Click on any flashcard to reveal the definition. Use the Quiz sections below to test your knowledge.
Noun
A word naming a person, place, thing, idea, or concept.
Proper Noun
Specific names, always capitalised (e.g., London, John).
Pronoun
A word that takes the place of a noun (e.g., he, she, they).
Adjective
A word that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun (e.g., beautiful, bright).
Verb
A word that expresses an action, state of being, or process (e.g., run, think, is).
Adverb
A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb, often ending in '-ly' (e.g., quickly, very).
Conjunction
A word that links words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., and, but, because).
Preposition
Shows the relationship between a noun/pronoun and other words (e.g., on, under, after).
Phrase
A small group of words that does not contain a finite verb (e.g., running quickly).
Noun Phrase
A group of words built around a noun (e.g., "the ancient house near the river").
Complex Sentence
Contains one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses.
Passive Voice
The subject receives the action (e.g., The ball was chased by the dog.).
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds (e.g., wild winds whipped wildly).
Metaphor
A direct comparison, stating one thing is another (e.g., Time is a thief).
Simile
A comparison using like or as (e.g., as fast as a cheetah).
Personification
Giving human qualities to non-human things (e.g., The leaves danced).
Hyperbole
Extreme exaggeration used for effect (e.g., I've told you a million times).
Juxtaposition
Placing contrasting ideas or images close together for effect.
Oxymoron
Two contradictory terms placed together (e.g., loving hate, organised mess).
Rhetorical Question
A question posed for effect rather than to elicit an answer.
Narrative Perspective (Point of View)
The vantage point from which the story is told. Common types are first-person (I/we), third-person limited, and third-person omniscient.
Cyclical Structure
A structure where the text ends in a similar place or mood to where it began.
Flashback
A section of the narrative that interrupts the chronological flow to show events that occurred earlier.
Foreshadowing
The use of hints or clues early in the text to suggest events that will happen later.
In Media Res
When a narrative begins in the middle of the action, before explaining the context.
Caesura
A break or pause near the middle of a line of verse, often indicated by punctuation (e.g., a comma or dash).
Enjambment
The continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next without a pause or punctuation break.
Soliloquy
A structural device in drama where a character speaks their thoughts aloud when alone on stage.
1. Identify the word class of the word 'quickly' in the sentence: *The child quickly ran home.*
Adverb (It modifies the verb 'ran').
2. What sentence mood is used in the phrase: *Shut the front door immediately!*
Imperative (It is a command).
3. Identify the Literary Device in the following line: *The politician spoke with an optimistic gloom.*
Oxymoron (Two contradictory terms: 'optimistic' and 'gloom' are placed together).
4. What sentence structure describes the following: *The **small, old cottage by the sea** stood vacant.* (Focus on the bolded part)
Noun Phrase (A group of words built around the noun 'cottage' but without its own finite verb).
5. A poem starts with a description of winter and ends with a description of winter. What structural device is at play?
Cyclical Structure (The structure suggests a loop or return to the beginning).
6. In the line of poetry, "The silence, a dark sea, surged.", what is the pause indicated by the comma called?
Caesura (A pause or break in the middle of a line of verse).