Chapter 8 of Washington Square is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Washington Square is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I mean for Miss Sloper,” said Mrs. Montgomery. The Doctor liked this; it had the accent of sincerity. “Exactly; that’s the point. If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow. She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
Chapter 8 of Washington Square is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
distinctive manner of oral expression
From this reading “The Doctor liked this; it had the accent of sincerity.”
be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading “If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.”
a relatively small granular particle of a substance
From this reading “She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.”
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading “She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.”
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading “The Doctor liked this; it had the accent of sincerity.”
Canadian novelist (1874-1942)
From this reading ““I mean for Miss Sloper,” said Mrs. Montgomery.”
plural of “regard” — (usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point
From this reading “If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.”
an earnest and sincere feeling
From this reading “The Doctor liked this; it had the accent of sincerity.”
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 If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
distinctive manner of oral expression
From this reading The Doctor liked this; it had the accent of sincerity.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading The Doctor liked this; it had the accent of sincerity.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading “Exactly; that’s the point.
a boy or man
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “I mean for Miss Sloper,” said Mrs. Montgomery.
a young female
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
a relatively small granular particle of a substance
From this reading She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The Doctor liked this; it had the accent of sincerity.
state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I mean for Miss Sloper,” said Mrs. Montgomery.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The Doctor liked this; it had the accent of sincerity.
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading The Doctor liked this; it had the accent of sincerity.
take in marriage
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “I mean for Miss Sloper,” said Mrs. Montgomery.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading “I mean for Miss Sloper,” said Mrs. Montgomery.
Canadian novelist (1874-1942)
From this reading “I mean for Miss Sloper,” said Mrs. Montgomery.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading “I mean for Miss Sloper,” said Mrs. Montgomery.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Doctor liked this; it had the accent of sincerity.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading “Exactly; that’s the point.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
plural of “regard” — (usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I mean for Miss Sloper,” said Mrs. Montgomery.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
an earnest and sincere feeling
From this reading The Doctor liked this; it had the accent of sincerity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I mean for Miss Sloper,” said Mrs. Montgomery.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Exactly; that’s the point.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Doctor liked this; it had the accent of sincerity.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading The Doctor liked this; it had the accent of sincerity.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading She is the best creature in the world, and she could never do him a grain of injury.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading If my poor girl should marry your brother, everything—as regards her happiness—would depend on his being a good fellow.
Chapter 8 of Washington Square by Henry James holds 222 sentences, grouped into 45 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 8 holds 222 sentences of Washington Square, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Washington Square by Henry James exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 222 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 8 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 Washington Square by Henry James on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3988 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2870 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2870, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 332 minutes of reading across 798 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Washington Square section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Washington Square 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 Washington Square, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
