What is a simile?
A simile is a figurative piece of language that we use to compare one thing with another.
Just like this.
'My mama always said life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going
to get'.
What they are saying there is that life is similar to a box of chocolates.
When you open a box of chocolates you might not know what flavour of chocolate you are
going to get and life is kind of like that.
We don't know what we are going to get.
Are we going to get a happy moment, a sad moment etc.
So they are comparing life with a box of chocolates.
'I'm in love with the shape of you, we push and pull like a magnet do.'
You'll notice in both examples the word 'like'.
Like is a fundamental part of a simile.
We use like or as to compare the two things.
Another famous example is by William Wordsworth.
'I wandered lonely as a cloud'.
I'm not saying there that I am a cloud but I'm wandering lonely as a cloud.
I'm comparing myself to a cloud.
Similes allow us to be really creative with our words.
So for example 'The buildings were like giants'.
Again I'm not saying that the buildings are giants but that they remind me of giants.
That I'm comparing them to giants.
So a simile allows you to be really creative.
It's an opportunity to express yourself in an imaginative way.
Now there are a lot of very common similes that we use all the time.
Often with an as/as structure so for example 'as good as gold' and that means very well
behaved.
You might describe a child as being as good as gold.
'The kids in my class are a good as gold.'
They behave very well, they are as good as gold.
As flat as a pancake.
Very flat.
So 'My hair is as flat as a pancake' you might say.
As hard as nails.
So if you want to describe a very tough person you might describe them as being as hard as
nails.
'The security guard was as hard as nails.'
Or as light asa feather.
Very light.
So 'the ballerina was as light as a feather'.
So you can see that we either have very common similes that you can use like those ones or
you can make your own ones up, you can be creative.
You can play with the language and that's what I love about similes.
It's allowing you to be creative, to play with the language and use your imagination.
Alright guys, it's your turn to write a simile.
Now I'm going to give you a few ideas and I want you to write a simile for me and put
it in the comments below, Ok?
So remember we are comparing one thing to another, we are going to use the word like
or as, ok?
And be creative!
Be imaginative!
Come up with something funny, witty, unbelievable, whatever it is that you have got.
Ok?
So, are you ready?
Alright guys thank you so much for hanging out with me today.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Remember to check out my Instagram account where I put fresh daily English content on
there and of course Facebook as well.
I've got new videos every Tuesday and every Friday helping you take your English to the
next level.
Thank you so much for hanging out with me guys, I've really appreciated it.
This is Tom, the Chief Dreamer, saying goodbye.