Chapter 2 of The Hand-Made Gentleman is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Hand-Made Gentleman is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive. He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking. I thought of him no more as the land-made gentleman. Just the one word was enough for him now. Something had gone wrong with him, and I wondered what it might be.
Chapter 2 of The Hand-Made Gentleman is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 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.
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading “ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.”
(often followed by “to”) having a preference, disposition, or tendency
From this reading “He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.”
United States satirical novelist and literary critic (1912-1989)
From this reading “ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.”
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading “He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.”
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading “He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.”
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading “He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.”
past form of “wonder” — have a wish or desire to know something
From this reading “Something had gone wrong with him, and I wondered what it might be.”
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading “Something had gone wrong with him, and I wondered what it might be.”
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 “ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.”
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 ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I thought of him no more as the land-made gentleman.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Something had gone wrong with him, and I wondered what it might be.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading Just the one word was enough for him now.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.
a man of refinement
From this reading I thought of him no more as the land-made gentleman.
destroyed or killed
From this reading Something had gone wrong with him, and I wondered what it might be.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Something had gone wrong with him, and I wondered what it might be.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I thought of him no more as the land-made gentleman.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I thought of him no more as the land-made gentleman.
(often followed by “to”) having a preference, disposition, or tendency
From this reading He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Something had gone wrong with him, and I wondered what it might be.
and nothing more
From this reading Just the one word was enough for him now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I thought of him no more as the land-made gentleman.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.
United States satirical novelist and literary critic (1912-1989)
From this reading ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Something had gone wrong with him, and I wondered what it might be.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading I thought of him no more as the land-made gentleman.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.
a form of address for a man
From this reading ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.
not any; not one
From this reading I thought of him no more as the land-made gentleman.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Just the one word was enough for him now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I thought of him no more as the land-made gentleman.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Just the one word was enough for him now.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Something had gone wrong with him, and I wondered what it might be.
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I thought of him no more as the land-made gentleman.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading ARLY next morning Mr. McCarthy came and took me for a drive.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was a new man, quiet, serious, and inclined to let me do the talking.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Something had gone wrong with him, and I wondered what it might be.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Something had gone wrong with him, and I wondered what it might be.
past form of “wonder” — have a wish or desire to know something
From this reading Something had gone wrong with him, and I wondered what it might be.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading Just the one word was enough for him now.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading Something had gone wrong with him, and I wondered what it might be.
Chapter 2 of The Hand-Made Gentleman by Irving Bacheller holds 93 sentences, grouped into 19 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 2 holds 93 sentences of The Hand-Made Gentleman, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Hand-Made Gentleman by Irving Bacheller exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 93 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 2 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 Hand-Made Gentleman by Irving Bacheller on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4701 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50002 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50002, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 391 minutes of reading across 941 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Hand-Made Gentleman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Hand-Made Gentleman 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 Hand-Made Gentleman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
