Chapter 4 of Three Soldiers is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Three Soldiers is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Go an' get a room in a hotel if you don't like it.” “That's it, Bill, tell him where to get off.” “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice. “Don't you know that taps has blown?” The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.
Chapter 4 of Three Soldiers is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 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.
being moved or acted upon by moving air or vapor
From this reading ““Don't you know that taps has blown?””
a sudden noisy expulsion of air from the lungs that clears the air passages; a common symptom of upper respiratory infection or bronchitis or pneumonia or tuberculosis
From this reading “The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.”
plural of “feller” — a person who fells trees
From this reading ““If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.”
possessive form of “grey” — United States writer of western adventure novels (1875-1939)
From this reading “The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.”
plausible glib talk (especially useful to a salesperson)
From this reading “The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.”
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading ““If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.”
(military) signal to turn the lights out
From this reading ““Don't you know that taps has blown?””
a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
From this reading “The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.”
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 “Go an' get a room in a hotel if you don't like it.”
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “Go an' get a room in a hotel if you don't like it.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading “That's it, Bill, tell him where to get off.”
put or pin the blame on
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
being moved or acted upon by moving air or vapor
From this reading “Don't you know that taps has blown?”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
a sudden noisy expulsion of air from the lungs that clears the air passages; a common symptom of upper respiratory infection or bronchitis or pneumonia or tuberculosis
From this reading The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Go an' get a room in a hotel if you don't like it.”
apart from; not including
From this reading The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.
plural of “feller” — a person who fells trees
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Go an' get a room in a hotel if you don't like it.”
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Go an' get a room in a hotel if you don't like it.”
having an easygoing and cheerful disposition
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
possessive form of “grey” — United States writer of western adventure novels (1875-1939)
From this reading The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Don't you know that taps has blown?”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “That's it, Bill, tell him where to get off.”
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading “Go an' get a room in a hotel if you don't like it.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “Go an' get a room in a hotel if you don't like it.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Go an' get a room in a hotel if you don't like it.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Go an' get a room in a hotel if you don't like it.”
the basic unit of thermodynamic temperature adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Don't you know that taps has blown?”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “Go an' get a room in a hotel if you don't like it.”
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “That's it, Bill, tell him where to get off.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
plausible glib talk (especially useful to a salesperson)
From this reading The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading “Go an' get a room in a hotel if you don't like it.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.
(military) signal to turn the lights out
From this reading “Don't you know that taps has blown?”
express in words
From this reading “That's it, Bill, tell him where to get off.”
a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
From this reading The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Don't you know that taps has blown?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That's it, Bill, tell him where to get off.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “That's it, Bill, tell him where to get off.”
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The tent was silent except for the fast patter of the rain and Bill Grey's coughing.
in or at the place that
From this reading “That's it, Bill, tell him where to get off.”
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If you fellers don't quit yellin', I'll put the whole blame lot of you on K. P.,” came the sergeant's good-natured voice.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Go an' get a room in a hotel if you don't like it.”
Chapter 4 of Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 4 holds 414 sentences of Three Soldiers, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 4 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 Soldiers by John Dos Passos on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10744 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6362 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6362, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2149 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Three Soldiers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of Three Soldiers 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 Soldiers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
