Figurative Language Quiz

Grade 7 · English · Quiz

Test your ability to identify and interpret figurative language devices in context.

Questions

What type of figurative language is 'the classroom was a zoo'?
1. Simile
2. Metaphor
3. Hyperbole
4. Irony
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Answer: Metaphor
Directly calling the classroom a zoo (not 'like' a zoo) makes this a metaphor — a direct comparison.
When an author references Romeo and Juliet to describe a tragic romance, they are using ___.
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Answer: allusion
An allusion references a well-known work without explaining it — readers familiar with Shakespeare understand the meaning instantly.
Situational irony occurs when what actually happens is the opposite of what was expected.
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Answer: True
Situational irony is when the outcome contradicts expectations — like a fire station burning down.
Which is an example of personification?
1. He was as brave as a lion
2. The moon hid behind the clouds
3. I've told you a billion times
4. Life is a rollercoaster
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Answer: The moon hid behind the clouds
The moon can't actually hide — 'hide' is a human action, making this personification.
'Her voice was as smooth as velvet' is an example of:
1. Metaphor
2. Hyperbole
3. Simile
4. Symbolism
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Answer: Simile
The word 'as' signals a simile — comparing voice to velvet using 'as smooth as.'
Idioms can be translated word-for-word into other languages and still make sense.
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Answer: False
Idioms are culture-specific and lose their meaning in literal translation — that's what makes them tricky for language learners.
When a storm in a story represents a character's inner turmoil, the storm is being used as ___.
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Answer: symbolism
When a concrete element (storm) represents an abstract concept (inner turmoil), that's symbolism.
Which sentence contains hyperbole?
1. She smiled like the sun
2. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse
3. The leaves whispered in the wind
4. He was a rock in the storm
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Answer: I'm so hungry I could eat a horse
No one can literally eat a horse — this extreme exaggeration for effect is hyperbole.
Dramatic irony occurs when:
1. A character says the opposite of what they mean
2. The reader knows something a character does not
3. Weather reflects a character's mood
4. Two things are compared using like or as
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Answer: The reader knows something a character does not
Dramatic irony creates tension because readers see what characters can't — like knowing the killer is behind the door.
Figurative language always means exactly what the words literally say.
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Answer: False
The entire point of figurative language is that it operates beyond literal meaning — it must be interpreted.

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