Chapter 17 of The Irrational Knot is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Irrational Knot is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening. There was no light in the window when he entered the garden. Miss McQuinch opened the door before he reached it. “What!” he said. “Going the moment I come in!”
Chapter 17 of The Irrational Knot is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
being one more than seven
From this reading “Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.”
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading “There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.”
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading “There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.”
largest city in Scotland; a port on the Clyde in west central Scotland; one of the great shipbuilding centers of the world
From this reading “Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.”
the second day of the week; the first working day
From this reading “Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.”
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading “Miss McQuinch opened the door before he reached it.”
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading “Miss McQuinch opened the door before he reached it.”
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading “There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.”
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 Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Going the moment I come in!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Miss McQuinch opened the door before he reached it.
being one more than seven
From this reading Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.
largest city in Scotland; a port on the Clyde in west central Scotland; one of the great shipbuilding centers of the world
From this reading Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.
the act of departing
From this reading “Going the moment I come in!”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Going the moment I come in!”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Miss McQuinch opened the door before he reached it.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Miss McQuinch opened the door before he reached it.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Miss McQuinch opened the door before he reached it.
a particular point in time
From this reading “Going the moment I come in!”
the second day of the week; the first working day
From this reading Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Miss McQuinch opened the door before he reached it.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Miss McQuinch opened the door before he reached it.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading Conolly returned from Glasgow a little before eight on Monday evening.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “What!” he said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What!” he said.
at the time that
From this reading There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading There was no light in the window when he entered the garden.
Chapter 17 of The Irrational Knot by Bernard Shaw holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 17 holds 407 sentences of The Irrational Knot, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Irrational Knot by Bernard Shaw exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 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.
Common questions about reading The Irrational Knot by Bernard Shaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8934 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11354 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11354, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1787 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Irrational Knot section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Irrational Knot 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 Irrational Knot, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
