Figurative Language and Word Nuance
Aligned to L.6.5 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
Interpret figures of speech, see relationships between words (cause and effect, part and whole), and notice fine differences between similar words. Words that mean nearly the same can carry very different shades.
Worked examples
Example 1
'Frugal,' 'thrifty,' and 'stingy' all describe saving money, but 'thrifty' sounds like a virtue and 'stingy' sounds like a flaw. And in 'time is a thief,' the metaphor means time steals moments — a figure of speech, not a fact.
Example 2
'Determined,' 'stubborn' and 'pig-headed' describe the same behaviour and rate it three different ways.
Example 3
'The deadline is breathing down my neck' is not a fact about breathing. Translate an idiom word for word into another language and it usually stops meaning anything.
Practice questions
- Explain what a metaphor or simile you find really means.
- Sort three similar words from most positive to most negative.
- Name a word pair that shows a part-to-whole or cause-and-effect relationship.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Lenguaje Figurado y Matices
Interpreta las figuras retóricas, reconoce las relaciones entre palabras (causa y efecto, parte y todo) y nota las diferencias finas entre palabras parecidas. Palabras que significan casi lo mismo pueden tener matices muy distintos.
Ejemplo 1: 'Ahorrativo', 'económico' y 'tacaño' describen el hecho de guardar dinero, pero 'ahorrativo' suena a virtud y 'tacaño' suena a defecto. Y en 'el tiempo es un ladrón', la metáfora significa que el tiempo nos roba momentos — una figura, no un hecho.
Ejemplo 2: 'Decidido', 'terco' y 'testarudo' describen la misma conducta y la califican de tres formas distintas.
Ejemplo 3: 'Tengo la fecha límite encima' no es un hecho sobre estar encima. Traduce un modismo palabra por palabra a otro idioma y normalmente deja de significar algo.
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