Chapter 16 of Within an Inch of His Life is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Within an Inch of His Life is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of. But we have children." "Your duty is to think of your children," replied Dionysia. "I know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum. Perhaps you will be sorry to give us so much money."
Chapter 16 of Within an Inch of His Life is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “"I know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum.”
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading “"Your duty is to think of your children," replied Dionysia.”
plural of “franc” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 centimes
From this reading “"I know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum.”
used when we are both doing the action and receiving it
From this reading “"Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.”
being one more than fifteen
From this reading “"I know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum.”
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading “Perhaps you will be sorry to give us so much money."”
a quantity of money
From this reading “"I know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum.”
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading “"I know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum.”
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 know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Perhaps you will be sorry to give us so much money."
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "I know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But we have children."
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading But we have children."
dearly loved
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
an orgiastic festival in ancient Greece in honor of Dionysus (= Bacchus)
From this reading "Your duty is to think of your children," replied Dionysia.
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading "Your duty is to think of your children," replied Dionysia.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
plural of “franc” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 centimes
From this reading "I know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Perhaps you will be sorry to give us so much money."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Your duty is to think of your children," replied Dionysia.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "I know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Perhaps you will be sorry to give us so much money."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
and nothing more
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
used when we are both doing the action and receiving it
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
by chance
From this reading Perhaps you will be sorry to give us so much money."
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "Your duty is to think of your children," replied Dionysia.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
being one more than fifteen
From this reading "I know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Perhaps you will be sorry to give us so much money."
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading Perhaps you will be sorry to give us so much money."
a quantity of money
From this reading "I know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading "I know sixteen thousand francs is a big sum.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Perhaps you will be sorry to give us so much money."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Perhaps you will be sorry to give us so much money."
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading "Ah, my dear young lady!" she said, "never would my old man and myself have asked you for money, if we had only ourselves to think of.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Your duty is to think of your children," replied Dionysia.
Chapter 16 of Within an Inch of His Life by Emile Gaboriau holds 272 sentences, grouped into 55 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 16 holds 272 sentences of Within an Inch of His Life, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Within an Inch of His Life by Emile Gaboriau exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 272 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 16 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.
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Yes. All 10818 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3336 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
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About 600 minutes of reading across 2164 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Within an Inch of His Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Within an Inch of His Life 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 Within an Inch of His Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
