Figures of speech:
1- Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is when a word imitates the natural sound of a thing,
making the description more expressive and vivid.
“The bacon sizzled in the pan.” The word sizzled imitates the sound of bacon
cooking.
1. he flag flapped in wind.
2. Did you forget to flush the toilet?
3. Daryl gargled the mouthwash.
4. The wounded soldier groaned.
5. As Tom got closer, the dog began growling.
6. Juan had a hard time hearing the teacher over
his grumbling stomach.
7. When Mom asked Tommy how his day went, Tommy
just grunted.
2-Pun
A pun is a form of wordplay that purposely substitutes words that
sound similar but have different meanings.
“‘Mine is a long and a sad tale!’ said the Mouse, turning to Alice and sighing.
‘It is a long tail, certainly,’ said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse’s
tail, ‘but why do you call it sad?’” —Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland
Example 1:
The following example from the movie, ‘Winnie the Pooh’ plays with the
words knot and not.
Rabbit : Good grief! Tie them together, Piglet! Can you tie a knot?
Piglet : I cannot.
Rabbit : Ah, so you CAN knot.
Piglet : No. I cannot knot.
Chandler: “It’s time to settle down. Make a choice. Pick a lane.”
Joey: “Who’s Elaine?”
3-Alliteration
Alliteration refers to repeating consonant sounds right next to each
other, which creates a memorable or melodic effect.
“She sells seashells by the seashore.”
“The fair breeze blew,
The white foam flew,
And the furrow followed free
Assonance
Assonance is a figure of speech that is characterized by the use of words having
similar vowel sounds consecutively.
Example 1:
“Tyger, tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,” (‘The Tyger’ by William Blake)
In the above example, you can see the use of the repetition of the ‘i’ sound in
the words tyger, tyger, bright and night, which is an example of how
assonance can be applied.
Example 2:
William Wordsworth, in his poem, ‘Daffodils’, applies assonance when he
says he saw, “A host, of golden daffodils”. The words host and golden have a
similar ‘o’ sound, which is an example of assonance.
Example 3:
“A lanky, six-foot, pale boy with an active Adam’s apple …” (‘Lolita’ by
Vladimir Nabokov)
In the above example, the words active, Adam’s and apple, all seem to begin
with the same vowel ‘a’ and so can be considered as an example of
assonance.
Example 4:
“Those images that yet
Fresh images beget,
That dolphin-torn, that gong-tormented sea.” (‘Byzantium’ by W.B. Yeats)
In this example, the words – yet, fresh, beget and tormented are seen to have
a similar ‘e’ sound which makes it a fitting example of assonance.
Example 5:
“Soft language issued from their spitless lips as they swished in low circles
round and round the field,
Winding hither and thither through the weeds” (‘Portrait of the Artist as a
Young Man’ by James Joyce)
In the above example, the words – issued, spitless, lips, swished, hither and
thither and the words – field and weeds are examples of assonance.
Anaphora
Anaphora, pronounced [a – naf – o – ra], is a literary device
that lends emphasis to words through deliberate
repetition of similar words or phrases at the beginning of
successive clauses or sentences.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of
foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was
the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of
Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was
the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we
had everything before us, we had nothing before
us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were
all going direct the other way”
“This blessed
plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,…
This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land”
“You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise”
Direct and indirect
Imperative
Commands: Keep low!
Requests: Please close the gate
Advice: Move and lie down
Suggestions: Take the pill the next day instead
Steps to Change Imperative Sentences to Reported Speech
1. Identify the Imperative Sentence: Recognize whether the sentence is a
command, request, or suggestion.
2. Change the Verb Form: Use the base form of the verb in the imperative
sentence. In reported speech, you typically use “to” + base form of the verb.
o Example: “Close the door.” → “He told her to close the door.”
3. Add Reporting Verbs: Use appropriate reporting verbs such as “tell,” “ask,”
“advise,” “order,” or “request.” The choice of verb may depend on the tone of
the imperative.
o Example: “Please help me.” → “She asked him to help her.”
4. Adjust for Negatives: If the imperative is negative (e.g., “Don’t touch that!”),
use “not” before the infinitive form of the verb.
o Example: “Don’t be late.” → “He warned them not to be late.”
5. Consider Politeness: If the original command is polite (e.g., using “please”),
you can retain that politeness in your reported speech.
o Example: “Please pass the salt.” → “He requested her to pass the
salt.”
Verbs of Request Request, Ask, beg, desire, entreat, pray, implore, solicit
Verbs of Advice Exhort, Urge, Persuade and Advice
Verbs of Command Order, tell, command bid, change, require. (‘Forbid’) is the negat
command.
The most used Verbs Ask and tell
include:
Imperative Reported Speech Exercise 1
Change the following sentences into indirect speech.
1. My brother said, “Would you like to have tea with me?”
2. He said to his teacher, “Please explain this poem to me.”
3. “Come quickly”, he shouted, “and help me as I am in grave danger.”
4. The saint said to the pupils, “Be quiet and listen to me carefully.”
5. “Be punctual from tomorrow,” my teacher said, “otherwise I will complain to
the Principal.”
Rewrite each sentence into reported speech.
1. Grandma said to me, “Please fetch my glasses.” ( asked )
2. The librarian said to us, “Return the books in a month.” ( old )
3. I said to the agent, ”Please book two tickets for America.” ( requested )
4. Andrew said, ”I’ll have a chicken sandwich and some coffee.”( asked )
5. He said, ”Fasten your seat belts.” ( asked )
6. " Don't play with matches." ( warned )
7. Hurry up to catch the train. ( commanded )
8. Would you like to go out. ( invited )
9. “Please sit down.” ( requested )
10. “Don’t forget to call me.” ( reminded )
11. “Clean your room.” ( ordered )
12. “Let’s go for a walk.” ( suggested )
13. “Be quiet during the presentation.( instructed )
Exclamatory
For examples,
Direct: The visitor said, “Wow, what a beautiful day!”,
Indirect: The visitor exclaimed with joy that it was a
beautiful day.
Direct: He said, “What a terrible mistake!”,
Indirect: He exclaimed in dismay that it was a terrible
mistake.
Direct: The lady said, “How amazing!”.
Indirect: The lady exclaimed in wonder that it was very
amazing.
Note carefully the Change of Exclamatory Sentences from Direct
Speech to Indirect Speech.
Direct: He said, “Alas! I am undone !”
Indirect: He cried out in sorrow that he was undone.
Direct: He said, “What a fool I am !”.
Indirect: He exclaimed with grief that he was a great fool.
Direct: He said, “Goodbye, my friends.”
Indirect: He bade his friends goodbye. (Or, He bade goodbye to
his friends).
Direct: “Bless his kind heart !” they cried.
Indirect: They blessed him for his kind heart.
Direct: “Bravo ! well done !” they cried.
Indirect: They applauded him, for (or saying that) he had done
well.
Direct: “So help me Heaven !” he cried, “I will never do so again.”
Indirect: He prayed to Heaven to help him in his resolve not to
do so again.
Direct: He said, “By Jove! What good news !”
Indirect: He swore by Jove that it was a piece of very good news.
Direct: The boys said, “Hurrah! We have won the match.”
Indirect: The boys exclaimed in/with joy that they had won the
match.
