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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 The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
andeterminerUS /æn/
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading They presented an exterior of three windows and a narrow round-topped hall-door which was a confession of poverty in itself.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
away
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From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
back
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From this reading The roadway in front of the houses led only to the back entrance of the church.
behindprepositionUS /bɪˈhaɪnd/
at or toward the back of something
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
bornnounUS /born/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
byprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
church
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From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
confession
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From this reading They presented an exterior of three windows and a narrow round-topped hall-door which was a confession of poverty in itself.
drab
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From this reading The houses were drab and ugly, with untidy grass-plots in front.
entrance
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From this reading The roadway in front of the houses led only to the back entrance of the church.
exterior
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From this reading They presented an exterior of three windows and a narrow round-topped hall-door which was a confession of poverty in itself.
field
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From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
front
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The roadway in front of the houses led only to the back entrance of the church.
grass-plots
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From this reading The houses were drab and ugly, with untidy grass-plots in front.
Gray
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From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
greatnounUS /great/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
grew
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From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
hall-door
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From this reading They presented an exterior of three windows and a narrow round-topped hall-door which was a confession of poverty in itself.
hid
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From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
high
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
house
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From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
houses
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From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The roadway in front of the houses led only to the back entrance of the church.
itselfpronounUS /ˌɪtˈself/
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading They presented an exterior of three windows and a narrow round-topped hall-door which was a confession of poverty in itself.
led
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From this reading The roadway in front of the houses led only to the back entrance of the church.
line
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From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
littlenounUS /little/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
Mary
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From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
mean
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From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
narrow
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From this reading They presented an exterior of three windows and a narrow round-topped hall-door which was a confession of poverty in itself.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
onepronounUS /wʌn/
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
only
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From this reading The roadway in front of the houses led only to the back entrance of the church.
OverprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/
above and across; more than
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
playground
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
poverty
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From this reading They presented an exterior of three windows and a narrow round-topped hall-door which was a confession of poverty in itself.
presented
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From this reading They presented an exterior of three windows and a narrow round-topped hall-door which was a confession of poverty in itself.
roadway
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The roadway in front of the houses led only to the back entrance of the church.
rooms
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
round-topped
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From this reading They presented an exterior of three windows and a narrow round-topped hall-door which was a confession of poverty in itself.
schools
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
shut
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
sky
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
squat
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From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
surrounded
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
Terrace
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
ThedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
themselvespronounUS /ðemˈselvz/
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They presented an exterior of three windows and a narrow round-topped hall-door which was a confession of poverty in itself.
three
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They presented an exterior of three windows and a narrow round-topped hall-door which was a confession of poverty in itself.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The roadway in front of the houses led only to the back entrance of the church.
towardsprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrdz/
in the direction of
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
ugly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The houses were drab and ugly, with untidy grass-plots in front.
untidy
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The houses were drab and ugly, with untidy grass-plots in front.
wall
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The houses were drab and ugly, with untidy grass-plots in front.
whereconjunctionUS /wer/
in or at the place that
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading They presented an exterior of three windows and a narrow round-topped hall-door which was a confession of poverty in itself.
windows
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
Wistaria
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Over against the windows was the playground of the church schools, surrounded by a high wall that shut away field and sky from the front rooms of Wistaria Terrace.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading The houses were drab and ugly, with untidy grass-plots in front.
womanhood
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The house where Mary Gray was born and grew towards womanhood was one of a squat line of mean little houses that hid themselves behind a great church.
