GRAMMAR
What punctuation mark is used to connect two independent clauses without using a coordinating conjunction?
A semicolon (;)
What word means the opposite of "ancient"?
Modern (or new / recent)
What do we call the main character or hero of a story?
The protagonist.
Giving human qualities or actions to non-human objects or animals is known as what?
Personification
What does the common idiom "piece of cake" mean?
Something that is very easy to do
Is the word "he" a subject pronoun or an object pronoun?
Subject pronoun.
What word refers to a book that contains a list of words in alphabetical order with their definitions?
A dictionary
What term refers to the central lesson, moral, or main idea that an author conveys through a story?
The theme.
What figure of speech directly states that one thing is another without using "like" or "as" (e.g., "Time is money")?
A metaphor
If someone tells you to "hold your horses," what are they asking you to do?
Wait or be patient
Which sentence is written in the passive voice: "The cat chased the mouse" or "The mouse was chased by the cat"?
The mouse was chased by the cat.
What is the term for words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations (e.g., lead as a metal vs. lead as to guide)?
Homographs.
What is the time and place in which a story's events occur called?
The setting
Words that imitate the sound they describe (e.g., buzz, hiss, bang) are examples of what literary device?
Onomatopoeia
What idiom means to wish someone good luck, especially right before a performance?
Break a leg
What type of word links a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence (e.g., under, between, through)?
A preposition.
What adjective means "able to speak two languages fluently"?
Bilingual.
What do we call the point of highest tension or the turning point in a narrative plot line?
The climax.
What figure of speech combines two contradictory terms next to each other (e.g., "deafening silence", "jumbo shrimp")?
An oxymoron
What does the expression "bite the bullet" mean?
To face a difficult or unpleasant situation with courage and get it over with.
What grammatical error occurs when a sentence is made up of two or more independent clauses joined improperly without appropriate punctuation or a conjunction?
A run-on sentence
What term describes a word formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word itself (e.g., NASA, radar)?
An acronym.
What literary structure or plot device interrupts the chronological sequence of a story to show events that happened at an earlier time?
A flashback
When an author drops subtle hints about events that will happen later in the story, what device are they using?
Foreshadowing.
What does the idiom "barking up the wrong tree" mean?
Pursuing a mistaken line of thought or accusing the wrong person.