Chapter 1 of The Comic English Grammar is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Comic English Grammar is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE COMIC ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Introduction to the English Tongue. BY THE AUTHOR OF THE COMIC LATIN GRAMMAR. EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH. LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
Chapter 1 of The Comic English Grammar is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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 largest city in Vermont; located in northwestern Vermont on Lake Champlain; site of the University of Vermont
From this reading “LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.”
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading “THE COMIC ENGLISH GRAMMAR.”
past form of “embellish” — add details to
From this reading “EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH.”
the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics)
From this reading “THE COMIC ENGLISH GRAMMAR.”
plural of “illustration” — artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
From this reading “EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH.”
the act of beginning something new
From this reading “Introduction to the English Tongue.”
carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end
From this reading “EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH.”
spatially or metaphorically from a lower to a higher position
From this reading “EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH.”
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.
In this reading “EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH.”
In this reading “BY THE AUTHOR OF THE COMIC LATIN GRAMMAR.”
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.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF THE COMIC LATIN GRAMMAR.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
the largest city in Vermont; located in northwestern Vermont on Lake Champlain; site of the University of Vermont
From this reading LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF THE COMIC LATIN GRAMMAR.
a prominent attribute or aspect of something
From this reading EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH.
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading THE COMIC ENGLISH GRAMMAR.
past form of “embellish” — add details to
From this reading EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH.
an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries
From this reading THE COMIC ENGLISH GRAMMAR.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and five
From this reading EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH.
the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics)
From this reading THE COMIC ENGLISH GRAMMAR.
plural of “illustration” — artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
From this reading EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH.
the act of beginning something new
From this reading Introduction to the English Tongue.
a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second
From this reading EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH.
of or relating to the ancient Latins or the Latin language
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF THE COMIC LATIN GRAMMAR.
carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end
From this reading EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF THE COMIC LATIN GRAMMAR.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE COMIC ENGLISH GRAMMAR.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Introduction to the English Tongue.
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading Introduction to the English Tongue.
spatially or metaphorically from a lower to a higher position
From this reading EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH.
in the company of; together with
From this reading EMBELLISHED WITH UPWARDS OF FIFTY CHARACTERISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. LEECH.
Chapter 1 of The Comic English Grammar by Percival Leigh holds 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 122 sentences of The Comic English Grammar, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Comic English Grammar by Percival Leigh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 The Comic English Grammar by Percival Leigh on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2141 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43397 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43397, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 178 minutes of reading across 429 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Comic English Grammar section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Comic English Grammar 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 English Grammar, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
