Chapter 5 of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
[_LESLIE runs on carrying some flowers. WILFRID follows, leisurely, smoking a cigarette._] LESLIE. Have I come back a minute too soon? [_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again! You are troubled.
Chapter 5 of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
-ing form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading “[_LESLIE runs on carrying some flowers.”
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “WILFRID follows, leisurely, smoking a cigarette._] LESLIE.”
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “[_LESLIE runs on carrying some flowers.”
third-person singular of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading “WILFRID follows, leisurely, smoking a cigarette._] LESLIE.”
in an unhurried way or at one's convenience
From this reading “WILFRID follows, leisurely, smoking a cigarette._] LESLIE.”
plural of “run” — a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely
From this reading “[_LESLIE runs on carrying some flowers.”
the act of smoking tobacco or other substances
From this reading “WILFRID follows, leisurely, smoking a cigarette._] LESLIE.”
characterized by or indicative of distress or affliction or danger or need
From this reading “You are troubled.”
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 “[_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again!”
be restored
In this reading “Have I come back a minute too soon?”
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 WILFRID follows, leisurely, smoking a cigarette._] LESLIE.
anew
From this reading [_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again!
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading You are troubled.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading [_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again!
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Have I come back a minute too soon?
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading [_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again!
-ing form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading [_LESLIE runs on carrying some flowers.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading WILFRID follows, leisurely, smoking a cigarette._] LESLIE.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Have I come back a minute too soon?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again!
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading [_LESLIE runs on carrying some flowers.
third-person singular of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading WILFRID follows, leisurely, smoking a cigarette._] LESLIE.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading [_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Have I come back a minute too soon?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Have I come back a minute too soon?
in an unhurried way or at one's convenience
From this reading WILFRID follows, leisurely, smoking a cigarette._] LESLIE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [_LESLIE runs on carrying some flowers.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading [_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again!
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading Have I come back a minute too soon?
information about recent and important events
From this reading [_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading [_LESLIE runs on carrying some flowers.
plural of “run” — a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely
From this reading [_LESLIE runs on carrying some flowers.
cause to go somewhere
From this reading [_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again!
the act of smoking tobacco or other substances
From this reading WILFRID follows, leisurely, smoking a cigarette._] LESLIE.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading [_LESLIE runs on carrying some flowers.
in the near future
From this reading Have I come back a minute too soon?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading [_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again!
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Have I come back a minute too soon?
characterized by or indicative of distress or affliction or danger or need
From this reading You are troubled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WILFRID follows, leisurely, smoking a cigarette._] LESLIE.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading [_To DUNSTAN._] You have had bad news; ah, don’t send me away again!
Chapter 5 of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts by Arthur Wing Pinero holds 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 5 holds 427 sentences of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts by Arthur Wing Pinero exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 5 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 Profligate: A Play in Four Acts by Arthur Wing Pinero on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2154 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49778 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49778, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 179 minutes of reading across 431 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts 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 Profligate: A Play in Four Acts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
