Hone your skills in identifying different types of figurative language through these two exercises.
More resources on figurative language:
Exercise 1
Each sentence below contains one of the four figures of speech, namely simile, metaphor, personification, and hyperbole. Identify which sentence contains which figure of speech. Few sentences may contain more than one figure of speech.
1. The forest welcomed the rain after a long dry summer that parched the region.
2. I was as desperate to get off the roller coaster as a flopping fish on the line.
3. The volcano burped ash and rocks, signaling that more is to come.
4. In 80s a clay-court player’s chance of winning Wimbledon title was no more than winning a lottery.
5. His joke was as gross as a cockroach in soup.
6. Amazon is a 1000-pound gorilla in retail.
7. The journalists swooped in as the celebrity actor emerged from the airport.
8. This coffee is so strong that it can get up and walk away.
9. This cake can feed the entire village.
10. In the 80s, the ravines, buzzing with dacoits, were as lawless as stormy wind.
Key part of the sentence that converts it into figurative language has been underlined.
1. The forest welcomed the rain after a long dry summer that parched the region. [Personification]
2. I was as desperate to get off the roller coaster as a flopping fish on the line. [Simile]
3. The volcano burped ash and rocks, signaling that more is to come. [Metaphor and Personification]
4. In 80s a clay-court player’s chance of winning Wimbledon title was no more than winning a lottery. [Simile]
5. His joke was as gross as a cockroach in soup. [Hyperbole and Simile]
6. Amazon is a 1000-pound gorilla in retail. [Metaphor]
7. The journalists swooped in as the celebrity actor emerged from the airport. [Metaphor]
8. This coffee is so strong that it can get up and walk away. [Personification]
9. This cake can feed the entire village. [Hyperbole]
10. In the 80s, the ravines, buzzing with dacoits, were as lawless as stormy wind. [Simile]
Exercise 2
Each sentence below contains one of the five figures of speech, namely personification, onomatopoeia, parallelism, idiom, and alliteration. Identify which sentence contains which figure of speech. Few sentences may contain more than one figure of speech.
1. Considering their dismal past record, the win in the last match seems to be a flash in the pan.
2. The guffaws stopped when the warden, known as a strict disciplinarian, entered the mess.
3. The company carpet-bombed television and digital media with advertisements.
4. The surfers struggled against the waves.
5. I came, I saw, I conquered. Julius Caesar
6. When rebuffed, the man muttered few expletives and left.
7. A grocer’s daughter with a steely resolve, she was loved and loathed in equal measure as she crushed the unions, privatized vast swathes of British industry, clashed with the European Union and fought a war to recover the Falkland Islands from Argentine invaders. Source
8. The business has started to gain momentum after months of struggle. We finally see light at the end of tunnel.
9. The students in the last row stopped giggling the moment teacher stared at them.
10. The woodpecker banged its beak against the bark of the tree.
Key part of the sentence that converts it into figurative language has been underlined.
1. Considering their dismal past record, the win in the last match seems to be a flash in the pan. [Idiom]
2. The guffaws stopped when the warden, known as a strict disciplinarian, entered the mess. [Onomatopoeia]
3. The company carpet-bombed television and digital media with advertisements. [Personification]
4. The surfers struggled against the waves. [Alliteration]
5. I came, I saw, I conquered. Julius Caesar [Parallelism]
6. When rebuffed, the man muttered few expletives and left. [Onomatopoeia]
7. A grocer’s daughter with a steely resolve, she was loved and loathed in equal measure as she crushed the unions, privatized vast swathes of British industry, clashed with the European Union, and fought a war to recover the Falkland Islands from Argentine invaders. [Parallelism]
8. The business has started to gain momentum after months of struggle. We finally see light at the end of tunnel. [Idiom]
9. The students in the last row stopped giggling the moment teacher stared at them. [Onomatopoeia]
10. The woodpecker banged its beak against the bark of the tree. [Alliteration]
