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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 It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
AlthoughnounUS /ˈalthough/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading Although he spoke remarkably pure French he had a stiffness altogether Prussian.
altogether
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From this reading Although he spoke remarkably pure French he had a stiffness altogether Prussian.
arms
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From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
army
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From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
asconjunctionUS /æz/
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The militia companies themselves were not recognized as belligerents.
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
belligerents
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From this reading The militia companies themselves were not recognized as belligerents.
belonging
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From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
briefly
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From this reading The officer, a tall, lean man of fifty, briefly questioned Dominique.
ByprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
companies
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From this reading The militia companies themselves were not recognized as belligerents.
defended
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From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
Dominique
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From this reading The officer, a tall, lean man of fifty, briefly questioned Dominique.
en
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From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
everydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
examples
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From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
feared
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From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
fifty
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From this reading The officer, a tall, lean man of fifty, briefly questioned Dominique.
French
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From this reading Although he spoke remarkably pure French he had a stiffness altogether Prussian.
Frenchman
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From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
German
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From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
Germans
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From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Although he spoke remarkably pure French he had a stiffness altogether Prussian.
handsplural nounUS /hændz/
members of a ship’s crew
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
hepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Although he spoke remarkably pure French he had a stiffness altogether Prussian.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
homes
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
hoped
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From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
ItpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
lean
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From this reading The officer, a tall, lean man of fifty, briefly questioned Dominique.
levy
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From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
making
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From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
man
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From this reading The officer, a tall, lean man of fifty, briefly questioned Dominique.
masse
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From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
militia
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The militia companies themselves were not recognized as belligerents.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
officer
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The officer, a tall, lean man of fifty, briefly questioned Dominique.
peasants
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
prevent
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
Prussian
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From this reading Although he spoke remarkably pure French he had a stiffness altogether Prussian.
pure
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From this reading Although he spoke remarkably pure French he had a stiffness altogether Prussian.
questioned
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From this reading The officer, a tall, lean man of fifty, briefly questioned Dominique.
recognized
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The militia companies themselves were not recognized as belligerents.
regular
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
remarkably
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Although he spoke remarkably pure French he had a stiffness altogether Prussian.
rule
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
settled
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From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
shot
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From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
shouldmodal verbUS /ʃʊd/
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
spoke
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Although he spoke remarkably pure French he had a stiffness altogether Prussian.
staff
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
stiffness
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Although he spoke remarkably pure French he had a stiffness altogether Prussian.
taken
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
tall
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The officer, a tall, lean man of fifty, briefly questioned Dominique.
terriblenounUS /ˈterrible/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
theirdeterminerUS /ðer/
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
themselvespronounUS /ðemˈselvz/
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading The militia companies themselves were not recognized as belligerents.
theypronounUS /ðeɪ/
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
thus
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The militia companies themselves were not recognized as belligerents.
whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
whopronounUS /huː/
which person or people
From this reading By thus making terrible examples of the peasants who defended their homes, the Germans hoped to prevent the levy en masse, which they feared.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was a settled rule of the German staff that every Frenchman, not belonging to the regular army, taken with arms in his hands should be shot.
