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English 1b3 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Comparisons: like

Please tell me which are correct choices and why:



1. I felt the future shudder through me like thunder trembling/like how thunder trembles/like the way thunder trembles/as thunder trembling through the limbs and wearied vines of a storming willow.

2a. Puberty is going to hit him like a shovel.

b. Puberty is going to hit him like a shovel would hit him.

c. Puberty is going to hit him like a shovel hits him.



Thanks



  

Top answer

1. -- Choosing another verb ('trembling') destroys the simile. 2a.

— Mister Micawber

  • 1.
  • -- Choosing another verb ('trembling') destroys the simile.
  • 2a.
  • Puberty is going to hit him like a shovel.
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5 Answers
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1. I felt the future shudder through me like thunder through the limbs and wearied vines of a willow in a storm.-- Choosing another verb ('trembling') destroys the simile.


2a. Puberty is going to hit him like a shovel.
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Mister MicawberPuberty is going to hit him like a shovel.

Thank you. Why is this one correct, not the others? Pubert isn't going to hit him like a shovel, but like a shovel that hits him..
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You should leave something to the reader's intelligence; if you don't, you lose the impact of the simile and create an ugly, awkward sentence.
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Mister MicawberYou should leave something to the reader's intelligence; if you don't, you lose the impact of the simile and create an ugly, awkward sentence.

Good point. Thanks.

Does this hold true for all similies? Or just ones where the ellipted words are obvious?

Finally, when can we replace 'like' with 'as'? EG

*He charge
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I think that is true for most all similes; much of a simile's power is in its impact.

Your example for 'as' doesn't work. I think 'as' works almost exclusively in the the 'as...as' structure.
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