Chapter 5 of Three Plays is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Three Plays is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt. Matt's a good lad. MURTAGH COSGAR There's little fear of him leaving now. MARTIN DOURAS _(nervously)_ Maybe, maybe. But, mind you, Murtagh Cosgar, there are things--little things, mind you.
Chapter 5 of Three Plays is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading “MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.”
a boy or man
From this reading “Matt's a good lad.”
the act of departing
From this reading “MURTAGH COSGAR There's little fear of him leaving now.”
French bishop who is a patron saint of France (died in 397)
From this reading “MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.”
the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
From this reading “MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.”
possessive form of “matt” — the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
From this reading “Matt's a good lad.”
by chance
From this reading “MARTIN DOURAS _(nervously)_ Maybe, maybe.”
in an anxiously nervous manner
From this reading “MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.”
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 Matt's a good lad.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But, mind you, Murtagh Cosgar, there are things--little things, mind you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But, mind you, Murtagh Cosgar, there are things--little things, mind you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MURTAGH COSGAR There's little fear of him leaving now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading MURTAGH COSGAR There's little fear of him leaving now.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Matt's a good lad.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading MURTAGH COSGAR There's little fear of him leaving now.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.
a boy or man
From this reading Matt's a good lad.
the act of departing
From this reading MURTAGH COSGAR There's little fear of him leaving now.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading MURTAGH COSGAR There's little fear of him leaving now.
French bishop who is a patron saint of France (died in 397)
From this reading MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.
the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
From this reading MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.
possessive form of “matt” — the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
From this reading Matt's a good lad.
by chance
From this reading MARTIN DOURAS _(nervously)_ Maybe, maybe.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading But, mind you, Murtagh Cosgar, there are things--little things, mind you.
the act of making something slightly wet
From this reading MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MURTAGH COSGAR There's little fear of him leaving now.
in an anxiously nervous manner
From this reading MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading MURTAGH COSGAR There's little fear of him leaving now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading MURTAGH COSGAR There's little fear of him leaving now.
in or at that place or location
From this reading But, mind you, Murtagh Cosgar, there are things--little things, mind you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MURTAGH COSGAR There's little fear of him leaving now.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading But, mind you, Murtagh Cosgar, there are things--little things, mind you.
precisely as stated
From this reading MARTIN DOURAS _(moistening his mouth, and beginning very nervously)_ Ay, Matt.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading But, mind you, Murtagh Cosgar, there are things--little things, mind you.
Chapter 5 of Three Plays by Padraic Colum holds 409 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 5 holds 409 sentences of Three Plays, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Three Plays by Padraic Colum exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 409 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 5 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 Three Plays by Padraic Colum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3285 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11878 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11878, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 273 minutes of reading across 657 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Three Plays section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Three Plays 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 Three Plays, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
