HYPERBOLE
A hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration. An example of this is the sentence “My books weigh a ton.” The
books could not weigh a ton, but the exaggeration makes a more interesting sentence than merely saying
“My books were heavy.”
Read each sentence below. If the sentence contains a hyperbole, write “hyperbole” in the blank, and then
explain why it is a hyperbole. If it does not have one, write “none” in the blank.
1) I’m so hungry I could eat a whole elephant!
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2) May is the nicest month of the year.
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3) Her brightly colored dress hurt his eyes.
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4) Larry was such a big baby that this parents had to use bed sheets for diapers.
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5) I ate all of my salad for lunch.
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6) As I approached the horse, it seemed larger than it had in the pasture.
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7) The roof rose up and down to the rhythm of the loud music.
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8) We thought the apple pie was the best kind of dessert for the party.
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9) The dog was so dirty that it had a tomato plant growing on its back.
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10) There were a million replies that popped into her head.
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IDIOM
Idioms are sayings that have a figurative meaning that is different from its literal, or real,
meaning.
Example: The test was a piece of cake.
The idiom in the example is piece of cake. The figurative meaning is something that is
easy.
Below are sentences that have idioms. Underline the idiom in each sentence and write its
figurative meaning under the sentence.
1. If you want to be a singer, you should give it a shot.
meaning:
2. The meeting completely slipped my mind.
meaning:
3. She gets a kick out of watching cartoons.
meaning:
4. Are you having second thoughts about getting a pet?
meaning:
5. It’s late; let’s call it a day.
meaning:
6. I saw Olive at the store, and she gave me the cold shoulder.
meaning:
7. Karen’s mother baked her birthday cake from scratch.
meaning:
8. Liz is the type of friend who stays with you through thick and thin.
meaning:
9. I don’t always see eye to eye with Jim.
meaning:
10. His brother had to go home and hit the books.
meaning:
METAPHOR
Figurative language includes special forms that writers use to help readers make a strong connection to
their words. A metaphor is one kind of figurative language. It makes a direct comparison of two unlike
things. You can tell the difference between a metaphor and a simile because a simile uses the words like”
or “as”, and a metaphor does not. Metaphors often use a form of the verb “to be”. The verb can be in the
past tense (was, were), the present tense (am, is, are), or future tense (will be).
Read each sentence below. Underline the metaphor. Highlight the people or objects that the
metaphor is being used to compare.
1) The calm lake was a mirror, reflecting the mountains in the distance.
2) When my dad makes up his mind he is a rock, not budging an inch.
3) The lava was a blanket of fire that scorched all the plants in its path.
4) Spinning contentedly, the spider was an artist preparing a masterpiece.
5) During the holiday traffic the highway was one long parking lot.
6) The ice cream bar was a snowstorm in her mouth in the heat of the day.
7) His job hunt was a puzzle that was missing the final piece.
8) The lawyers were sharks in the ocean of the courtroom.
9) On Christmas Eve, the shopping mall was a jungle of people.
10) The spaghetti was a tangled ball of yarn on his plate.