Chapter 7 of The Vinegar Saint is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Vinegar Saint is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I’m not!” “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.” His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth grew tense. “That would be silly.” “So is the commandment, ‘Thou shall not kill.’”
Chapter 7 of The Vinegar Saint is here in full — 402 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.
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading ““If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.””
something that is commanded
From this reading ““So is the commandment, ‘Thou shall not kill.’””
accepted or habitual practice
From this reading ““If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.””
to or in any or all places
From this reading ““If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.””
reduced in size as by squeezing together
From this reading “His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth grew tense.”
a room in a school where lessons take place
From this reading ““If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.””
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading ““That would be silly.””
a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
From this reading “His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth grew tense.”
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 “His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth grew tense.”
In this reading ““If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.””
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 His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth grew tense.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth grew tense.
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “That would be silly.”
something that is commanded
From this reading “So is the commandment, ‘Thou shall not kill.’”
accepted or habitual practice
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
to or in any or all places
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
opinion or judgment
From this reading His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth grew tense.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth grew tense.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth grew tense.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’m not!”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “So is the commandment, ‘Thou shall not kill.’”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
and nothing more
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading “So is the commandment, ‘Thou shall not kill.’”
plural of “line” — a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth grew tense.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth grew tense.
reduced in size as by squeezing together
From this reading His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth grew tense.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “I’m not!”
a room in a school where lessons take place
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “So is the commandment, ‘Thou shall not kill.’”
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading “That would be silly.”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “So is the commandment, ‘Thou shall not kill.’”
a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
From this reading His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth grew tense.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading “So is the commandment, ‘Thou shall not kill.’”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “If it were the custom everywhere to walk into the schoolroom backwards, I should do just that.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “That would be silly.”
Chapter 7 of The Vinegar Saint by Hughes Mearns holds 402 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 7 holds 402 sentences of The Vinegar Saint, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Vinegar Saint by Hughes Mearns exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 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 7 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 Vinegar Saint by Hughes Mearns on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Vinegar Saint section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Vinegar Saint 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 Vinegar Saint, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
