Chapter 22 of The Magnificent Ambersons is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of The Magnificent Ambersons is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I’ve ‘done it’?” George cried. “What do you mean: I’ve done it? And what have I done?” Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
Chapter 22 of The Magnificent Ambersons is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
next to; at the side of
From this reading “Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.”
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading “Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.”
past form of “collapse” — break down, literally or metaphorically
From this reading “Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.”
the act of suspending something (hanging it from above so it moves freely)
From this reading “Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.”
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading “Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.”
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading “Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.”
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading “George cried.”
neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
From this reading “Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And what have I done?”
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
next to; at the side of
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
past form of “collapse” — break down, literally or metaphorically
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading George cried.
the act of suspending something (hanging it from above so it moves freely)
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “What do you mean: I’ve done it?
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading “I’ve ‘done it’?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading George cried.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading And what have I done?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading And what have I done?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’ve ‘done it’?”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “I’ve ‘done it’?”
without rigidity
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “What do you mean: I’ve done it?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What do you mean: I’ve done it?
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
a Caucasian
From this reading Amberson had collapsed into an easy chair beside his dressing-table, the white evening tie he had been about to put on dangling from his hand, which had fallen limply on the arm of the chair.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What do you mean: I’ve done it?
Chapter 22 of The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington holds 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 22 holds 142 sentences of The Magnificent Ambersons, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 22 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 Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6009 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8867 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8867, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 500 minutes of reading across 1202 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Magnificent Ambersons section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Magnificent Ambersons 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 Magnificent Ambersons, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
