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adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
able
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
air
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From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
all
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From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
America
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
AtprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
attempts
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
back
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
beheld
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
believenounUS /ˈbelieve/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
bring
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From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
came
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From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
convinced
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
facts
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
few
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was one of the few occasions in her life when Lorraine was nervous.
firstnounUS /first/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
forced
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
greatnounUS /great/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
Hal
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
hardly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
heard
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
herselfpronounUS /hərˈself/
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
hide
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
house
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
joyousness
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
Kensington
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
knownounUS /know/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
lifenounUS /life/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading It was one of the few occasions in her life when Lorraine was nervous.
Lorraine
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was one of the few occasions in her life when Lorraine was nervous.
Lorraine's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
marriage
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
Mrs
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
nervous
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was one of the few occasions in her life when Lorraine was nervous.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
NothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
occasions
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was one of the few occasions in her life when Lorraine was nervous.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
onepronounUS /wʌn/
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was one of the few occasions in her life when Lorraine was nervous.
pretty
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
pronounced
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
shepronounUS /ʃiː/
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
shock
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
somewhat
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
sordid
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
stoodnounUS /stood/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
thempronounUS /ðem/
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
thoroughly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
triumph
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
untilprepositionUS /ənˈtɪl/
up to a particular time
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
Vivian's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
want
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
WhenconjunctionUS /wen/
at the time that
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
