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The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters
The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters

Chapter XVII · Chapter 17

Chapter 17 of The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

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Context Illustration Reading 1/84 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.
'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.
I'll be there as soon as you.'
Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.
They walked together in this secluded spot.
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LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters

Chapter XVII · Chapter 17

Chapter 17 of The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.
Line 2
'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.
/wiː kæn miːt ðer wɪˈθaʊt jɔːr ˈpæsɪŋ θruː ðə bɪɡ lɑːdʒ/
Line 3
I'll be there as soon as you.'
Line 4
Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.
Line 5
They walked together in this secluded spot.
/ðeɪ wɔːkt təˈɡeðər ɪn ðɪs sɪˈkluːdɪd spɑːt/

Learner Dictionary

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.

ascended verb US /əˈsendɪd/

past form of “ascend” — travel up

From this reading “Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.”

gate noun US /ɡeɪt/

a movable barrier in a fence or wall

From this reading “'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.”

hill noun US /hɪl/

a local and well-defined elevation of the land

From this reading “Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.”

lodge verb US /lɑːdʒ/

be a lodger; stay temporarily

From this reading “'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.”

mile noun US /maɪl/

a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters

From this reading “'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.”

quarter noun US /ˈkwɔːrtər/

one of four equal parts

From this reading “'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.”

secluded adjective US /sɪˈkluːdɪd/

hidden from general view or use

From this reading “They walked together in this secluded spot.”

Sol noun US /sɑːl/

a colloid that has a continuous liquid phase in which a solid is suspended in a liquid

From this reading “Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.”

All words in this reading · 50

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading 'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.

againadverbUS /əˈɡen/

anew

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading I'll be there as soon as you.'

ascendedverbUS /əˈsendɪd/

past form of “ascend” — travel up

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

backadverbUS /bæk/

in or to or toward a former location

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading I'll be there as soon as you.'

bigadjectiveUS /bɪɡ/

above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading 'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.

canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading 'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.

comingnounUS /ˈkʌmɪŋ/

the act of drawing spatially closer to something

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

forwardadverbUS /ˈfɔːrwərd/

at or to or toward the front

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

furtheradverbUS /ˈfɜːrðər/

to or at a greater extent or degree or a more advanced stage (“further” is used more often than “farther” in this abstract sense)

From this reading 'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.

gatenounUS /ɡeɪt/

a movable barrier in a fence or wall

From this reading 'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

hillnounUS /hɪl/

a local and well-defined elevation of the land

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

I'll

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I'll be there as soon as you.'

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading They walked together in this secluded spot.

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading 'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.

lodgeverbUS /lɑːdʒ/

be a lodger; stay temporarily

From this reading 'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.

meetverbUS /miːt/

come together

From this reading 'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.

metverbUS /met/

inflected form of “meet” — come together

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

milenounUS /maɪl/

a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters

From this reading 'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading 'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading 'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.

passedverbUS /pæst/

past form of “pass” — go across or through

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

passingnounUS /ˈpæsɪŋ/

(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate

From this reading 'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.

Picotee

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.

quarternounUS /ˈkwɔːrtər/

one of four equal parts

From this reading 'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading 'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.

secludedadjectiveUS /sɪˈkluːdɪd/

hidden from general view or use

From this reading They walked together in this secluded spot.

secondnounUS /ˈsekənd/

1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

SolnounUS /sɑːl/

a colloid that has a continuous liquid phase in which a solid is suspended in a liquid

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

soonadverbUS /suːn/

in the near future

From this reading I'll be there as soon as you.'

spotnounUS /spɑːt/

a point located with respect to surface features of some region

From this reading They walked together in this secluded spot.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading 'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.

thereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading 'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.

There's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'There's a little gate a quarter of a mile further on,' said Picotee.

TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading They walked together in this secluded spot.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading They walked together in this secluded spot.

throughprepositionUS /θruː/

from one end or side of something to the other

From this reading 'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.

togetheradverbUS /təˈɡeðər/

in contact with each other or in proximity

From this reading They walked together in this secluded spot.

treesnounUS /triːz/

plural of “tree” — a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

turnedadjectiveUS /tɜːrnd/

moved around an axis or center

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

walkedverbUS /wɔːkt/

past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps

From this reading They walked together in this secluded spot.

WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading 'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading Sol ascended the hill, passed through the second gate, and turned back again, when he met Picotee coming forward under the trees.

withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading 'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading I'll be there as soon as you.'

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading 'We can meet there without your passing through the big lodge.

Chapter 17 of The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters by Thomas Hardy holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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.

What does chapter 17 of The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters contain?

Chapter 17 holds 421 sentences of The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 17 of The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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.

How do I study chapter 17 of The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters?

Work through the 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 85 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.

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Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 17 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.

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Yes. All 7410 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3469 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #3469, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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About 600 minutes of reading across 1482 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Ethelberta--a
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Comedy
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Chapters
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Thomas
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.