Chapter 4 of The outcast is here in full — 550 sentences across 110 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The outcast is here in full — 550 sentences across 110 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Sven Elversson sat looking straight before him. "I wished her to be my judge," he said to himself. "And so it has come about. She condemns me, like all the rest." She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
Chapter 4 of The outcast is here in full — 550 sentences across 110 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/110 · 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.
ruined by overcooking
From this reading “She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.”
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading “She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.”
third-person singular of “condemn” — express strong disapproval of
From this reading “She condemns me, like all the rest."”
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading “"I wished her to be my judge," he said to himself.”
an educational institution
From this reading “She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.”
successive (without a break)
From this reading “Sven Elversson sat looking straight before him.”
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading “She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.”
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading “"I wished her to be my judge," he said to himself.”
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 “Sven Elversson sat looking straight before him.”
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
In this reading “She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.”
In this reading “She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.”
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 She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "And so it has come about.
(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 She condemns me, like all the rest."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And so it has come about.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I wished her to be my judge," he said to himself.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Sven Elversson sat looking straight before him.
ruined by overcooking
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "And so it has come about.
third-person singular of “condemn” — express strong disapproval of
From this reading She condemns me, like all the rest."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sven Elversson sat looking straight before him.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "And so it has come about.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I wished her to be my judge," he said to himself.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "I wished her to be my judge," he said to himself.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Sven Elversson sat looking straight before him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading "I wished her to be my judge," he said to himself.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I wished her to be my judge," he said to himself.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "And so it has come about.
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading "I wished her to be my judge," he said to himself.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading She condemns me, like all the rest."
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Sven Elversson sat looking straight before him.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She condemns me, like all the rest."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "I wished her to be my judge," he said to himself.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading She condemns me, like all the rest."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I wished her to be my judge," he said to himself.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Sven Elversson sat looking straight before him.
express in words
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
an educational institution
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She condemns me, like all the rest."
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "And so it has come about.
successive (without a break)
From this reading Sven Elversson sat looking straight before him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sven Elversson sat looking straight before him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She condemns me, like all the rest."
a special situation
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I wished her to be my judge," he said to himself.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
at the time that
From this reading She went on to say that it was of the children she had been thinking when she had said it was a good thing the school had been burnt.
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading "I wished her to be my judge," he said to himself.
Chapter 4 of The outcast by Selma Lagerlöf holds 550 sentences, grouped into 110 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 4 holds 550 sentences of The outcast, unabridged, divided into 110 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The outcast by Selma Lagerlöf exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 550 sentences, grouped into 110 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 110 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 110 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 outcast by Selma Lagerlöf on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The outcast section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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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 outcast, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
