Chapter 16 of The Vicar's People is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Vicar's People is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Well, I'll help you," he said. "You want to know why I have not been at church lately?" "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing." "Too wicked!" said Geoffrey. "Mind too much taken up with other things."
Chapter 16 of The Vicar's People is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games
From this reading “"Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."”
(baseball) playing the position of catcher on a baseball team
From this reading “"Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."”
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading “"You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"”
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading “"Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."”
in the recent past
From this reading “"You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"”
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading “"Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."”
a Roman Catholic priest who acts for another higher-ranking clergyman
From this reading “"Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."”
morally bad in principle or practice
From this reading “"Too wicked!" said Geoffrey.”
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 “"Mind too much taken up with other things."”
In this reading “"You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"”
In this reading “"Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"
round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"
(baseball) playing the position of catcher on a baseball team
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading "You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Too wicked!" said Geoffrey.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Well, I'll help you," he said.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading "Well, I'll help you," he said.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, I'll help you," he said.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"
in the recent past
From this reading "You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading "Mind too much taken up with other things."
to a great degree or extent
From this reading "Mind too much taken up with other things."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading "Mind too much taken up with other things."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Well, I'll help you," he said.
express in speech
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading "Mind too much taken up with other things."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
a special situation
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading "Mind too much taken up with other things."
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "Too wicked!" said Geoffrey.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Mind too much taken up with other things."
a Roman Catholic priest who acts for another higher-ranking clergyman
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, I'll help you," he said.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "You want to know why I have not been at church lately?"
morally bad in principle or practice
From this reading "Too wicked!" said Geoffrey.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Mind too much taken up with other things."
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes," said the vicar, eagerly catching at the ball thrown to him, "I did want to speak to you about that for one thing."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, I'll help you," he said.
Chapter 16 of The Vicar's People by George Manville Fenn holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 16 holds 410 sentences of The Vicar's People, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Vicar's People by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Vicar's People by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8076 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35370 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35370, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1616 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Vicar's People section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Vicar's People 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 Vicar's People, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
