Dictionary: English Grammar Terms

Anagram can be a word or a phrase that is formed when you rearrange the letters of another word. For instance, if you rearrange the word ‘anagram’, it will make a new phrase ‘nag a ram’.

Writers may use anagram in their writings very cleverly and readers, in return, must be very clever enough to understand an anagram within a text.

You must be very careful while forming an anagram. It is compulsory to use the same letters of the original word or phrase to form an anagram, which is of a different arrangement.

In literature, one of the most famous anagrams used for the writer William Shakespeare is “I am a weakish speller”.

Why Writers use Anagram?

You must be thinking that is there any advantage of using anagram?

I must say that anagrams are one of the most famous literary devices. Writers do use them in order to create mystery, wit, and fun. Mostly, writers use anagrams if they wish to comment on the subject.

So, we can say that this particular literary device is a commentary that writers use very cleverly. In this way, readers go in the depth of the meaning of writing by discovering the actual or the original word. Anagrams are just like puzzles if used cleverly.

Many authors anagram their names and create pseudonym (pen name) for themselves. Below is the list with a few pseudonyms,

• Jim Morrison > Mr. Mojo Risin
• Dave Barrey > Ray Adverb
• Edward Gorey > Ogdred Weary

Apart from pseudonyms, writers do use anagrams within their writings as well, to make their writings more interesting and challenging for their readers. For instance, the writer J. K. Rowling has used an anagram ‘I am Lord Voldemort’ in her most famous ‘Harry Potter series’. She used this anagram for a character named ‘Tom Marvolo Riddle’.

In this way, many other writers interestingly use this method to name their characters, places, things, or even occasions. You can find out such an example in Jonathan Swift’s ‘Gulliver’s Travels’. ‘Brobdingnag’, ‘Tribinia’, and ‘Langden’ are all anagrams that he used in his famous novel.

Check Out: What Is An Analogy?

Other Examples of Anagram

• The Eyes > They see
• Mother-in-law > Woman Hitler
• Teacher > Cheater
• Angel > Glean
• Hardest >Dearths
• Old England > Golden Land
• Skill > Kills
• Lemon > Melon
• Earthquake > Heart quake
• Diary > Dairy
• Considerate > Care is noted
• A decimal point > A dot in place
• Signature > A true sign

Types of Anagrams

Simple vs. Complex Anagrams

Anagrams can be categorized into two primary types: simple and complex. Simple anagrams consist of a single word, where the letters are rearranged to form another valid word. For example, the word “listen” can be transformed into “silent.” These straightforward rearrangements are often easier to spot and are commonly used in games and puzzles.

On the other hand, complex anagrams involve phrases or sentences, where the entire arrangement of words is altered to create a new meaning.

For instance, the phrase “a gentleman” can be rearranged to form “elegant man.” Complex anagrams are often more challenging and can carry deeper meanings, making them a favorite tool for writers to engage readers in wordplay.

Names and Titles

Anagrams play a significant role in character names, book titles, and plot devices, allowing authors to add layers of meaning or intrigue.

For example, in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, the character “Tom Marvolo Riddle” reveals himself as “I am Lord Voldemort,” an anagram that encapsulates his transformation from a seemingly ordinary wizard to the dark lord. This clever wordplay not only deepens the character’s backstory but also enhances the thematic elements of identity and power.

Similarly, authors may use anagrams to create pseudonyms or memorable character names that hint at their personalities or roles within the story. Names like “Brobdingnag” from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels serve to enrich the narrative world while challenging readers to uncover hidden meanings.

What Did You Learn?

We can say that only those people should use anagrams who want to create fun, wit and humor cleverly. People do use anagrams not only in writing but in everyday life as well.

You can make an anagram just by rearranging the letters of the original word. You just have to be careful to use only those letters that the original word consists of. Writers create pseudonyms for themselves by anagramming their own names. They also use this method to name their characters or places.

An allegory is synonymous with a symbol or a metaphor. It is a literary device in which characters, things or events represent something which is hidden or have some symbolic meaning.

Allegory vs. Symbolism

‘An allegory is different from symbolism.’

It is far different from symbolism because symbolism does not tell a complete story. Unlike symbolism, an allegory can be a story, poem, or a picture consists of characters and happenings to represent an abstract thought.

Allegory = A Story or a Poem (Narrative)

Symbolism = A Figure of Speech

Symbolism can be used to represent ideas or qualities. For example, a dove is a symbol of peace. Moreover, in literature, you have read Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’. In this novel, darkness is used as a symbol of the evil.

Allegory, on the other hand, is narrative. It can be named as a highly symbolic story. The hidden meaning can be a moral, political, religious, or philosophical one. For instance, William Golding’s ‘The Lord of the Flies’ is one of the most famous examples of allegorical stories. You can find out political, psychological, and religious allegory within this particular novel.

Allegory as a Useful Tool for Writers

Writers take advantage of it because it can give freedom to writers to write whatever they want.

Writers can criticize through their allegorical narratives. It is one of the effective ways that writers use to convey their complex point of views.

An Allegory is an Extended Metaphor

In allegory, writers used to cover an idea through a sequence of symbolic meanings. The readers then get the writers’ intended meanings more deeply.

Also, check out the most famous allegories of all time that are listed below;

• Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’.
• John Bunyan’s ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’.
• George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’.
• Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’.
• Edmund Spencer’s ‘Faerie Queene’.
• Suzanne Collins’ ‘The Hunger Games’.
• Aesop’s Fables
• Dr. Seuss’ ‘Yertle the Turtle’.
• William Golding’s ‘The Lord of the Flies.’
• Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ‘Young Goodman Brown’.

Check Out: What Is Alliteration?

Types of Allegories

Allegories can be categorized into several types, each serving a different purpose in literature. Here are three key types:

Moral Allegory: This type is designed to teach a moral lesson. Characters and events symbolize moral concepts, guiding readers toward ethical conclusions.
Example: In John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, the protagonist’s journey symbolizes a Christian’s spiritual journey toward salvation, illustrating the challenges of leading a virtuous life.

Political Allegory: In political allegories, characters or events represent real-world political figures or systems, often offering critiques of societal structures.
Example: George Orwell’s Animal Farm uses farm animals to critique the rise of totalitarian regimes and the events surrounding the Russian Revolution.

Religious Allegory: Religious allegories convey spiritual or religious messages, often representing a soul’s journey toward redemption or divine truths.
Example: Dante’s Divine Comedy narrates a soul’s journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, symbolizing a Christian’s path to salvation and the consequences of sin.

What Did You Learn?

Allegories are different from symbolism. An allegory is an extended metaphor, which is narrative in nature. Writers use it as a tool to represent an abstract thought. The characters, things or events have some symbolic meanings in them that readers should interpret in order to get the writer’s intended meanings.

Analogy is one of the literary devices in which there is a comparison between two different things. People do use analogies, either in writing or speaking, to describe one thing by making similarities with another thing. For instance, ‘all that glitters is not gold.’

The above example sentence is comparing fake attraction to the glitters. It means that everything that is shiny and attractive may not be valuable. It is not necessary that every shiny thing is a precious thing.

People who are clever enough can make best use of this device because in this method, the two things may be quite different from each other in nature and the user must provide a solid connection between them.

In return, the readers or the listeners should also be clever enough in order to get that connection between two compared things.

You might be thinking that if analogy is to compare things then; it must be called a simile or a metaphor. In fact, analogy is neither a simile nor a metaphor. Though analogy is a comparison but it is different from them.

An analogy is not a simile or a metaphor

Simile and metaphor are like a short comparison between two things. Unlike them, an analogy is used to compare two things in an extended manner. It compares by elaborating the characteristics of things to make an argument digestible.

Why use Analogy?

Analogies are known to be the most effective way to enhance mental effectiveness. People do use them in exams to check learners’ capabilities. They can behave like a communication tool in order to connect the speaker to listener.

In the same way, writers use analogies to connect themselves to their readers. Analogies can make writing rich with beautiful description of ideas.

It enhances the meaning of any literary work by making readers understand the connection between things. Writers may use analogies to tell their readers about the sensitivity of a topic.
For instance, William Shakespeare used analogies in many of his works. One of the examples is in ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

‘a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’

The above example implies that if you change the name of anything, it does not change that thing’s real identity. It will remain the same. Names do not affect anything.

Other Examples of Analogy

• ‘This flea is you and I, and this. Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is.’ (John Donne)

• Citizen is to president as solar system is to galaxy.

• A relationship without trust is like a cell phone with no service. All you can do is play games.

• New Year’s Eve is like the death of a pet. You know it’s going to happen, but somehow you’re never really prepared for how truly awful it is. (John Oliver)

Check Out: The Difference Between Compared To and Compared With.

Types of Analogies

Analogies come in various forms, each serving a different purpose. Here are some common types:

• Part-to-Whole Analogy: This type compares a part of something to the whole it belongs to. For example, “Branch is to tree as finger is to hand,” highlighting the relationship between a component and its larger entity.
• Cause-and-Effect Analogy: This analogy explains how one thing leads to another. For instance, “Seed is to tree as spark is to fire,” showing how a small action can result in a larger outcome.
• Function Analogy: It compares objects based on their purpose or role. An example would be “Knife is to cutting as pen is to writing,” emphasizing the functional similarity between different tools.
• Opposite Analogy: This contrasts two things that are opposites. For example, “Hot is to cold as day is to night,” illustrating the relationship between contrasting pairs.

Each type of analogy helps in understanding relationships by drawing comparisons that make concepts easier to grasp.

What Did You Learn?

Analogy is the comparison between two things, mostly different from each other. Not only writers but speakers do use them in everyday speech. It is a good tool for mental effectiveness and writers use them to connect themselves with their readers by enhancing the meaning of their literary works.

An adverb can be a word or a phrase which is used to modify or to describe a verb, an adjective or other adverb. It gives more information about a verb, an adjective or other adverb.

Learn About an Adverb

Some common examples of Adverbs are listed below.

1. He slowly clapped.

2. Reha smiles beautifully.

3. It strangely stared at me.

In the above examples, ‘slowly’, ‘beautifully’, and ‘strangely’ are used as an adverb. As I said above that adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. In the above examples, all of the three adverbs are modifying the verbs ‘clapped’, ‘smiles’, and ‘stared’.

Note: Most of the adverbs (but not all) end in ‘-ly’. See some of the most common adverbs that are listed below and note that these adverbs end in –ly.

• Easily
• Rarely
• Slowly
• Carefully
• Really
• Clearly
• Wrongly
• Quietly
• Loudly
• Extremely
• Softly

Adverb in Example Sentences

Now, I will tell you how you can use adverbs to modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. I will provide a few example sentences of adverbs modifying each part of speech (i.e. verb, adjective, and adverb).

1. My student reads loudly, which makes me confused sometimes.

> In the above example, the word ‘loudly’ is an adverb, which is used to modify the verb ‘reads’. This adverb ‘loudly’ is giving a clearer picture of the student who is reading.

2. The painting that I bought yesterday is extremely beautiful.

> In the above example, the word ‘extremely’ is used as an adverb, which is modifying the adjective ‘beautiful’. This adverb ‘extremely’ is providing a good description about the painting.

3. My sister plans amazingly fast.

> In the above example, the word ‘amazingly’ is an adverb, which is used to modify the other adverb, ‘fast’. The ‘amazingly’ describes how fast the sister plans.

Note: Keep in mind! If an adverb is modifying an adjective or another adverb within a sentence, it must be placed just before the word it modifies. See the above examples 2 and 3 (i.e. ‘…extremely beautiful.’ and ‘…amazingly fast.’)

More about Adverbs

Adverbs can tell you when, where, how, and to what extent an action or something occurred.

For example,

1. I will give you my notes today. (When)

2. Right here, I have put my notes. (Where)

3. She happily came to visit me. (How)

4. We almost lost you. (To what extent)

Some of the examples of adverbs that tell when, where, how, and to what extent something occurred are listed below.

When > today, tomorrow, yesterday, usually, monthly, always, now, often, never, etc.

Where > everywhere, somewhere, out, in, inside, there, up, down, etc.

How > happily, peacefully, calmly, angrily, cheerfully, wrongly, etc.

To What Extent > enough, almost, very, too, quite, often, etc.

Note: ‘How’ are the adverbs of manner; ‘Where’ are the adverbs of place; ‘When’ are the adverbs of time.

Phrasal Adverbs: Some of the phrasal adverbs are listed below.

• Early morning
• Under the sea
• Like a sad song
• In the world
• To give you happiness
• Any time
• Whenever I remember

Check Out: What Is An Allegory?

What Did You Learn?

Adverb can be a word or a phrase which is used to modify or to describe a verb, an adjective or others. Most of the adverbs end in ‘–ly’. Adverbs can tell you when, where, how, and to what extent something has been occurred.

Adjectives are those words that are used to describe or modify nouns or pronouns. An adjective can specify your writing by giving more information and more meaning to nouns or pronouns.

Learn about Adjectives

Some common examples of adjectives are listed below:

1. The red dress.

2. The beautiful dress.

3. The ugly dress.

4. The shiny dress.

5. The see-through dress.

6. The wet dress.

In the above examples, ‘red’, ‘beautiful’, ‘ugly’, ‘shiny’, ‘see-through’, and ‘wet’ are all adjectives because these words are modifying ‘the dress’ i.e. they are giving more information about ‘the dress’.

Furthermore, not all the adjectives come just before the nouns or pronouns.

For example,

1. That dress looks beautiful on you. 

2. The dress is ugly; please, don’t buy it.

In the above examples, you can see that the adjectives ‘beautiful’ and ‘ugly’ come after the link verbs i.e. ‘looks’ and ‘is’.

Types of Adjectives

Adjectives can be categorized into different types based on their function in a sentence:

• Descriptive Adjectives: These describe the qualities or characteristics of a noun. For example, beautiful in “a beautiful flower” or tall in “a tall building.”
• Quantitative Adjectives: These specify the quantity or amount of a noun, answering the question “how much” or “how many.” Examples include few, several, and many, as in “few students” or “many opportunities.”
• Demonstrative Adjectives: These point out specific nouns, showing which one(s) you’re referring to. Examples include this, that, these, and those. For example, “I like this car” or “Please bring those books.”
• Possessive Adjectives: These indicate ownership or possession. Common possessive adjectives include my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. Example: “That’s my laptop.”
• Interrogative Adjectives: Used in questions, these modify nouns to ask about them. Examples include which, what, and whose, as in “Whose car is this?” or “Which color do you prefer?”
• Comparative and Superlative Adjectives: These are used to compare nouns. The comparative form compares two things (e.g., bigger, more beautiful), while the superlative form compares three or more things (e.g., biggest, most beautiful). Example: “John is taller than Mike” (comparative) and “Anna is the tallest in the class” (superlative).

Adjective Clauses

An adjective clause, also known as a relative clause, is a group of words that functions like an adjective, giving more information about a noun. These clauses usually begin with relative pronouns like who, that, or which.

For example:

• The man who is wearing a blue shirt is my uncle.
  In this sentence, the adjective clause “who is wearing a blue shirt” gives additional information about the noun “man.” The clause modifies the noun by specifying which man is being referred to.

Some Other Important Points

 If you will find any difficulties in identifying, there is trick for you. Most of the adjectives can be identified by their suffixes. Take a look at a few suffixes below,

1. –ar > spectacular
2. –al > manual
3. –ous > hazardous, dangerous
4. –ful > painful, beautiful
5. –ile > juvenile
6. –en > spoken, broken
7. –able > comfortable, loveable
8. –ish > freakish
9. –ive > objective
10. –less > careless
11. –ic > energetic
12. –some > awesome

•  Sometimes, you can also find out some adjectives that come after the noun. For example, ‘he customized his profile public.’

In the above example, ‘public’ is used as an adjective, which is modifying a ‘profile’ (which is a noun).

• Words like someone, something, etc are indefinite pronouns. These indefinite pronouns can also be modified but you have to remember one thing. In such cases, the adjectives should come after these pronouns. For example, ‘one day, you will find someone good in your life.’

What Did You Learn?

Adjectives are essential tools in language, adding depth, clarity, and richness to our communication. By modifying nouns and pronouns, they allow us to describe, compare, and specify with precision.

Understanding the types and how they function, whether on their own or in the form of adjective clauses, empowers us to express ourselves more vividly and accurately.