English Comprehension Flashcards

Read: 'The fox, sly and cunning, crept silently towards the henhouse.' What is 'sly and cunning' in this sentence?

Answer: A parenthetical phrase

'Sly and cunning' is a parenthetical phrase set off by commas. It adds extra information about the fox but could be removed without changing the sentence's grammatical structure.

What is the difference between 'affect' and 'effect'?

Answer: Affect is a verb, effect is usually a noun

'Affect' is typically a verb (to influence something), while 'effect' is typically a noun (the result of something). For example: 'The weather affects my mood' vs 'The effect of rain is flooding.'

Read: 'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.' What technique does the author use to unsettle the reader?

Answer: Juxtaposition of the familiar with the impossible

The sentence starts with a normal description but ends with an impossibility — clocks striking thirteen. This juxtaposition of the ordinary and the impossible immediately unsettles the reader.

Which sentence demonstrates correct use of the subjunctive mood?

Answer: If I were rich, I would travel.

The subjunctive mood uses 'were' instead of 'was' for hypothetical situations. 'If I were rich' is correct because being rich is hypothetical.

What is an unreliable narrator?

Answer: A narrator whose account may not be trustworthy

An unreliable narrator is a character whose telling of the story is not entirely accurate or trustworthy, whether due to bias, limited knowledge, or deliberate deception.

In the phrase 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers', what literary device is used?

Answer: Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of nearby words. Here, the 'P' sound is repeated throughout.