Say it a different way

When we become more confident in our speaking abilites we sometimes make the same word choices over and over again. This is often frustrating for English learners who haven’t achieved the rich vocabulary that they desire. It takes time for this so continue working on it.

We need word power to be more versatile communicators, to create imagery, and to express our thoughts more effectively. There are at least 10 different ways to say simple things like “hello”, “goodbye”, and “thank you”. There are several ways to express most anything by applying figures of speech (similes, metaphors, euphemisms), phrasal verbs, idioms, synonyms, and descriptive words. Use your head, get creative, and say it a different way.

Let’s visualize a person named Justin who enjoys a good meal:

Justin likes to eat. He’s a real foodie with a very healthy appetite. Last night he consumed copious amounts of mashed potatoes. He’s not a pig or a glutton although he is voracious at times, inhaling anything on his plate. Look at him in this photo. That hamburger is hat-sized! It seems that Justin has a hollow leg but he’s most likely just a hungry guy.

Can you add anything more to describle Justin’s eating style?

Simile

Figures of speech are expressions that use language to create pictures in the mind of the reader or listener. These pictures help convey the meaning faster and more vividly than words alone, allowing readers to use their imagination and understand more than just plain words. This is called figurative language.

Similes are a figure of speech. Metaphors are another type of figurative language. Though metaphors say that one thing is another, different thing, a simile says that one thing is like another, different thing. A simile compares two things that are alike in some way. To help you identify a simile, the words “like” or “as” are typically used.

Here are examples of similes using "as":

- as busy as a bee
- as white as snow
- as sly as a fox
- as cold as ice

Examples using "like":

- to work like a dog (work very hard)
- to smoke like a chimney (to be a heavy smoker)
- like watching paint dry (boring activity)
- to fight like cats and dogs

The better your imagination, the more interesting speaker and writer you will be if you use similes and metaphors.

Metaphors

My father is Superman.
Carlo's apartment is a sty.
You are the light of my life.

These are examples of metaphors which are figures of speech, or expressions that use language in a nonliteral way. Simply put, a metaphor says that one thing is another, different thing.

Metaphors create images by comparing, or transferring, the qualities of one thing to describe another, such as:

- Broken heart: Your heart is not literally broken into pieces; you just feel hurt and sad.
- Green with envy: You are not really green, but you are very envious.
- Davide is a bear in the morning: He is not pleasant when he wakes up early. Davide isn't really a bear.

The better your imagination, the more creative you can be with metaphors. Here are some metaphors I've seen to describe people. Can you guess the kind of person you might meet if they were a:

devil
pig
angel
snake
bear

What metaphor describes you?