English Language Devices Flashcards
Pathetic fallacy definition
Weather describes the mood
Similie definition
Comparing two things using like or as
Metaphor definition
Comparing two things using is or are
Extended metaphor definition
Stating a metaphor and then explaining it “life is a rollercoaster,you can never prepare for its ups and downs”
Definition of an Oxymoron
Two opposite words side by side
Definition of a Juxtaposition
Two contrasting ideas
Definition of a semantic field
A group of words that all link to the same topic
Definition of Auditory Imagery
Vivid description of sounds
Tactile imagery definition
Vivid description of physical sensation
Physical sensations refer to any physical symptoms that we might experience during strong emotions (e.g., racing heart, sweating, or nausea).
Olfactory imagery
Vivid description of smell
Gustatory imagery
Vivid description of taste
Kinesthetic imagery definition
Vivid description of movement
Anaphora definition
The repitition of a word or phrase at the beggining of successive clauses
Ex. “In every cry of every man, In every infant’s cry of fear.”
Exposition definition
Introduction of backround information on setting/characters to anchor the reader
Verb (a.k.a helping verbs)
Auxiliary verbs
Used along with a main verb to express tense, mood or voice.
“We were running”
“were” is the auxiliary verb indicating that the action of the main verb “running”
took place in the past.
T verb is …
Transitive verb
a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase) that indicates the person or thing affected by the verb. The direct object usually comes immediately after the verb
(e.g., “Karen is taking a photo”).
M verb …
Modal verb
We use modals to show if we believe something is certain, possible or impossible:
Fe. My keys must be in the car.
It might rain tomorrow.
That can’t be Peter’s coat.
S Verb …
Stative verb
Stative verbs describe a state or condition that is stable or unlikely to change
e.g., “ know”, “feel”, “believe”.
Stative verbs usually refer to thoughts, emotions, or senses that the subject of the sentence is experiencing.
D verbs …
Dynamic Verbs
a verb used primarily to indicate an action, process
Examples of dynamic verbs are ‘to run’, ‘to hit’, ‘to intervene’, ‘to savour’ and ‘to go’.
Statistics
Makes the text seem authoritative and accurate
Exaggeration
Dramatically emphasises an important point
“One puff could kill us all.”
Direct adress
Makes the reader feel like the text is specifically for them.
Prolyptic irony
When the character anticipates something but the audience knows its wrong.
Proper Noun
a noun that serves as the name for a specific place, person, or thing (usually with a capital letter)
Common noun
words for types of things, people, and places, such as ‘dog’, ‘professor’, and ‘city’.
Abstract noun
a noun denoting an idea, quality, or state rather than a concrete object, e.g. truth, danger, happiness, love.
P and B alliteration
Plosive Alliteration. Repetition of ‘p’ and ‘b’ sounds, like an explosion sound.
S alliteration
Sibilance. Repetition of ‘s’ sounds.
D and T alliteration
Dental Alliteration. Repetition of ‘d’ and ‘t’ sounds.
G, R and C alliteration
Guttural Alliteration. Repetition of’ ‘g’ , ‘r’ and ‘c’ sounds.
F, Ph and V alliteration
Fricative Alliteration. Repetition of ‘f’ , ‘ph’ and ‘v’ sounds
List with no conjunctions only commas
asyndetic listing
it can aid in highlighting the listed items. The linking words are left out, which forces the reader to concentrate on each thing alone.
Simple sentence
a sentence consisting of only one clause, with a single subject and predicate
Complex sentence
A complex sentence is made up of a main clause and a subordinate clause connected to each other with a subordinating conjunction.
When the cake is brown, remove it from the oven.
⬆️can’t stand on its own. ⬆️can stand on its own
Independant clause. Dependant clause.
Compound sentence
A compound sentence is a sentence that has at least two independent clauses joined by a comma, semicolon or conjunction.
Personification
the attribution of human characteristics to things, abstract ideas. For literary or artistic effect fe.”The trees danced.”
Opening (structural features)
The start of a text must interest the reader,
comment on how the writer introduces ideas and raises questions.
Focus
This is what the writer focuses on as the text develops,
Analyse what is implied, eg a gloomy landscape implies an unhappy situation - what is causing that unhappiness? What will happen next?
Shift in focus
Changes in ideas and perspectives, eg outside to inside,
Comment on how this change is effective, eg creates contrast.
