Antithesis

Antithesis
Definition: An antithesis is used when the writer employs two sentences of contrasting meanings in close proximity to one another. Whether they are words or phrases of the same sentence, an antithesis is used to create a stark contrast using two divergent elements that come together to create one uniform whole. An antithesis plays on the complementary property of opposites to create one vivid picture. The purpose of using an antithesis in literature is to create a balance between opposite qualities and lend a greater insight into the subject. Example: When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon it might have been one small step for a man but it was one giant leap for mankind.

Consonance

Consonance
Definition: Consonance refers to repetition of sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase. In this regard consonance can be understood to be a kind of alliteration. What sets it apart from alliterations is that it is the repetition of only consonant sounds. Consonance is the opposite of assonance, which implies repetitive usage of vowel sounds.

Example: Sing sweet songs for suzy.

Blank Verse

Blank Verse

Blank Verse
Definition: Blank Verse consists of lines of iambic pentameter (five-stress iambic verse) which are unrhymed—hence the term "blank." Of all English metrical forms it is closest to the natural rhythms of English speech, and at the same time flexible and adaptive to diverse levels of discourse; as a result it has been more frequently and variously used than any other type of versification. Soon after blank verse was introduced by the Earl of Surrey in his translations of Books 2 and 4 of Virgil's The Aeneid (about 1540), it became the standard meter for Elizabethan and later poetic drama; a free form of blank verse is still the medium in such twentieth-century verse plays as those by Maxwell Anderson and T. S. Eliot. John Milton used blank verse for his epic Paradise Lost (1667), James Thomson for his descriptive and philosophical Seasons (1726-30), William Wordsworth for his autobiographical Prelude (1805), Alfred, Lord Tennyson for the narrative Idylls of the King (1891), Robert Browning for The Ring and the Book (1868-69) and many dramatic monologues, and T. S. Eliot for much of The Waste Land (1922). A large number of meditative lyrics, from the Romantic Period to the present, have also been written in blank verse, including Coleridge's "Frost at Midnight," Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey," Tennyson's "Tears, Idle Tears" (in which the blank verse is divided into five-line stanzas), and Wallace Stevens' "Sunday Morning."

Idiom of the day

a crush on 

sudden feeling of love or

romance

Judy has a crush on Tim. See the way she

looks at him.

a crying shame 

a sad event, 

it is too bad It's a crying shame that they didn't have fire

insurance.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions

A conjunction is a linking word such as and, or, but. Conjunctions are used to connect words or sentences. A conjunction may link two or more than two words or sentences. Conjunctions connect words or groups of words and show how the words are related. There are three kinds of conjunctions.: coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions. 

1. Coordinating conjunctions link similar words or word groups. There are seven coordinating conjunctions:

• both . . .and
• either . . . or
• neither . . . nor
• not only . . . but 
• also whether . . . or

Use this mnemonic to help you remember the seven coordinating conjunctions:

FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

2. Correlative conjunctions also link similar words or word groups, but they are always used in pairs. Here are the correlative conjunctions:

• both . . .and
• either . . . or
• neither . . . nor 
• not only . . . but also 
• whether . . . or

3. Subordinating conjunctions link an independent clause (complete sentence) to a dependent

clause (fragment). Here are the most often used subordinating conjunctions:

after	although	as		as if
as	long	as		as soon as
before	even though	in order that		if
since	so that	though		till
unless	until	when		whenever
where	wherever	as though
because

Examples:

Maggie could play the piano before she was five.
I always brush my teeth after I’ve had my breakfast.
You have grown taller since I saw you last.
Look both ways before you cross the street.
Joe listened to music while he was doing his homework.
Miss Lee was smiling as she walked into the class.
Wait here until I come back.
Don’t leave until you’ve finished your work.
Tran saw an accident while he was walking home.
Take all your belongings with you when you leave the plane.
Joe first met his wife when he was studying in London.
Tom and Joe have been friends since childhood.
After he began exercising regularly, Jerry became healthier.
The animal is large but timid.
It’s cold, wet and windy today.
Is this a sheep or a goat?
a cat and its kittens
a builder and his tools
a doctor and a nurse
slow but steady
sweet or sour?
a male or a female?
A horse, a zebra or a donkey?
Paul has a dog, a parrot and a cat.

Next>>Interjections

Autobiography

Autobiography
Definition: An Autobiography is a biography written by the subject about himself or herself. It is to be distinguished from the memoir, in which the emphasis is not on the author's developing self but on the people and events that the author has known or witnessed, and also from the private diary or journal, which is a day-to-day record of the events in one's life, written for personal use and satisfaction, with little or no thought of publication. Example: The latter type are the seventeenth-century diaries of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, the eighteenth-century journals of James Boswell and Fanny Burney, and Dorothy Wordsworth's remarkable Journals, written 1798-1828, but not published until long after her death. The first fully developed autobiography is also the most influential: the Confessions of St. Augustine, written in the fourth century.

Biography

Biography 

Definition: Late in the seventeenth century, John Dryden defined biography neatly as "the history of particular men's lives." The name now connotes a relatively full account of a particular person's life, involving the attempt to set forth character, temperament, and milieu, as well as the subject's activities and experiences.

Adverbs

Adverbs

An adverb is a word that describes a verb. It tells you about an action, or the way something is done. A lot of adverbs end in -ly. Many adverbs are made by adding –ly. Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs answer the questions: When? Where? How? or To what extent?

Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective. For example:

Quick — quickly

Careful — carefully

Accurate — accurately

• Here are some of the most common non-ly adverbs:

Afterward, Almost, Already, also, back, even, far, fast, hard, here, how, late, long, low, more, near, never, next, now, often, quick, rather, slow, soon, still, then, today, tomorrow, too, when, where, yesterday

Follow these guidelines when you use adverbs:

1. Use an adverb to describe a verb.

Experiments using dynamite must be done carefully.

2. Use an adverb to describe an adjective.

Sam had an unbelievably huge appetite for chips.

3. Use an adverb to describe another adverb.

They sang so clearly.

• Conjunctive adverbs are used to connect other words and to link ideas and

paragraphs,accordingly, again, also, besides, consequently, finally, for example, furthermore, however, indeed, moreover, on the other hand, otherwise, nevertheless, then, therefore

Adjective	Adverb
beautiful	beautifully
brave	bravely
bright	brightly
fierce	fiercely
happy	happily
heavy	heavily
loud	loudly
peaceful	peacefully
slow	slowly
sound	soundly
Sweet	Sweetly

Examples.

The baby is sleeping soundly.

The dog is barking fiercely.

Alice skated beautifully.

The Prince and the Princess lived happily ever after.

The birds are singing sweetly.

It is raining heavily.

The dog and the cat live together peacefully.

The soldiers fought bravely.

The sun is shining brightly.

The old man walked slowly.

They laughed loudly.

• Some adverbs describe the way something is done. They are called adverbs of manner. For Example.

Adjective	Adverb
careless	carelessly
cheap	cheaply
clear	clearly
close	closely
correct	correctly
different	differently
playful	playfully
safe	safely
selfish	selfishly
skillful	skillfully
smart	smartly

Examples.

The driver braked suddenly.

The parcel arrived safely.

Please write legibly.

Please speak clearly.

Look closely at these footprints.

You have all answered correctly.

You can shop cheaply at this store.

Jamal dressed smartly for the party.

Maria is behaving selfishly.

The man drove carelessly.

The twins liked to dress differently.

She played skillfully.

The dog jumped up playfully.

• Some adverbs describe when something happens.They are called adverbs of time. For Example.

He often swims in the evening.

Lisa is always cheerful.

Sometimes I ride my bike to school.

Everyone arrived early.

David arrived late.

It’s snowing again.

The mother bird started to build her nest yesterday.

She is continuing to build it today.

She will finish it tomorrow.

John’s shoes were too big for him last year.

They fit him this year.

They will be too small for him next year.

It rained last night.

The weather is fine this morning.

Can I do my work later? No, do it now.

• Paul has just arrived.Some adverbs tell you where something happens. They are called adverbs of place. For Example.

Come here!

Please put the books there.

The workers are moving the rubbish away.

The miners are working underground.

They are going abroad to study.

There are trees everywhere.

Alice lived next door.

Next>> Conjunctions

Verse

Verse
Definition: The literary term ‘verse’ is used to refer to any single, lone line of a poetry composition. A metrical writing line is known as verse. The word can however, also refer to a stanza or any other part of the poetry. Example: A single line or stanze in poetry would be an example of verse.

Wit

Wit
Definition: Wit is the ability to make brilliant, imaginative or clever connections between ideas and deftness. The original meaning of wit is knowledge, and then intellect.