English Figures of Speech

Alliteration is used when there's a repetition of initial consonant sounds, while the rhyme is the repetition of ending sounds in words. Alliteration is also called as head rhyme or initial rhyme for the same reason.

In English grammar, alliteration is a figure of speech used when there's a repetition of the same initial consonant in words that are closely related. For example: “wind whistled wildly” repeats “w” sound, making the literary device used an alliteration.

No, idioms and puns are not the same thing, but they are not completely different either. Idioms are puns are closely related to one another.

An idiom is a phrase that does not have a literal meaning. However, a pun is a joke or humor created by playing with words with more than one meaning or a similar sound.

Puns can be created by twisting idioms to create witty sentences. But idioms cannot be created from puns.

No, puns are not grammatically incorrect. To create a pun, the English grammar rules are followed. However, the words are used in a way to create humor with double meanings.

This means that a pun forms a structurally correct sentence by playing with the meaning, not the grammar.

The following are the different types of puns in English:

1. Homophonic Puns: Uses words with same sound but different spellings or meanings.

2. Homographic Puns: Uses words with same spellings, but different meanings or pronunciations.

3. Homonymic Puns: Uses one word with multiple meanings.

4. Compound Puns: Combines two or more puns in a sentence.

5. Visual Puns: Uses images to represent a pun.

6. Equivoque Puns: Uses ambiguous words or phrases deliberately.

A pun is a joke or a form of wordplay in English that uses a phrase or a word to create a sentence with two or more meanings. It is usually done by using word/s with:

• Same sound but different meaning or spelling
• Multiple meanings
• Same spelling with different pronunciations and meanings

Examples:

• “The librarian checked out. She had too many overdue dates.”
• “Claustrophobia is a little room for improvement.”
• “The optometrist fell into his lens grinder and made a spectacle of himself.”

A great simile will make the writing more interesting and easier to understand if it has been used well. To make an effective simile, one can follow these steps:

• Avoid clichés and craft original comparisons. A simile should compare two things that have something obvious in common
• Be specific and vivid so that the sentence with simile could create detailed mental images
• Select meaningful subjects for comparison

In simple words, a Simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things by using the words like 'as' or 'like'. A simile is easy to spot and here is how one can do it:

• Look for words 'as' or 'like'
• Since a simile always compares two unlike things to show a shared quality. So, check if there are two different things being compared
• Also, see if the sentence is creating an imagery or describing emotions
• Common simile patterns: as + adjective + as (as brave as a lion) | verb + like + noun (sings like an angel)

A Simile and Metaphor are both figures of speech that compare two different things, but they do in different ways. A Simile uses the words like 'as' or 'like' whereas, a Metaphor directly equates two things without using the words 'as' or 'like'. A Metaphor makes an implicit comparison by stating one thing is another thing without using 'like' or 'as'. Examples are:

• Simile: His hands were cold as ice
• Metaphor: The world is a stage