Similes and Metaphors

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Similes and metaphors are two of the most popular ways that writers can create a mental image for their reader. They help make a text more interesting.

similes

Similes

You can use similes to compare two seemingly unlike things by using the words “like” or “as”.

For example:

  • He is as tall as a giant!
  • It is like the North Pole in this room.
  • Your skin is white as snow.
  • I slept like a baby.
  • You have eyes as black as midnight.
  • You are walking as slow as a snail! Hurry up!
  • She has reflexes like a cat.
  • Your smile brightens the room like the sun.
  • Run like the wind!

Metaphors

You can use metaphors to compare two seemingly unlike things. However, unlike a simile you don’t use “like” or “as”. Rather, you say that something ‘is’ something else.[1]https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/marvellous-metaphors

This helps make the image much stronger than a simile.

For example:

  • You are a giant!
  • It is the North Pole in this room.
  • Thanks for helping! You’re an angel.
  • That computer is an old dinosaur.

Practice Exercise

Read each of the following sentences. Identify the two subjects being compared and state whether the sentence is a simile or a metaphor.

 10%

Question 1 of 10

1. That man is a pig.

Question 1 of 10

Question 2 of 10

2. My hands are as cold as ice.

Question 2 of 10

Question 3 of 10

3. She has hair as white as snow.

Question 3 of 10

Question 4 of 10

4. He has abs as hard as a rock.

Question 4 of 10

Question 5 of 10

5. Their voice is as tiny as a mouse.

Question 5 of 10

Question 6 of 10

6. Our neighbors are angels. They help us all the time.

Question 6 of 10

Question 7 of 10

7. She has the heart of a lion.

Question 7 of 10

Question 8 of 10

8. She is as smart as a fox.

Question 8 of 10

Question 9 of 10

9. You are as sharp as a tack.

Question 9 of 10

Question 10 of 10

10. The situation is a volcano ready to explode.

Question 10 of 10


 

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