Chapter 3 of The Common Law is here in full — 353 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Common Law is here in full — 353 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio. She had never before been late. About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled: "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?" "Not now.
Chapter 3 of The Common Law is here in full — 353 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/70 · 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.
reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading “One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.”
used as expletives
From this reading “"It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"”
the month following May and preceding July
From this reading “One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.”
United States circus clown (1898-1979)
From this reading “"It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"”
half woman and half fish; lives in the sea
From this reading “"It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"”
in disarray; extremely disorderly
From this reading “About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:”
the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates
From this reading “About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:”
workplace for the teaching or practice of an art
From this reading “One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.”
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 About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She had never before been late.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading She had never before been late.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
used as expletives
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had never before been late.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
the month following May and preceding July
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
United States circus clown (1898-1979)
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading She had never before been late.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
half woman and half fish; lives in the sea
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading She had never before been late.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Not now.
according to the clock
From this reading About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
in disarray; extremely disorderly
From this reading About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had never before been late.
the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates
From this reading About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
workplace for the teaching or practice of an art
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
express in words
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
in the direction of
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
a source of difficulty
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading About two o'clock Sam Ogilvy sauntered in, a skull pipe in his mouth, his hair rumpled:
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One day toward the middle of June Valerie did not arrive on time at the studio.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "It's that damn mermaid of mine," he said, "can't you come up and look at her and tell me what's the trouble, Kelly?"
Chapter 3 of The Common Law by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers holds 353 sentences, grouped into 71 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 3 holds 353 sentences of The Common Law, unabridged, divided into 71 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Common Law by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 353 sentences, grouped into 71 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 71 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 71 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 3 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 Common Law by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8544 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13813 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13813, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1709 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Common Law section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Common Law 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 Common Law, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
