Figurative Language

1. Figurative Language

2. What is figurative language? • Whenever you describe something by comparing it with something else, you are using figurative language.

3. Types of Figurative Language • Simile • Metaphor • Personification • Onomatopoeia • Idioms

4. Simile • A figure of speech which involves a direct comparison between two unlike things, usually with the words like or as. Example: The muscles on his brawny arms are strong as iron bands.

5. Metaphor • A figure of speech which involves an implied comparison between two relatively unlike things using a form of be. The comparison is not announced by like or as. Example: The road was a ribbon wrapped through the dessert.

6. Onomatopoeia • The use of words that mimic sounds. Example: The firecracker made a loud ka-boom!

7. Personification • A figure of speech which gives the qualities of a person to an animal, an object, or an idea. Example: “The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.”

8. Idioms • An idiom or idiomatic expression refers to a construction or expression in one language that cannot be matched or directly translated word-for-word in another language. Example: Make sure you keep an eye on him during recess.

9. Which one is it?? • I smell something fishy going on in class. • Make sure the time doesn’t creep up on you. • The news took me by surprise. • His room was a pigpen. • The pencil is thin as a toothpick. • The yellow car zipped right by the red car. • Sarah’s cat is driving her up the wall • Listen to the fire crackle in the dark.