Chapter 27 of The diary of Delia is here in full — 35 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of The diary of Delia is here in full — 35 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly. I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer. Her eyes and cheeks wuz unnatshully brite. Mr. John cam in first. He wint over to her chare and guv her a rell luving kiss.
Chapter 27 of The diary of Delia is here in full — 35 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/7 · 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 river in east central England that flows past Cambridge to join the Ouse River
From this reading “Mr. John cam in first.”
plural of “cheek” — either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading “Her eyes and cheeks wuz unnatshully brite.”
a social unit living together
From this reading “I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.”
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading “Mr. John cam in first.”
the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof)
From this reading “He wint over to her chare and guv her a rell luving kiss.”
(baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
From this reading “I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.”
the context and environment in which something is set
From this reading “I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.”
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading “I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.”
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 “THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly.”
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 He wint over to her chare and guv her a rell luving kiss.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly.
a river in east central England that flows past Cambridge to join the Ouse River
From this reading Mr. John cam in first.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wint over to her chare and guv her a rell luving kiss.
plural of “cheek” — either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading Her eyes and cheeks wuz unnatshully brite.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Her eyes and cheeks wuz unnatshully brite.
a social unit living together
From this reading I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Mr. John cam in first.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wint over to her chare and guv her a rell luving kiss.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He wint over to her chare and guv her a rell luving kiss.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mr. John cam in first.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading Mr. John cam in first.
the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof)
From this reading He wint over to her chare and guv her a rell luving kiss.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wint over to her chare and guv her a rell luving kiss.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. John cam in first.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly.
above and across; more than
From this reading He wint over to her chare and guv her a rell luving kiss.
(baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
From this reading I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wint over to her chare and guv her a rell luving kiss.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.
the context and environment in which something is set
From this reading I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her eyes and cheeks wuz unnatshully brite.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading I seen her setting at her plate—waiting for the family to appeer.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE NEXT DAY Miss Claire was down at brikfust brite and airly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wint over to her chare and guv her a rell luving kiss.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her eyes and cheeks wuz unnatshully brite.
Chapter 27 of The diary of Delia by Onoto Watanna holds 35 sentences, grouped into 7 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 27 holds 35 sentences of The diary of Delia, unabridged, divided into 7 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of The diary of Delia by Onoto Watanna exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 35 sentences, grouped into 7 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 7 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 7 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 27 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 diary of Delia by Onoto Watanna on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2061 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61238 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61238, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 171 minutes of reading across 413 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The diary of Delia section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The diary of Delia 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 diary of Delia, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
