Chapter 12 of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'Yes, though I have never spoken to him.' 'Never spoken to the soldier?' 'Never.' 'Has either one treated you badly--deceived you?' 'No. Certainly not.'
Chapter 12 of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
to a severe or serious degree
From this reading “'Has either one treated you badly--deceived you?'”
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “'No. Certainly not.'”
past form of “deceive” — be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading “'Has either one treated you badly--deceived you?'”
one or the other of two
From this reading “'Has either one treated you badly--deceived you?'”
an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading “'Never spoken to the soldier?'”
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading “'Yes, though I have never spoken to him.'”
subjected to a physical (or chemical) treatment or action or agent
From this reading “'Has either one treated you badly--deceived you?'”
an affirmative
From this reading “'Yes, though I have never spoken to him.'”
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.
to a severe or serious degree
From this reading 'Has either one treated you badly--deceived you?'
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading 'No. Certainly not.'
past form of “deceive” — be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading 'Has either one treated you badly--deceived you?'
one or the other of two
From this reading 'Has either one treated you badly--deceived you?'
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'Has either one treated you badly--deceived you?'
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading 'Yes, though I have never spoken to him.'
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading 'Yes, though I have never spoken to him.'
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'Yes, though I have never spoken to him.'
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading 'Yes, though I have never spoken to him.'
not any; not one
From this reading 'No. Certainly not.'
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading 'No. Certainly not.'
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading 'Has either one treated you badly--deceived you?'
an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading 'Never spoken to the soldier?'
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading 'Yes, though I have never spoken to him.'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'Never spoken to the soldier?'
in spite of the fact that
From this reading 'Yes, though I have never spoken to him.'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 'Yes, though I have never spoken to him.'
subjected to a physical (or chemical) treatment or action or agent
From this reading 'Has either one treated you badly--deceived you?'
an affirmative
From this reading 'Yes, though I have never spoken to him.'
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 'Has either one treated you badly--deceived you?'
Chapter 12 of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament by Thomas Hardy holds 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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 12 holds 179 sentences of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 12 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 Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3405 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3326 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3326, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 283 minutes of reading across 681 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament 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 Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
