Chapter 21 of Three Soldiers is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Three Soldiers is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you. Must be silly to be a soldier. Dirty life.... But you like the country. So do I. You can't call this country.
Chapter 21 of Three Soldiers is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 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.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading ““I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.”
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “So do I. You can't call this country.”
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading “But you like the country.”
a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.
From this reading ““I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.”
soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime
From this reading “Dirty life....”
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading ““I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.”
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading “Must be silly to be a soldier.”
an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading “Must be silly to be a soldier.”
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 “I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading “I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But you like the country.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading So do I. You can't call this country.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading So do I. You can't call this country.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading But you like the country.
a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.
From this reading “I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.
soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime
From this reading Dirty life....
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading So do I. You can't call this country.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.
and nothing more
From this reading “I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Dirty life....
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading But you like the country.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading “I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Must be silly to be a soldier.
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading Must be silly to be a soldier.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So do I. You can't call this country.
an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading Must be silly to be a soldier.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But you like the country.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading So do I. You can't call this country.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I just thought, if you were a deserter, I might be able to help you.
Chapter 21 of Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos holds 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 21 holds 405 sentences of Three Soldiers, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 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 21 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.
