Similes: Grevy's zebra
The Grammar Bit!
Read the three sentences opposite. They each contain a simile. A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unrelated things by using the words as or like.
An effective simile should help paint a vivid image in the reader’s mind. It should be useful, concise and memorable.
Discuss with your talk partner how effective the similes in the sentences opposite are by giving each one a score rating from one to five.
1 = poor 5 = excellent
Scintillating Sentences
1) As confident as a film star, the solitary zebra approached his female visitors.
2) Like a knight’s war horse in striped pyjamas, the angry zebra charged towards his male rivals.
3) In the dusty wilderness, his black and white stripes were as vivid as lightning flashes in a night sky.
After the drought, the zebra had to travel many miles across the parched savanna. When he finally found a nice patch of grass, the ravenous herbivore ate like a horse!