Chapter 1 of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE _Old DEBAUCHEES._ A COMEDY. As it is Acted at the THEATRE-ROYAL in DRURY-LANE. By His MAJESTY's Servants. By the Author of the MODERN HUSBAND. _Warwick-Lane_, MDCCXXXII.
Chapter 1 of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
past form of “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading “As it is Acted at the THEATRE-ROYAL in DRURY-LANE.”
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “By the Author of the MODERN HUSBAND.”
light and humorous drama with a happy ending
From this reading “THE _Old DEBAUCHEES._ A COMEDY.”
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading “By the Author of the MODERN HUSBAND.”
possessive form of “majesty” — impressiveness in scale or proportion
From this reading “By His MAJESTY's Servants.”
belonging to the modern era; since the Middle Ages
From this reading “By the Author of the MODERN HUSBAND.”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading “By His MAJESTY's Servants.”
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.
In this reading “By the Author of the MODERN HUSBAND.”
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 THE _Old DEBAUCHEES._ A COMEDY.
past form of “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading As it is Acted at the THEATRE-ROYAL in DRURY-LANE.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As it is Acted at the THEATRE-ROYAL in DRURY-LANE.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading As it is Acted at the THEATRE-ROYAL in DRURY-LANE.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading By the Author of the MODERN HUSBAND.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By His MAJESTY's Servants.
light and humorous drama with a happy ending
From this reading THE _Old DEBAUCHEES._ A COMEDY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE _Old DEBAUCHEES._ A COMEDY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As it is Acted at the THEATRE-ROYAL in DRURY-LANE.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading By His MAJESTY's Servants.
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading By the Author of the MODERN HUSBAND.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading As it is Acted at the THEATRE-ROYAL in DRURY-LANE.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading As it is Acted at the THEATRE-ROYAL in DRURY-LANE.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading As it is Acted at the THEATRE-ROYAL in DRURY-LANE.
possessive form of “majesty” — impressiveness in scale or proportion
From this reading By His MAJESTY's Servants.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Warwick-Lane_, MDCCXXXII.
belonging to the modern era; since the Middle Ages
From this reading By the Author of the MODERN HUSBAND.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading By the Author of the MODERN HUSBAND.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading THE _Old DEBAUCHEES._ A COMEDY.
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading By His MAJESTY's Servants.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE _Old DEBAUCHEES._ A COMEDY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As it is Acted at the THEATRE-ROYAL in DRURY-LANE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Warwick-Lane_, MDCCXXXII.
Chapter 1 of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy by Henry Fielding holds 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 449 sentences of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy by Henry Fielding exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 Old Debauchees. A Comedy by Henry Fielding on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 894 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37923 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37923, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 74 minutes of reading across 179 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old Debauchees. A Comedy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy 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 Old Debauchees. A Comedy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
