Chapter 4 of The Duenna: A Comic Opera is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Duenna: A Comic Opera is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Ser_. Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad. The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since. [_Exit_.] _Don Jer_.
Chapter 4 of The Duenna: A Comic Opera is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
to or in a foreign country
From this reading “Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.”
a Spanish gentleman or nobleman
an opening that permits escape or release
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading “Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.”
a female domestic
From this reading “Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.”
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading “Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.”
an area where a number of shrubs are planted
From this reading “The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.”
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading “Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.”
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.
to or in a foreign country
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.
a Spanish gentleman or nobleman
From this reading _Don Jer_.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.
an opening that permits escape or release
From this reading [_Exit_.]
set up or found
From this reading The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Don Jer_.
go away from a place
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
a female domestic
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Ser_.
an area where a number of shrubs are planted
From this reading The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.
term of address for a man
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The door by the shrubbery was found open, and they have not been heard of since.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
during the time that
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Her maid says, sir, they had your leave to walk in the garden, while you were abroad.
Chapter 4 of The Duenna: A Comic Opera by Richard Brinsley Sheridan holds 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 4 holds 393 sentences of The Duenna: A Comic Opera, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Duenna: A Comic Opera by Richard Brinsley Sheridan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 4 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 Duenna: A Comic Opera by Richard Brinsley Sheridan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Duenna: A Comic Opera section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Duenna: A Comic Opera 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 Duenna: A Comic Opera, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
