Chapter 4 of The play's the thing is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The play's the thing is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DWORNITSCHEK. Will four glasses be sufficient, sir? TURAI. Three more than sufficient. [DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.
Chapter 4 of The play's the thing is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading “Will four glasses be sufficient, sir?”
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading “[DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.”
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading “Will four glasses be sufficient, sir?”
plural of “leaf” — the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading “[DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.”
of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement but without being abundant
From this reading “Will four glasses be sufficient, sir?”
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading “[DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.”
an open receptacle for holding or displaying or serving articles or food
From this reading “[DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.”
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.
able to be negotiated or arranged by compromise
In this reading “[DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.”
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 with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Will four glasses be sufficient, sir?
earlier than; in front of
From this reading [DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DWORNITSCHEK.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading Will four glasses be sufficient, sir?
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading [DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading Will four glasses be sufficient, sir?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading [DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.
plural of “leaf” — the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading [DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Three more than sufficient.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading [DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading [DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading [DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading [DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.
term of address for a man
From this reading Will four glasses be sufficient, sir?
of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement but without being abundant
From this reading Will four glasses be sufficient, sir?
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading [DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Three more than sufficient.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading [DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Three more than sufficient.
an open receptacle for holding or displaying or serving articles or food
From this reading [DWORNITSCHEK _leaves one glass on the tray before_ TURAI, _he places the other three on the table.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TURAI.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Will four glasses be sufficient, sir?
Chapter 4 of The play's the thing by Ferenc Molnár holds 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 403 sentences of The play's the thing, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The play's the thing by Ferenc Molnár exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 play's the thing by Ferenc Molnár on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4064 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75451 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75451, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 338 minutes of reading across 813 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The play's the thing section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The play's the thing 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 play's the thing, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
