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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 “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
act
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From this reading “The elephants did their act too—and the children fed them peanuts!
all
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From this reading And the children all laughed too and clapped their hands.
AndconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
any
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From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
aroundprepositionUS /ərˈaʊnd/
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
band
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From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
byprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
child
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From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
children
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From this reading And the children all laughed too and clapped their hands.
circus
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From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
clapped
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From this reading And the children all laughed too and clapped their hands.
clown
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From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
clowns
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From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
comenounUS /come/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
elephants
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From this reading “The elephants did their act too—and the children fed them peanuts!
fed
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From this reading “The elephants did their act too—and the children fed them peanuts!
feet
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From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
finenounUS /fine/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
giggled
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From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
handsplural nounUS /hændz/
members of a ship’s crew
From this reading And the children all laughed too and clapped their hands.
happier
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From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
happy
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From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
head
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From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
how
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From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
hung
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From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
jokes
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From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
jolly
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From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
knees
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From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
lady
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From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
laugh
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
laughed
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And the children all laughed too and clapped their hands.
made
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From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
makenounUS /make/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
marched
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From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
merry
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From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
oh
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From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
old
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/
above and across; more than
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
parasol
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
peanuts
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “The elephants did their act too—and the children fed them peanuts!
people
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
ponies
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
ran
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
sick
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
some
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
strucknounUS /struck/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
swung
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
theirdeterminerUS /ðer/
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading And the children all laughed too and clapped their hands.
thempronounUS /ðem/
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading “The elephants did their act too—and the children fed them peanuts!
then
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From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
there
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
theypronounUS /ðeɪ/
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
thosedeterminerUS /ðoʊz/
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
thoughtnounUS /thought/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
tight-rope
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
too
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And the children all laughed too and clapped their hands.
trapezes
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
tune
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
up
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From this reading “And then the circus band struck up a fine tune and the clowns marched about and made jokes and giggled—oh, how they did laugh!
walked
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “But happier than any child, happier than any of the circus people who had come to make the sick children happy, was the merry, jolly old clown who had thought it all up!”
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
whopronounUS /huː/
which person or people
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
yard
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The lady walked the tight-rope with a parasol over her head, ponies ran around the yard, and there were some trapezes for those who swung and hung by their knees and their feet.
