A line in which words do more than their plain meaning, and four names for how: a comparison with like or as, a thing given human feeling, a sound repeated, an exaggeration, two opposites side by side. Each figure has one test that tells it from its neighbours. This lesson gives that test for the twenty-one figures in this chapter, and the pairs students mix up.
A figure of speech is a way of using words that does more than their plain meaning. The question gives one line and four names, and asks which figure the line uses.
Figures of speech are not on NTA's list of item types. They are here because a few papers since 2022 have asked them, and because the literary passages and poems in the reading section use them too.
The method is always the same: find what the line does, then match it to the one test below. When two names seem to fit, the tests in the last section tell them apart.
| Figure | The test | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simile | a comparison with "like" or "as" | Her hands were as cold as ice. |
| Metaphor | says one thing is another, with no "like" or "as" | The classroom was a zoo. |
| Personification | gives a thing or an idea a human action or feeling | The leaves danced in the wind. |
| Apostrophe | speaks directly to something absent or not human, often with "O" | O river, carry my letter to the sea! |
| Figure | The test | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hyperbole | an exaggeration no one takes literally | I have told you a million times. |
| Litotes | an understatement made with "not" or "no" | He is not a bad singer at all. (He is good.) |
| Euphemism | a gentle word for something painful | My grandfather passed away. |
| Figure | The test | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Oxymoron | two opposite words side by side | a deafening silence, an open secret |
| Paradox | a whole statement that seems impossible but holds a truth | The child is father of the man. |
| Antithesis | two opposite ideas in balanced halves of a sentence | Man proposes, God disposes. |
| Irony | the opposite of what is said, or of what is expected | "Wonderful!" (about the rain on picnic day) |
| Figure | The test | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Metonymy | a thing named by something closely linked to it | The pen is mightier than the sword. (writing, war) |
| Synecdoche | a part named for the whole | The farmer needed more hands. (workers) |
| Transferred epithet | a describing word moved from a person to a thing near them | He lay on a sleepless pillow. |
Example 1 · Simile or metaphor
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Time is a thief that steals our youth."
Options: Simile; Metaphor; Onomatopoeia; Oxymoron.
The line compares time with a thief. So it is a simile or a metaphor.
There is no "like" or "as": time is called a thief. That makes it a metaphor.
Metaphor. "Time is like a thief" would be a simile.
| Figure | The test | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Alliteration | the same first sound in nearby words | Seven silver swans swam slowly south. |
| Assonance | the same vowel sound inside nearby words | Go slow over the road. |
| Onomatopoeia | a word that sounds like what it names | buzz, sizzle, hiss, bang, tick-tock |
| Anaphora | the same words repeated at the start of each part | Every day I wait, every day I hope, every day I pray. |
| Pun | one word used for two meanings at once | I used to work in a bank, but I lost interest. |
Example 2 · Two sounds, one answer
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"With a crash and a thud, the shelf fell down."
Options: Alliteration; Onomatopoeia; Metaphor; Simile.
The line compares nothing, so it is neither a simile nor a metaphor.
"Crash" and "thud" sound like the noises they name. That is onomatopoeia.
"Shelf" and "fell" share a sound, but not at the start of both words, so it is not alliteration.
Onomatopoeia.
Exam shortcut
A line can use more than one figure, but the options will offer only one of them. When two names seem to fit, check each against its test and strike the one that fails; the question is built so that three of the four fail.
Compare
Opposites and size
Sound
The poems and literary passages in poems and conversations and literary passages use these figures too, where a question may ask what a line compares or what its sound adds.
60 questions, grouped by type, easy to hard. Pick an answer and check it. The worked solution opens when you ask for it.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Her hands were as cold as ice."
AnswerB · Simile
The line compares her hands with ice using "as ... as". A comparison with "like" or "as" is a simile.
Worth noting
A metaphor makes the same comparison without "like" or "as": "her hands were ice".
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The classroom was a zoo when the teacher left."
AnswerD · Metaphor
The line says the classroom was a zoo, not that it was like one. A comparison that says one thing is another is a metaphor.
Worth noting
A simile would need "like" or "as": "the classroom was like a zoo".
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The leaves danced in the wind."
AnswerC · Personification
Leaves cannot dance; only people can. Giving a thing a human action is personification.
Worth noting
There is no comparison with "like" or "as", so it is not a simile.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"I have told you a million times to close the door."
AnswerA · Hyperbole
Nobody has said anything a million times. An exaggeration for effect is hyperbole.
Worth noting
An oxymoron puts two opposite words together, as in "a deafening silence". Nothing here is opposite.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"He runs like the wind."
AnswerA · Simile
"Like" compares his running with the wind, so it is a simile.
Worth noting
A metaphor would drop "like": "he is the wind on the track".
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Time is a thief that steals our youth."
AnswerB · Metaphor
Time is called a thief, with no "like" or "as". Saying one thing is another is a metaphor.
Worth noting
It is not a simile, which would say "time is like a thief".
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The old car coughed and groaned up the hill."
AnswerC · Personification
Coughing and groaning are things a person does. Giving them to a car is personification.
Worth noting
Nothing is compared with "like" or "as", and nothing is exaggerated past belief.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The stars twinkled like diamonds in the sky."
AnswerC · Simile
"Like" compares the stars with diamonds, so it is a simile.
Worth noting
A metaphor would say "the stars were diamonds".
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Her voice is music to my ears."
AnswerD · Metaphor
Her voice is called music, with no "like" or "as". That is a metaphor.
Worth noting
A simile would say "her voice is like music".
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The sun smiled down on the fields."
AnswerA · Personification
Only people smile. Giving the sun a human action is personification.
Worth noting
There is no "like" or "as", so it is not a simile.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"My school bag weighs a ton."
AnswerB · Hyperbole
No school bag weighs a thousand kilograms. The exaggeration is hyperbole.
Worth noting
Nothing is given human qualities, so it is not personification.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"She is as brave as a lion."
AnswerA · Simile
"As ... as" compares her courage with a lion's, so it is a simile.
Worth noting
A metaphor would say "she is a lion".
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The city never sleeps."
AnswerC · Personification
Sleeping is something living things do. Saying a city never sleeps gives it a human quality: personification.
Worth noting
Alliteration needs nearby words that begin with the same sound, and this line has none.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"My uncle is a walking dictionary."
AnswerB · Metaphor
He is called a dictionary, with no "like" or "as": a metaphor for someone who knows many words.
Worth noting
A simile would say "he is like a walking dictionary".
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"It was a deafening silence."
AnswerD · Oxymoron
"Deafening" and "silence" are opposites: silence makes no sound. Two opposite words side by side are an oxymoron.
Worth noting
Alliteration repeats the first sound of nearby words, and "deafening silence" does not.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"O river, carry my letter to the sea!"
AnswerB · Apostrophe
The speaker talks directly to a river, which cannot hear. Speaking to something absent or not human, often with "O", is apostrophe.
Worth noting
The punctuation mark called an apostrophe is a different thing. The figure is named for turning to speak to someone.
Name the figure of speech in this line by Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
"The pen is mightier than the sword."
AnswerC · Metonymy
"The pen" stands for writing and ideas, and "the sword" for war and force. Naming a thing by something closely linked to it is metonymy.
Worth noting
"Mightier than" is a comparison, but not with "like" or "as", so it is not a simile.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The farmer needed more hands to bring in the harvest."
AnswerA · Synecdoche
"Hands" means workers. Using a part of something (the hands) for the whole (the people) is synecdoche.
Worth noting
Nothing is exaggerated: the farmer needed a few more people, not an impossible number.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"My grandfather passed away last winter."
AnswerD · Euphemism
"Passed away" is a gentle way of saying "died". A soft word for something painful is a euphemism.
Worth noting
Hyperbole makes things bigger. A euphemism makes them softer.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Oh, wonderful! Now it is raining on the day of my picnic."
AnswerB · Irony
The speaker says "wonderful" but means the opposite: the rain has spoiled the day. Saying the opposite of what you mean is irony.
Worth noting
There is no comparison and nothing is given human qualities.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Man proposes, God disposes."
AnswerA · Antithesis
Two opposite ideas are set side by side in matching halves: what man plans and what God decides. That balance of opposites is antithesis.
Worth noting
An oxymoron puts opposites in two words ("bitter sweet"). Antithesis sets them in two balanced parts of a sentence.
Name the figure of speech in this line by William Wordsworth.
"The child is father of the man."
AnswerD · Paradox
A child cannot be the father of a man, so the line seems impossible. But it holds a truth: what we are as children makes the adult. A statement that seems absurd but is true is a paradox.
Worth noting
An oxymoron is two opposite words side by side. A paradox is a whole statement that seems to contradict itself.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The meal was so big it could have fed an army."
AnswerD · Hyperbole
No family meal could feed an army. The exaggeration is hyperbole.
Worth noting
"So big" is not a comparison with "like" or "as", so it is not a simile.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"It was an open secret that the shop would close."
AnswerB · Oxymoron
A secret is hidden, and "open" means known to all. Two opposite words side by side are an oxymoron.
Worth noting
Nothing is compared, and the shop is not given human qualities.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"O wind, blow away my sorrows!"
AnswerA · Apostrophe
The speaker talks directly to the wind with "O", as if it could listen. That is apostrophe.
Worth noting
Alliteration repeats first sounds, and "wind", "blow" and "sorrows" do not share one.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The fire station burnt down last night."
AnswerD · Irony
A fire station exists to put out fires, so its own burning is the opposite of what we expect. An outcome that turns against expectation is irony.
Worth noting
The line is plain news with no comparison, so it is not a metaphor.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"He has gone to a better place."
AnswerC · Euphemism
The line is a gentle way of saying that he has died. A soft phrase for something painful is a euphemism.
Worth noting
It does not exaggerate anything, so it is not hyperbole.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Grey hairs should be respected."
AnswerC · Metonymy
"Grey hairs" stands for old people, by a sign closely linked with age. That is metonymy.
Worth noting
Nothing is compared with "like" or "as", so it is not a simile.
Name the figure of speech in this line by Alexander Pope.
"To err is human, to forgive divine."
AnswerB · Antithesis
Two opposite ideas, erring and forgiving, human and divine, are set in balanced halves. That is antithesis.
Worth noting
Nothing is exaggerated, so it is not hyperbole.
Name the figure of speech in this line by William Shakespeare.
"Cowards die many times before their deaths."
AnswerD · Paradox
No one can die more than once, so the line seems impossible. But it is true in its way: a coward suffers death in fear again and again. A statement that seems absurd but holds a truth is a paradox.
Worth noting
An oxymoron puts two opposite words side by side, as in "open secret". Here it is the whole statement that seems impossible.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"He lay all night on a sleepless pillow."
AnswerC · Transferred epithet
A pillow cannot be sleepless; the man was. Moving a describing word from the person it belongs to onto a nearby thing is a transferred epithet.
Worth noting
An oxymoron needs two opposite words together. "Sleepless" and "pillow" are not opposites.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Is there anyone who does not love their mother?"
AnswerD · Rhetorical question
The question expects no answer; it means "everyone loves their mother". A question asked for effect, not for an answer, is a rhetorical question.
Worth noting
Nothing is exaggerated: the question makes a point rather than stretching a fact.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Delhi has announced new rules for schools."
AnswerB · Metonymy
"Delhi" stands for the government that sits there. Naming a thing by something closely linked to it is metonymy.
Worth noting
The city itself cannot announce anything, but the figure is not personification: "Delhi" is a name for the people in charge.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"He is not a bad singer at all."
AnswerA · Litotes
The speaker means he is a good singer, and says so by denying the opposite. An understatement made with "not" is litotes.
Worth noting
Hyperbole overstates. Litotes understates, which is its opposite.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"He lost his money, then his friends, and at last his hope."
AnswerC · Climax
The losses rise in order of importance, from money to friends to hope. Ideas arranged to rise step by step are a climax.
Worth noting
The word "climax" here is the name of the figure, not the exciting end of a story.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The prisoner paced his lonely cell."
AnswerA · Transferred epithet
The prisoner is lonely, not the cell. Moving a describing word from a person onto a thing near them is a transferred epithet.
Worth noting
"Lonely" and "cell" are not opposites, so it is not an oxymoron.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Who can count the stars in the sky?"
AnswerB · Rhetorical question
The question needs no answer; it means "no one can count them". A question asked for effect is a rhetorical question.
Worth noting
There is no pair of opposite words, so it is not an oxymoron.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"We work hard to earn our bread."
AnswerC · Synecdoche
"Bread" stands for food, and for a living in general. A part standing for the whole is synecdoche.
Worth noting
Nothing is exaggerated: people do work to earn their food.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"It was no easy task to climb the wall."
AnswerD · Litotes
"No easy task" means a hard task, said by denying the opposite. An understatement made with "no" or "not" is litotes.
Worth noting
Hyperbole would overstate it: "the wall was a mile high".
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"First he doubted, then he feared, and at last he fled."
AnswerA · Climax
The actions rise step by step, from doubt to fear to running away. Ideas arranged in rising order are a climax.
Worth noting
No sound is imitated, so it is not onomatopoeia.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Seven silver swans swam slowly south."
AnswerD · Alliteration
Every word begins with the same "s" sound. Repeating the first sound of nearby words is alliteration.
Worth noting
Nothing is compared, so it is neither a simile nor a metaphor.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"We heard the sizzle of onions in the pan."
AnswerC · Onomatopoeia
"Sizzle" sounds like the noise it names. A word that imitates a sound is onomatopoeia.
Worth noting
Nothing is compared with "like" or "as", so it is not a simile.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The clock went tick-tock all night."
AnswerA · Onomatopoeia
"Tick-tock" imitates the sound of a clock, so it is onomatopoeia.
Worth noting
A metaphor calls one thing another. Here a sound is copied, not a thing renamed.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Big brown bears bite berries."
AnswerB · Alliteration
Each word begins with a "b" sound. That repeated first sound is alliteration.
Worth noting
None of the words imitates a sound, so it is not onomatopoeia.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Bang! The door slammed shut."
AnswerB · Onomatopoeia
"Bang" imitates the sound of the door. A word that sounds like what it names is onomatopoeia.
Worth noting
Alliteration needs nearby words with the same first sound, and "bang", "door" and "slammed" all differ.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Dark, dusty days dragged on."
AnswerC · Alliteration
Four words in a row begin with "d". The repeated first sound is alliteration.
Worth noting
None of the words imitates a noise, so it is not onomatopoeia.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Go slow over the road."
AnswerD · Assonance
The same vowel sound, the "o" of "go", comes back in "slow", "over" and "road". Repeating a vowel sound in nearby words is assonance.
Worth noting
Alliteration repeats the first sound of words, usually a consonant. Here it is the vowel inside the words that repeats.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Every day I wait, every day I hope, every day I pray."
AnswerA · Anaphora
"Every day I" is repeated at the start of each part. Repeating the same words at the start of lines or clauses is anaphora.
Worth noting
No sound is imitated, so it is not onomatopoeia.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The cat sat back and had a nap."
AnswerB · Assonance
The short "a" of "cat" comes back in "sat", "back", "had" and "nap". A repeated vowel sound is assonance.
Worth noting
None of the words imitates a sound, so it is not onomatopoeia.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The angry cat hissed at the dog."
AnswerA · Onomatopoeia
"Hissed" imitates the sound the cat makes, so it is onomatopoeia.
Worth noting
No two nearby words begin with the same sound, so it is not alliteration.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"I used to work in a bank, but I lost interest."
AnswerD · Pun
"Interest" has two meanings here: the money a bank pays, and the wish to do something. Playing on two meanings of one word is a pun.
Worth noting
Alliteration repeats first sounds. A pun plays on meaning.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Look before you leap."
AnswerC · Alliteration
"Look" and "leap" both begin with "l". The repeated first sound, which makes the saying easy to remember, is alliteration.
Worth noting
Nothing is given human qualities, so it is not personification.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"With a crash and a thud, the shelf fell down."
AnswerD · Onomatopoeia
"Crash" and "thud" sound like the noises they name, so it is onomatopoeia.
Worth noting
"Shelf" and "fell" share a sound, but it is not at the start of both words, which alliteration needs.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"I will not give up. I will not give in. I will not look back."
AnswerA · Anaphora
"I will not" begins each sentence. Repeating words at the start of sentences is anaphora.
Worth noting
There are no opposite words side by side, so it is not an oxymoron.
Name the figure of speech in this line by William Shakespeare.
"Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man."
AnswerC · Pun
Mercutio says this as he is dying. "Grave" means serious, and a grave is where the dead are buried. Playing on two meanings of one word is a pun.
Worth noting
No first sound repeats in nearby words, so it is not alliteration.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"They play all day in the shade by the lake."
AnswerB · Assonance
The long "a" of "play" returns in "day", "shade" and "lake". A repeated vowel sound is assonance.
Worth noting
No nearby words begin with the same sound, so it is not alliteration.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"The splash of oars, the creak of wood, the rattle of the chain."
AnswerA · Onomatopoeia
"Splash", "creak" and "rattle" each sound like the noise they name, so it is onomatopoeia.
Worth noting
Nothing is called something else, so it is not a metaphor.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"Not a word he said, not a look he gave, not a hand he raised."
AnswerB · Anaphora
"Not a" begins each of the three parts. Repeating the same words at the start of each part is anaphora.
Worth noting
No sound is imitated, so it is not onomatopoeia.
Name the figure of speech in this line.
"A boiled egg every morning is hard to beat."
AnswerD · Pun
"Hard to beat" means very good, but eggs are also boiled hard and beaten in cooking. Playing on two meanings at once is a pun.
Worth noting
No nearby words begin with the same sound, so it is not alliteration.
Name the figure of speech in this line by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
"The furrow followed free."
AnswerC · Alliteration
"Furrow", "followed" and "free" all begin with "f". The repeated first sound is alliteration.
Worth noting
Assonance repeats a vowel sound inside words, and these three words have different vowels.
NTA's English syllabus is one page. It names two skill areas: Reading Comprehension, with three kinds of passage of at most 300 words each (factual, narrative and literary), and Verbal Ability, with four item types (rearranging the parts, match the following, choosing the correct word, synonyms and antonyms). It says the questions are not limited to these, and prints no chapters and no split of the 50 questions. So the chapters here are ours. Reading is split by the kind of passage, because a poem is not read the way a report is. Verbal Ability is split into three areas of our own: Vocabulary, Sentence & paragraph order, and Grammar & usage. Where a chapter covers something past NTA's short list, it says so, and it is there because the papers since 2022 have asked it.