Figures of Speech & Literary Devices is one of 9 topics in the Grade 12 English Home Language CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. Which figure of speech is used in "Her determination was as unshakeable as a mountain"?
Simile
Metaphor
Personification
Onomatopoeia
Answer: Simile — This is a simile because it makes a direct comparison using "as", explicitly comparing determination to a mountain.
Easy
2. Which figure of speech is used in "The old house groaned and sighed as the wind pressed against its walls"?
Personification
Simile
Onomatopoeia
Hyperbole
Answer: Personification — Personification gives human qualities or actions (groaning, sighing) to a non-human thing (the house).
Medium
3. What is the key structural difference between a simile and a metaphor?
Answer: A simile uses like or as, a metaphor does not — A simile makes the comparison explicit using "like" or "as", while a metaphor states directly that one thing IS another, without those words.
