Chapter 6 of The Enormous Room is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Enormous Room is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only. There were _les femmes honnêtes_ and there were _les putains_. In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety. One of them he talked with often. She told him her story.
Chapter 6 of The Enormous Room is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several)
From this reading “In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.”
having much knowledge or education
From this reading “In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.”
plural of “kind” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading “Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only.”
plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading “In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.”
plural of “le” — a chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints)
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading “In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.”
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading “One of them he talked with often.”
a collection containing a variety of sorts of things
From this reading “In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were _les femmes honnêtes_ and there were _les putains_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several)
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She told him her story.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were _les femmes honnêtes_ and there were _les putains_.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
having much knowledge or education
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
plural of “kind” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only.
plural of “le” — a chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints)
From this reading There were _les femmes honnêtes_ and there were _les putains_.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only.
many times at short intervals
From this reading One of them he talked with often.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One of them he talked with often.
and nothing more
From this reading Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were _les femmes honnêtes_ and there were _les putains_.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She told him her story.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading She told him her story.
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading One of them he talked with often.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading One of them he talked with often.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were _les femmes honnêtes_ and there were _les putains_.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading She told him her story.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
a collection containing a variety of sorts of things
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In La Ferté, he informed us—and as _balayeur_ he ought to have known whereof he spoke—there were as many as three ladies of the former variety.
in the company of; together with
From this reading One of them he talked with often.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only.
Chapter 6 of The Enormous Room by E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings holds 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 6 holds 434 sentences of The Enormous Room, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Enormous Room by E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 6 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 Enormous Room by E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4707 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8446 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8446, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 392 minutes of reading across 942 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Enormous Room section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Enormous Room 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 Enormous Room, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
