Chapter 4 of The Green Bough is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Green Bough is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Well--if you’ve seen," said she, "you’ve seen. There’s no more to be said about it. We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things. You talk about it as being beastly. I can assure you there was nothing beastly in our minds.
Chapter 4 of The Green Bough is here in full — 432 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.
make certain of
From this reading “I can assure you there was nothing beastly in our minds.”
(informal) very unpleasant
From this reading “You talk about it as being beastly.”
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading “We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.”
plural of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading “We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.”
plural of “mind” — that which is responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, and conscious brain functions; the seat of the faculty of reason
From this reading “I can assure you there was nothing beastly in our minds.”
be fully aware or cognizant of
From this reading “We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.”
act as a barrier between; stand between
From this reading “We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.”
express a supposition
From this reading “We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.”
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.
to consider or examine in speech or writing
In this reading “You talk about it as being beastly.”
share living quarters; usually said of people who are not married and live together as a couple
In this reading “We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading There’s no more to be said about it.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading You talk about it as being beastly.
make certain of
From this reading I can assure you there was nothing beastly in our minds.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There’s no more to be said about it.
(informal) very unpleasant
From this reading You talk about it as being beastly.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading You talk about it as being beastly.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading I can assure you there was nothing beastly in our minds.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "Well--if you’ve seen," said she, "you’ve seen.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I can assure you there was nothing beastly in our minds.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There’s no more to be said about it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
plural of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
plural of “mind” — that which is responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, and conscious brain functions; the seat of the faculty of reason
From this reading I can assure you there was nothing beastly in our minds.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading There’s no more to be said about it.
not any; not one
From this reading There’s no more to be said about it.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading I can assure you there was nothing beastly in our minds.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
be fully aware or cognizant of
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Well--if you’ve seen," said she, "you’ve seen.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "Well--if you’ve seen," said she, "you’ve seen.
act as a barrier between; stand between
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Well--if you’ve seen," said she, "you’ve seen.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
express a supposition
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading You talk about it as being beastly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
in or at that place or location
From this reading I can assure you there was nothing beastly in our minds.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There’s no more to be said about it.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There’s no more to be said about it.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I can assure you there was nothing beastly in our minds.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We’ve all lived together so long, I suppose it’s hard for any one of us to realize that our lives are really all separate things.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well--if you’ve seen," said she, "you’ve seen.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You talk about it as being beastly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well--if you’ve seen," said she, "you’ve seen.
Chapter 4 of The Green Bough by E. Temple (Ernest Temple) Thurston holds 432 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 4 holds 432 sentences of The Green Bough, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Green Bough by E. Temple (Ernest Temple) Thurston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 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 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 Green Bough by E. Temple (Ernest Temple) Thurston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4733 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41895 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41895, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 394 minutes of reading across 947 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Green Bough section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Green Bough 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 Green Bough, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
