Chapter 2 of The Comic English Grammar is here in full — 90 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Comic English Grammar is here in full — 90 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ORTHOGRAPHY. CHAPTER. I. OF THE NATURE OF THE LETTERS, AND OF A COMIC ALPHABET. Orthography is like a junior usher, or instructor of youth.
Chapter 2 of The Comic English Grammar is here in full — 90 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 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.
a character set that includes letters and is used to write a language
From this reading “OF THE NATURE OF THE LETTERS, AND OF A COMIC ALPHABET.”
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading “CHAPTER.”
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading “OF THE NATURE OF THE LETTERS, AND OF A COMIC ALPHABET.”
a person whose occupation is teaching
From this reading “Orthography is like a junior usher, or instructor of youth.”
term of address for a disrespectful and annoying male
From this reading “Orthography is like a junior usher, or instructor of youth.”
the literary culture
From this reading “OF THE NATURE OF THE LETTERS, AND OF A COMIC ALPHABET.”
a method of representing the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols
From this reading “ORTHOGRAPHY.”
take (someone) to their seats, as in theaters or auditoriums
From this reading “Orthography is like a junior usher, or instructor of youth.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading OF THE NATURE OF THE LETTERS, AND OF A COMIC ALPHABET.
a character set that includes letters and is used to write a language
From this reading OF THE NATURE OF THE LETTERS, AND OF A COMIC ALPHABET.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading OF THE NATURE OF THE LETTERS, AND OF A COMIC ALPHABET.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading CHAPTER.
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading OF THE NATURE OF THE LETTERS, AND OF A COMIC ALPHABET.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I.
a person whose occupation is teaching
From this reading Orthography is like a junior usher, or instructor of youth.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Orthography is like a junior usher, or instructor of youth.
term of address for a disrespectful and annoying male
From this reading Orthography is like a junior usher, or instructor of youth.
the literary culture
From this reading OF THE NATURE OF THE LETTERS, AND OF A COMIC ALPHABET.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Orthography is like a junior usher, or instructor of youth.
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading OF THE NATURE OF THE LETTERS, AND OF A COMIC ALPHABET.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading OF THE NATURE OF THE LETTERS, AND OF A COMIC ALPHABET.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Orthography is like a junior usher, or instructor of youth.
a method of representing the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols
From this reading ORTHOGRAPHY.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading OF THE NATURE OF THE LETTERS, AND OF A COMIC ALPHABET.
take (someone) to their seats, as in theaters or auditoriums
From this reading Orthography is like a junior usher, or instructor of youth.
a young person (especially a young man or boy)
From this reading Orthography is like a junior usher, or instructor of youth.
Chapter 2 of The Comic English Grammar by Percival Leigh holds 90 sentences, grouped into 18 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 90 sentences of The Comic English Grammar, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Comic English Grammar by Percival Leigh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 90 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 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.
