Chapter 1 of The Little Man Who Wasn't Quite is here in full — 649 sentences across 130 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Little Man Who Wasn't Quite is here in full — 649 sentences across 130 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way. How much of Stanley was or wasn't there? Have you ever been clear down there on skid row? Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances. That isn't what I mean.
Chapter 1 of The Little Man Who Wasn't Quite is here in full — 649 sentences across 130 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/129 · 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.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading “Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.”
rid of obstructions
From this reading “Have you ever been clear down there on skid row?”
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading “Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.”
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading “Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.”
plural of “glance” — a quick look
From this reading “Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.”
an arrangement of objects or people side by side in a line
From this reading “Have you ever been clear down there on skid row?”
slide without control
From this reading “Have you ever been clear down there on skid row?”
United States inventor who built a steam-powered automobile (1849-1918)
From this reading “How much of Stanley was or wasn't there?”
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.
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.
(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 You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Have you ever been clear down there on skid row?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.
rid of obstructions
From this reading Have you ever been clear down there on skid row?
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Have you ever been clear down there on skid row?
at any time
From this reading Have you ever been clear down there on skid row?
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.
plural of “glance” — a quick look
From this reading Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Have you ever been clear down there on skid row?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How much of Stanley was or wasn't there?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That isn't what I mean.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading That isn't what I mean.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading How much of Stanley was or wasn't there?
not any; not one
From this reading Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading How much of Stanley was or wasn't there?
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Have you ever been clear down there on skid row?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
an arrangement of objects or people side by side in a line
From this reading Have you ever been clear down there on skid row?
express in words
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.
slide without control
From this reading Have you ever been clear down there on skid row?
United States inventor who built a steam-powered automobile (1849-1918)
From this reading How much of Stanley was or wasn't there?
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
in or at that place or location
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading Oh, sure, every city has one and no doubt you have given it one of those look-away-quick side glances.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading How much of Stanley was or wasn't there?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How much of Stanley was or wasn't there?
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading That isn't what I mean.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You could say Jonesy and/or I were not all there, but I don't see it that way.
Chapter 1 of The Little Man Who Wasn't Quite by William W. Stuart holds 649 sentences, grouped into 130 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 1 holds 649 sentences of The Little Man Who Wasn't Quite, unabridged, divided into 130 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Little Man Who Wasn't Quite by William W. Stuart exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 649 sentences, grouped into 130 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 130 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 130 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 1 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 Little Man Who Wasn't Quite by William W. Stuart on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 649 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51698 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51698, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 54 minutes of reading across 130 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Little Man Who Wasn't Quite section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Little Man Who Wasn't Quite 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 Little Man Who Wasn't Quite, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
