Chapter 17 of The Little Match Man is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Little Match Man is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still. “Explain yourself,” I commanded. “Put me astride your collar, and I will tell you.” “All right; now talk.” “Do you remember I told you Prince Funato died an old man?
Chapter 17 of The Little Match Man is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
with one leg on each side
From this reading ““Put me astride your collar, and I will tell you.””
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading ““Put me astride your collar, and I will tell you.””
past form of “command” — be in command of
From this reading ““Explain yourself,” I commanded.”
taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music
From this reading “A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.”
come together
From this reading “A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.”
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading ““Explain yourself,” I commanded.”
a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle
From this reading “A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.”
unusual or striking
From this reading “A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.”
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.
a man who is very old
In this reading ““Do you remember I told you Prince Funato died an old man?”
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 A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
anew
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
(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 “All right; now talk.”
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “Do you remember I told you Prince Funato died an old man?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
with one leg on each side
From this reading “Put me astride your collar, and I will tell you.”
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading “Put me astride your collar, and I will tell you.”
past form of “command” — be in command of
From this reading “Explain yourself,” I commanded.
taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “Do you remember I told you Prince Funato died an old man?
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Do you remember I told you Prince Funato died an old man?
come together
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading “Explain yourself,” I commanded.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Do you remember I told you Prince Funato died an old man?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “Do you remember I told you Prince Funato died an old man?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Put me astride your collar, and I will tell you.”
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “All right; now talk.”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “Do you remember I told you Prince Funato died an old man?
a male member of a royal family other than the sovereign (especially the son of a sovereign)
From this reading “Do you remember I told you Prince Funato died an old man?
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading “Put me astride your collar, and I will tell you.”
To recall to mind.
From this reading “Do you remember I told you Prince Funato died an old man?
precisely, exactly
From this reading “All right; now talk.”
unusual or striking
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
not in physical motion
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading “All right; now talk.”
express in words
From this reading “Put me astride your collar, and I will tell you.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “Do you remember I told you Prince Funato died an old man?
at the time that
From this reading A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him still.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “Put me astride your collar, and I will tell you.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Put me astride your collar, and I will tell you.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Put me astride your collar, and I will tell you.”
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading “Explain yourself,” I commanded.
Chapter 17 of The Little Match Man by Luigi Barzini holds 72 sentences, grouped into 15 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 72 sentences of The Little Match Man, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Little Match Man by Luigi Barzini exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 72 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 Little Match Man by Luigi Barzini on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1293 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54678 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54678, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 107 minutes of reading across 259 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Little Match Man section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Little Match Man 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 Match Man, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
