Chapter 3 of The Inheritors is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Inheritors is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver. "There you are, Granger," said a cheerful voice behind me. "Come and have some dinner." I went and had some dinner. It was seasoned by small jokes and little personalities.
Chapter 3 of The Inheritors is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
plural of “caricature” — a representation of a person that is exaggerated for comic effect
From this reading “The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.”
plural of “frame” — the framework for a pair of eyeglasses
From this reading “The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.”
a person who operates a farm
From this reading “"There you are, Granger," said a cheerful voice behind me.”
of less size or importance
From this reading “The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.”
not worth considering
From this reading “The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.”
plural of “personality” — the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual
From this reading “It was seasoned by small jokes and little personalities.”
aged or processed
From this reading “It was seasoned by small jokes and little personalities.”
tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
From this reading “The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.”
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 "There you are, Granger," said a cheerful voice behind me.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Come and have some dinner."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "There you are, Granger," said a cheerful voice behind me.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading "There you are, Granger," said a cheerful voice behind me.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading It was seasoned by small jokes and little personalities.
plural of “caricature” — a representation of a person that is exaggerated for comic effect
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
being full of or promoting cheer; having or showing good spirits
From this reading "There you are, Granger," said a cheerful voice behind me.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come and have some dinner."
past form of “confront” — oppose, as in hostility or a competition
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading "Come and have some dinner."
having lost freshness or brilliance of color
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
plural of “frame” — the framework for a pair of eyeglasses
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
a person who operates a farm
From this reading "There you are, Granger," said a cheerful voice behind me.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I went and had some dinner.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Come and have some dinner."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I went and had some dinner.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was seasoned by small jokes and little personalities.
plural of “joke” — a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading It was seasoned by small jokes and little personalities.
of less size or importance
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading It was seasoned by small jokes and little personalities.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
not worth considering
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
plural of “personality” — the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual
From this reading It was seasoned by small jokes and little personalities.
a purple color or pigment
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "There you are, Granger," said a cheerful voice behind me.
aged or processed
From this reading It was seasoned by small jokes and little personalities.
tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading It was seasoned by small jokes and little personalities.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "Come and have some dinner."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There you are, Granger," said a cheerful voice behind me.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "There you are, Granger," said a cheerful voice behind me.
plural of “wall” — an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading The faded paltry caricatures of faded paltry lesser lights that confronted me from fly-blown frames on the purple walls almost made me shiver.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was seasoned by small jokes and little personalities.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I went and had some dinner.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "There you are, Granger," said a cheerful voice behind me.
Chapter 3 of The Inheritors by Joseph Conrad holds 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 3 holds 402 sentences of The Inheritors, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Inheritors by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 3 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 Inheritors by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4413 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14888 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14888, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 367 minutes of reading across 883 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Inheritors section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Inheritors 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 Inheritors, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
