Chapter 19 of The Comic Almanack, Volume 1 is here in full — 357 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of The Comic Almanack, Volume 1 is here in full — 357 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
* * * * * 1. Lord Howe's victory, 1794. The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e). 21. Queen Victoria proclaimed.
Chapter 19 of The Comic Almanack, Volume 1 is here in full — 357 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/71 · 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.
bring under control by force or authority
From this reading “The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).”
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading “The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).”
possessive form of “howe” — United States editor (1920-1993)
From this reading “Lord Howe's victory, 1794.”
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading “Queen Victoria proclaimed.”
the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading “Queen Victoria proclaimed.”
queen of Great Britain and Ireland and empress of India from 1837 to 1901; the last Hanoverian ruler of England (1819-1901)
From this reading “Queen Victoria proclaimed.”
a successful ending of a struggle or contest
From this reading “Lord Howe's victory, 1794.”
make a vow; promise
From this reading “The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).”
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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading * * * * * 1.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lord Howe's victory, 1794.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 21.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
bring under control by force or authority
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal reproduction; an important antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
possessive form of “howe” — United States editor (1920-1993)
From this reading Lord Howe's victory, 1794.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading Lord Howe's victory, 1794.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
not any; not one
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading Queen Victoria proclaimed.
the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading Queen Victoria proclaimed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
queen of Great Britain and Ireland and empress of India from 1837 to 1901; the last Hanoverian ruler of England (1819-1901)
From this reading Queen Victoria proclaimed.
a successful ending of a struggle or contest
From this reading Lord Howe's victory, 1794.
make a vow; promise
From this reading The French, no doubt, had made a vow To conquer—but they knew not How(e).
Chapter 19 of The Comic Almanack, Volume 1 by William Makepeace Thackeray holds 357 sentences, grouped into 72 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 19 holds 357 sentences of The Comic Almanack, Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 72 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of The Comic Almanack, Volume 1 by William Makepeace Thackeray exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 357 sentences, grouped into 72 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 72 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 72 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 19 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 Comic Almanack, Volume 1 by William Makepeace Thackeray on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6631 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52203 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52203, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 552 minutes of reading across 1327 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Comic Almanack, Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Comic Almanack, Volume 1 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 Comic Almanack, Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
