Chapter 1 of The Plain Man and His Wife is here in full — 552 sentences across 111 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Plain Man and His Wife is here in full — 552 sentences across 111 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE OLD WIVES' TALE," "BURIED ALIVE," ETC. The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words: "Oh, Lord! Another day! What a grind!"
Chapter 1 of The Plain Man and His Wife is here in full — 552 sentences across 111 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.
(Old Testament) in Judeo-Christian mythology; the first man and the husband of Eve and the progenitor of the human race
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE OLD WIVES' TALE," "BURIED ALIVE," ETC.”
third-person singular of “greet” — express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading “The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:”
press or grind with a crushing noise
From this reading “What a grind!"”
involving the mind or an intellectual process
From this reading “The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:”
the arrangement of the body and its limbs
From this reading “The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:”
your usual mood
From this reading “The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:”
plural of “wake” — the consequences of an event (especially a catastrophic event)
From this reading “The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:”
plural of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE OLD WIVES' TALE," "BURIED ALIVE," ETC.”
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 plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
(followed by “to”) in agreement with or accordant with
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
(Old Testament) in Judeo-Christian mythology; the first man and the husband of Eve and the progenitor of the human race
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE OLD WIVES' TALE," "BURIED ALIVE," ETC.
possessing life
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE OLD WIVES' TALE," "BURIED ALIVE," ETC.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading Another day!
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE OLD WIVES' TALE," "BURIED ALIVE," ETC.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
placed in a grave
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE OLD WIVES' TALE," "BURIED ALIVE," ETC.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE OLD WIVES' TALE," "BURIED ALIVE," ETC.
communicated in words
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
third-person singular of “greet” — express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
press or grind with a crushing noise
From this reading What a grind!"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading "Oh, Lord!
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
involving the mind or an intellectual process
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE OLD WIVES' TALE," "BURIED ALIVE," ETC.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, Lord!
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE OLD WIVES' TALE," "BURIED ALIVE," ETC.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
the arrangement of the body and its limbs
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
with speed
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE OLD WIVES' TALE," "BURIED ALIVE," ETC.
your usual mood
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE OLD WIVES' TALE," "BURIED ALIVE," ETC.
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
plural of “wake” — the consequences of an event (especially a catastrophic event)
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What a grind!"
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
plural of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE OLD WIVES' TALE," "BURIED ALIVE," ETC.
the words that are spoken
From this reading The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:
Chapter 1 of The Plain Man and His Wife by Arnold Bennett holds 552 sentences, grouped into 111 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 552 sentences of The Plain Man and His Wife, unabridged, divided into 111 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Plain Man and His Wife by Arnold Bennett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 552 sentences, grouped into 111 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 111 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 111 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 Plain Man and His Wife by Arnold Bennett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1114 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13449 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13449, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 92 minutes of reading across 223 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Plain Man and His Wife 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 Plain Man and His Wife, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
