Chapter 1 of This marrying is here in full — 289 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of This marrying is here in full — 289 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“You should have been a bridesmaid,” said Aunt Caroline. “Everyone was so surprised that you weren’t. And the yellow would have been so becoming with you so dark.” Horatia smiled and her smile carried no regrets for her lost opportunity. Everyone, as her aunt said, had been surprised at her refusal to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of her friend.
Chapter 1 of This marrying is here in full — 289 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/57 · 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.
according with custom or propriety
From this reading “And the yellow would have been so becoming with you so dark.””
an unmarried woman who attends the bride at a wedding
From this reading ““You should have been a bridesmaid,” said Aunt Caroline.”
of or relating to the life and times of kings Charles I or Charles II of England
From this reading ““You should have been a bridesmaid,” said Aunt Caroline.”
every person
From this reading ““Everyone was so surprised that you weren’t.”
the act of refusing
From this reading “Everyone, as her aunt said, had been surprised at her refusal to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of her friend.”
a polite refusal of an invitation
From this reading “Horatia smiled and her smile carried no regrets for her lost opportunity.”
the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed
From this reading “Everyone, as her aunt said, had been surprised at her refusal to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of her friend.”
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading “And the yellow would have been so becoming with you so dark.””
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.
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 “You should have been a bridesmaid,” said Aunt Caroline.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And the yellow would have been so becoming with you so dark.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Everyone, as her aunt said, had been surprised at her refusal to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of her friend.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Everyone, as her aunt said, had been surprised at her refusal to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of her friend.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading “You should have been a bridesmaid,” said Aunt Caroline.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Everyone, as her aunt said, had been surprised at her refusal to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of her friend.
according with custom or propriety
From this reading And the yellow would have been so becoming with you so dark.”
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “You should have been a bridesmaid,” said Aunt Caroline.
an unmarried woman who attends the bride at a wedding
From this reading “You should have been a bridesmaid,” said Aunt Caroline.
of or relating to the life and times of kings Charles I or Charles II of England
From this reading “You should have been a bridesmaid,” said Aunt Caroline.
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading Horatia smiled and her smile carried no regrets for her lost opportunity.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading And the yellow would have been so becoming with you so dark.”
every person
From this reading “Everyone was so surprised that you weren’t.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Horatia smiled and her smile carried no regrets for her lost opportunity.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Everyone, as her aunt said, had been surprised at her refusal to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of her friend.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Everyone, as her aunt said, had been surprised at her refusal to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of her friend.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “You should have been a bridesmaid,” said Aunt Caroline.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Horatia smiled and her smile carried no regrets for her lost opportunity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Horatia smiled and her smile carried no regrets for her lost opportunity.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading Horatia smiled and her smile carried no regrets for her lost opportunity.
not any; not one
From this reading Horatia smiled and her smile carried no regrets for her lost opportunity.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Everyone, as her aunt said, had been surprised at her refusal to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of her friend.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading Horatia smiled and her smile carried no regrets for her lost opportunity.
the act of refusing
From this reading Everyone, as her aunt said, had been surprised at her refusal to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of her friend.
a polite refusal of an invitation
From this reading Horatia smiled and her smile carried no regrets for her lost opportunity.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “You should have been a bridesmaid,” said Aunt Caroline.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading “You should have been a bridesmaid,” said Aunt Caroline.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Horatia smiled and her smile carried no regrets for her lost opportunity.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Horatia smiled and her smile carried no regrets for her lost opportunity.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “Everyone was so surprised that you weren’t.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading “Everyone was so surprised that you weren’t.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Everyone was so surprised that you weren’t.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And the yellow would have been so becoming with you so dark.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Everyone, as her aunt said, had been surprised at her refusal to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of her friend.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Everyone was so surprised that you weren’t.
the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed
From this reading Everyone, as her aunt said, had been surprised at her refusal to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of her friend.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Everyone was so surprised that you weren’t.
in the company of; together with
From this reading And the yellow would have been so becoming with you so dark.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading And the yellow would have been so becoming with you so dark.”
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading And the yellow would have been so becoming with you so dark.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You should have been a bridesmaid,” said Aunt Caroline.
Chapter 1 of This marrying by Margaret Culkin Banning holds 289 sentences, grouped into 58 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 1 holds 289 sentences of This marrying, unabridged, divided into 58 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of This marrying by Margaret Culkin Banning exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 289 sentences, grouped into 58 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 58 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 58 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 1 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in This marrying, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
