English language techniques

english language techniques

Noun

a person, place, thing, idea

Verb

an action or state – the spelling will shift depending on the tense

Modal verb

expresses necessity or possibility (can, could, may, might, must, will, would, shall, should)                              

Adjective

: describes a noun or pronoun e.g. wise, sweet, happy, generous, ambiguous                                                                 

Adverb

modifies a verb, adjective, adverb or phrase and tells you how, where, when, how much and how often something happens e.g. unexpectedly, above, later, almost, often

Pronoun

: used in place of a noun e.g. he, she, they, I, you                                                           

Inclusive pronoun

we, our – includes the reader/audience and the speaker

imperative

gives an order or command e.g. Go! Run. Stop.                                          

superlative

: an adjective showing the highest quality or degree e.g. the most colourful, the best, the worst, the lowest, the angriest

imagery

vivid description of a particular scene that draws on the senses e.g. the cold bottle let out a soft hiss as it opened                                    

onomatopoeia

: words that imitate the sound they describe e.g. pop, splash, whisper

alliteration

the same letter or sound at the start of words in close succession e.g. nine knocks

personification

the giving of human characteristics to a non-human object e.g. the ice danced over the window

simile

comparing two things using ‘like’ or ‘as’ e.g. his hands were like ice                                  

metaphor

direct comparison of two things without using ‘like’ or ‘as’ e.g. she’s the star

hyperbole

a deliberate exaggeration e.g. it took forever to climb that hill

oxymoron

the description of one thing in seemingly opposite ways e.g. pretty ugly

narrative voice

1st – I 2nd– you 3rd– he/she

active voice

when the subject of the sentence is performing the verb upon the object e.g. the student wrote the assignment

passive voice

when the subject undergoes the action of the verb, usually the object comes first e.g. the assignment was written by the student.