
walk unsteadily
From this reading “I stumble over the game I would pursue.”
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 By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
past form of “balk” — refuse to comply
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading But I hate to be crammed.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I hate to be crammed.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
go after with the intent to catch
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
inflected form of “cram” — crowd or pack to capacity
From this reading But I hate to be crammed.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
provide as food
From this reading Yes, when I feed myself.
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading I stumble over the game I would pursue.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading But I hate to be crammed.
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Yes, when I feed myself.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading Yes, when I feed myself.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
above and across; more than
From this reading I stumble over the game I would pursue.
a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in
From this reading I stumble over the game I would pursue.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
walk unsteadily
From this reading I stumble over the game I would pursue.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But I hate to be crammed.
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading VAIN.
at the time that
From this reading Yes, when I feed myself.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading By heaven, there's not a woman will give a man the pleasure of a chase: my sport is always balked or cut short.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I stumble over the game I would pursue.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, when I feed myself.
Chapter 6 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 by William Congreve holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 6 holds 400 sentences of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 by William Congreve exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 6 can be played aloud in United States English.
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