Grammar
Similes are when you compare something or someone to something else. The idea being that you choose something to compare to which is renowned for the characteristic you want to describe. For example, you might describe a person, who is very tough, in this way:
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Grammar
Rhetorically Speaking 4: Similes
He is as hard as nails
(Nails are by their very nature tough)
Image: Tom Curtis / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Many similes make reference to members of the animal kingdom
As stubborn as a mule (mules are characteristically stubborn)The examples so far have used like and as when making the comparison. Not all similes use this construction, here an example from Shakespeare’s writings:
He took to the task like a duck to water (water is the duck’s natural environment)
He was like a bear with a sore head (you might use this expression to describe someone with a bad hangover, bears are supposedly mean and grumpy, and one with a sore head even more so)
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s dayWhen you want to say that something is distinctly lacking in a certain property or the opposite you might use an ironic simile:
It’s as clear a mudNext week we’ll be looking at a related subject, metaphors.
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- Perfect Tense Examples (proverbs And Quotations)
Proverbs Note the use of the Present Perfect Tense in the following proverbs and sayings. It is too late to lock the stable after the horse has bolted.Who has never tasted bitter, knows not what is sweet. The cow knows not what her tail is worth until...
- Guide To Style Guides
Some of the better quality newspapers such as The Guardian and The Times provide style guides for the benefit of their journalists. The idea being that all the articles appearing in their publications should be consistent in terms of punctuation, spelling,...
- The True Meaning Of Ignorance
My cliché-radar has been working overtime recently. There seems to be a real profileration of native English speakers who are misusing the word ignorance. I'm terribly sorry to inform you, but a person who does not reply hello to you is not being...
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Learners of English face a formidable task. Certain areas of the language seem to have very few rules that you can learn. Instead you have to memorise all of the various different exceptions. One of these areas is forming the negatives (opposites) of...
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It just makes no sense! Seriously, what’s wrong with people? Why are we so clumsy with expressing our thoughts and why do we speak in such odd ways about the physical world surrounding us? Think about it: you fill the form in by filling it out! If hairs...