Test your knowledge of figures of speech. Correct and resolve your doubts in the commented answer sheet.
Exercise1
The figure of speech present in “Green seas, which shine like liquid emerald in the rays of the rising sun.” (Iracema, José de Alencar) is:
a) comparison
b) paradox
c) antithesis
d) metaphor
In the prayer above, an explicit comparison is made between the green of the sea and the emerald, which is a precious stone that has a green color. The comparison is explicit, because the connective “Green seas, that shine as emerald liquid…”.
Exercise 2
Which of the following sentences below contains a metaphor?
I. My children are my right arm.
II. He is the sun of my life. III. He had a look as sweet as honey.a) only in III
b) in I and III
c) in I and II
d) in all
In sentences I and II, a comparison is made in an implied way, because a connective is not used to establish this relationship (like, such). When an explicit comparison is made, that is, when connectives are used, comparison occurs. In sentence III, there is a comparison: He had a sweet look
as the honey.Exercise 3
Identify the metonymies. Do as in the example:
Brazil won the match. (Brazil = Brazilian team: place by its inhabitants, i.e. The Brazilian team won the match.)
a) A Leonardo da Vinci is a fortune.
b) Brazilians are natural entrepreneurs.
c) In his spare time, he read Luis Fernando Verissimo.
d) I took photocopies of the work.
e) It was the neighborhood Judas.
a) A Leonardo da Vinci is a fortune. (Leonardo da Vinci = painting by Leonardo da Vinci: the author for the work, that is, A painting by Leonardo da Vinci is a fortune.)
b) Brazilians are natural entrepreneurs. (Brazilian = Brazilians: the singular for the plural, that is, Brazilians are natural entrepreneurs.)
c) In his spare time, he read Luis Fernando Verissimo. (Luis Fernando Verissimo = the work of Luis Fernando Verissimo: the author for the work, that is, In his spare time, he read the works of Luis Fernando Verissimo.)
d) I took photocopies of the work. (xerox = photocopy: the product by brand, that is, I took a photocopy of the work.)
e) It was the neighborhood Judas. (Judas = traitor: the individual by species or class, that is, he was the traitor of the neighborhood.)
Exercise 4
Match each of the figures of speech in the box to the sentences below.
antithesis - assonance - understatement - hyperbole - onomatopoeia - paradox - personification |
a) Does he seem weak in ideas or is it just me?
b) The waiter tripped and the dishes clattered on the floor.
c) “Being his freedom, it was his slavery.” (Vinicius de Moraes)
d) What is ugly for some may be beautiful for others.
e) “In a gentle nuance that never tires.” (Emiliano Perneta)
f) I'm dying of thirst.
a) Does he seem weak in ideas or is it just me?
Euphemism, because an expression was used to soften the speech: “weak of ideas”, instead of saying something like “Is he stupid or is it just me?”.
b) The waiter tripped and the dishes clattered on the floor.
Onomatopoeia, because a word was used that imitates the sound of falling dishes: “plaft”.
c) “Being his freedom, it was his slavery.” (Vinicius de Moraes)
Paradox, because ideas with opposite meanings were used: freedom and slavery.
d) What is ugly for some may be beautiful for others.
Antithesis, because terms (and not ideas, as in the paradox) with opposite meanings were used: ugly and beautiful.
e) “In a gentle nuance that never tires.” (Emiliano Perneta)
Assonance, because repeated vowel sounds of U and A were used.
f) I'm dying of thirst.
Hyperbole, because the exaggeration was used: “dying of thirst”, instead of saying “I am very thirsty.”.
Exercise 5
“It’s wood, it’s stone, it’s the end of the road
It's the remains of a stump, it's a little alone It's a shard of glass, it's life, it's the Sun It's the night, it's death, it's the noose, it's the hook.”(Excerpt from Águas de Março, by Tom Jobim)
We can say that this excerpt was constructed using a figure of speech called:
a) pleonasm
b) anaphora
c) alliteration
d) assonance
Anaphora is a figure of speech that uses the repetition of one or more words, regularly, to increase the expressiveness of speech. In this case, the anaphora is present thanks to the repetition of the verb “is”.
Exercise 6
Identify the figures of speech present in the sentences below:
I. The mouse ate the king of Rome's clothes.
II. Urgh, how disgusting! III. The photo told me what it must have been like at that time.a) personification, hyperbole, metaphor
b) personification, onomatopoeia, irony
c) alliteration, hyperbole, irony
d) alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification or prosopopeia
Alliteration it is the repetition of consonant sounds, as in sentence I: The mouse ate the king of Rome's clothes.
Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate sounds, as in sentence II, in which “Urgh” is the sound we make when we feel disgusted.
Personification it is the attribution of human qualities to objects or irrational beings, as in clause III, in which the photo says something.
Exercise 7
Indicate the alternative that presents the personification figure of speech.
a) The mirror looked at me, judging my actions.
b) The lasagna was so good that I ate two dishes.
c) He has six mouths to feed at home.
d) His sweet voice cheered my spirit.
Personification is the figure of speech that uses the attribution of human qualities to objects or irrational beings, to increase the expressiveness of speech. In this case, the ability to look was the human quality used by the mirror.
Exercise 8
What figure of speech is present in this dialogue:
- Good afternoon mother. After your son's behavior today, the school has decided that it is best for us to take a break from his classes for a few days.
- Good afternoon teacher. Thank you for the information, but I'm a little confused. What do you mean by "taking a break from classes for a few days"?
Euphemism, because an expression was used to soften the speech: “a break from your classes for a few days”, instead of directly telling the mother that her son was suspended.
Exercise 9
Select the option that presents the segment of the text in which the presence of irony does not occur.
a) Dinner was great. I have never eaten such tasteless meat.
b) There is no doubt that the painting turned out great. The wall is already peeling.
c) Wow! He arrived early for the meeting that just ended.
d) You failed to tell the truth!
Irony is the representation of the opposite of what is stated. It occurs in all of the alternatives above, except in alternative d), in which the figure of speech present is the euphemism, because an expression was used to soften the speech: “you failed to tell the truth”, instead of saying that you are a liar.
Exercise 10
Indicate the correct alternative.
a) The phrase “I know that I am nothing and that perhaps I will never have everything.”, by Fernando Pessoa, is an example of a paradox.
b) Antithesis and paradox are similar figures, because in them there is a comparison of two terms.
c) The phrase “Solitude is great company.” is an example of antithesis.
d) In paradox we use opposite terms, while in antithesis, opposite ideas.
The phrase “Solitude is great company.” is an example of antithesis, because antithesis uses terms (and not ideas, as in paradox) with opposite meanings. In this case, the opposite terms used are: loneliness and company.
The sentence for alternative a) “I know that I am nothing and that I may never have everything.” is also an example of antithesis. The opposite terms used are: nothing and everything.
To learn more, read Figures of speech: summary and examples
For more exercises, see:
Figures of speech exercises
Text interpretation activities for 8th grade
FERNANDES, Márcia. Figures of Speech Exercises for 8th grade (with answer sheet).All Matter, [n.d.]. Available in: https://www.todamateria.com.br/exercicios-de-figuras-de-linguagem-8-ano/. Access at:
See too
- Figures of speech exercises
- Figures of speech: summary and examples
- Paradox
- Exercises on Baroque
- Exercises on Pre-Modernism
- Figures of Thought
- Hyperbole
- Exercises on adjectives