Read Nonsense Books in English — and understand every line.
Read “Nonsense Books” by Edward Lear in English. Tap any word for its meaning, hear how it sounds, and save it to a memory-driven review schedule.
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DICTIONARY
TRANSLATION
apreciar, atesorar
to feel warm affection for; to hold something dear.
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The opening
How “Nonsense Books” begins
To the great-grandchildren, grandnephews, and grandnieces of Edward, 13th Earl of Derby, this book of drawings and verses ( The greater part of which were originally made and composed for their parents ,) As dedicated by the author, Edward Lear.
London, 1862.
There was an Old Man with a nose, Who said, “If you choose to suppose That my nose is too long, you are certainly wrong!” That remarkable Man with a nose.
There was a Young Person of Smyrna, Whose Grandmother threatened to burn her; But she seized on the Cat, and said, “Granny, burn that!
Public domain — the whole book is yours to read in the app.
Vocabulary
Words to know before you start
The 27 words you will meet most often in “Nonsense Books” at level B2 and above, with how many times each one appears.
- owl
- nonsense
- decorate
- goose
- purchase
- kangaroo
- verse
- feather
- surround
- volume
- rush
- scream
- shore
- leave
- conduct
- nest
- perceive
- immense
- perch
- exclaim
- seize
- instantly
- pumpkin
- sage
- sparrow
- wander
- compose
The meanings here are the everyday ones. In the reader, tap a word to see the sense this sentence uses.
Grammar
Grammar you will meet in “Nonsense Books”
How much of each kind of grammar “Nonsense Books” uses, counted in the sentences the Reader marks: per 10,000 words, compared with the other books in the library.
- Relative clauses
- Passive voice
- Phrasal verbs
- -ing forms and to-infinitives
- Modal verbs
- Perfect tenses
- Reported speech
- Conditionals
Constructions to look for
- Past participle clause A man is showing a crowd of children a book titled A Book of Nonsense.
- Subject relative clause with who/that/which There is an old person of Mold who looks like a giant puff ball.
- Phrasal verb with 'down' A large dog is looking down on his owner, the old man of Leghorn.
Counted the way the Reader shows it: one card per construction in a sentence. Open the book in the Reader and tap a highlighted phrase to see the rule.
Library
What you get while you read
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Tap to translate
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Save what matters
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Grammar in context
Notable structures light up in the text, with a short explanation tied to the sentence you're reading.
About the book
Why Nonsense Books is a great book to read in English
The Owl and the Pussy-cat, the Jumblies, and hundreds of limericks about improbable people with improbable noses. Edward Lear's nonsense verse is pure play — short, silly, and rhythmic, which makes it a disarmingly pleasant way to absorb English sounds and structures.
On LangOrbit you read “Nonsense Books” with a safety net: the translation is one tap away when a sentence runs long, every word opens its meaning in context and can be saved for spaced-repetition review, and the grammar behind the trickier lines is explained right where you meet it.
Keep reading
More books to read in English
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Nonsense Books
Read “Nonsense Books” by Edward Lear in English. Tap any word for its meaning, hear how it sounds, and save it to a memory-driven review schedule.
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