Chapter 4 of The Marriages is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Marriages is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“To intercede?” Adela was too bewildered to ask her to sit down. “With your father, you know. He doesn’t know, but he’ll have to.” Her “have” sounded like “’ave.”
Chapter 4 of The Marriages is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Adela was too bewildered to ask her to sit down.”
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
From this reading “Adela was too bewildered to ask her to sit down.”
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading “Adela was too bewildered to ask her to sit down.”
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading ““With your father, you know.”
act between parties with a view to reconciling differences
From this reading ““To intercede?””
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading ““With your father, you know.”
be seated
From this reading “Adela was too bewildered to ask her to sit down.”
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “Her “have” sounded like “’ave.””
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Adela was too bewildered to ask her to sit down.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Adela was too bewildered to ask her to sit down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her “have” sounded like “’ave.”
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
From this reading Adela was too bewildered to ask her to sit down.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He doesn’t know, but he’ll have to.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He doesn’t know, but he’ll have to.”
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Adela was too bewildered to ask her to sit down.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “With your father, you know.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He doesn’t know, but he’ll have to.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He doesn’t know, but he’ll have to.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He doesn’t know, but he’ll have to.”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Adela was too bewildered to ask her to sit down.
act between parties with a view to reconciling differences
From this reading “To intercede?”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “With your father, you know.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Her “have” sounded like “’ave.”
be seated
From this reading Adela was too bewildered to ask her to sit down.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading Her “have” sounded like “’ave.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “To intercede?”
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Adela was too bewildered to ask her to sit down.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Adela was too bewildered to ask her to sit down.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “With your father, you know.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “With your father, you know.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “With your father, you know.
Chapter 4 of The Marriages by Henry James holds 184 sentences, grouped into 37 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 4 holds 184 sentences of The Marriages, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Marriages by Henry James exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 184 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 4 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 Marriages by Henry James on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 723 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2436 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2436, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 60 minutes of reading across 145 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Marriages section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Marriages 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 Marriages, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
