Chapter 16 of The Secret Garden is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
After another week of rain the high arch of blue sky appeared again and the sun which poured down was quite hot.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Secret Garden is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I WON’T!” SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment. “Tell Colin that I can’t come and see him yet,” she said to Martha. “I’m very busy in the garden.” Martha looked rather frightened.
Chapter 16 of The Secret Garden is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading ““I’m very busy in the garden.””
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading “SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.”
inflected form of “forget” — dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading “SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.”
made afraid
From this reading “Martha looked rather frightened.”
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading ““I’m very busy in the garden.””
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading “SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.”
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading “SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.”
tending to return to an earlier state
From this reading “SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.”
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 SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
in addition
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “I’m very busy in the garden.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Tell Colin that I can’t come and see him yet,” she said to Martha.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Tell Colin that I can’t come and see him yet,” she said to Martha.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
inflected form of “forget” — dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
set up or found
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
made afraid
From this reading Martha looked rather frightened.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading “I’m very busy in the garden.”
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Tell Colin that I can’t come and see him yet,” she said to Martha.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I WON’T!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’m very busy in the garden.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
immediately past
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Martha looked rather frightened.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Tell Colin that I can’t come and see him yet,” she said to Martha.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
a particular point in time
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
on the contrary
From this reading Martha looked rather frightened.
tending to return to an earlier state
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “Tell Colin that I can’t come and see him yet,” she said to Martha.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
express in words
From this reading “Tell Colin that I can’t come and see him yet,” she said to Martha.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
up to a particular time
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
precisely as stated
From this reading “I’m very busy in the garden.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I WON’T!”
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading SAID MARY They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
but in spite of that
From this reading “Tell Colin that I can’t come and see him yet,” she said to Martha.
Use these questions to verify literal comprehension before continuing to the next chapter.
What is the central narrative or theme conveyed in this section of Chapter 15: Nest Building?
Which core linguistic virtue or character attribute is emphasized in this passage?
According to the text: "After another week of rain the high arch of blue sky appeared again and...", what tone does the author establish?
Repeat the selected source lines aloud to practice rhythm, stress, and clear US English pronunciation.
Chapter 16 of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett holds 166 sentences, grouped into 34 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 16 holds 166 sentences of The Secret Garden, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 166 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 16 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 Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5579 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #113 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #113, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 464 minutes of reading across 1116 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret Garden section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Secret Garden 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 Secret Garden, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
