Figurative language worksheet for high school English students at Agricultural High School.

Let’s go step by step through each question on the worksheet. We’ll solve them one at a time, carefully and clearly.

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Part A: Identify if the given sentence is literal or figurative.

We are told:
- Literal = real meaning (what actually happened)
- Figurative = not real — uses exaggeration, metaphor, personification, etc.

Let’s analyze each:

1. *The students were reading a short story.*
→ This is something that can really happen. No exaggeration or imagination needed.
✔ LITERAL

2. *My parents will be attending a meeting in our school.*
→ Again, this is a real event. Parents do attend meetings.
✔ LITERAL

3. *She is busy preparing for the oral exam.*
→ Real activity. People prepare for exams.
✔ LITERAL

4. *My mother received an award for her years of responsibility.*
→ Awards are given for long-term good behavior or work. This is realistic.
✔ LITERAL

5. *He is the smartest student in the class.*
→ “Smartest” is subjective and often exaggerated. It’s unlikely we can prove someone is *the absolute smartest*. Also, it may be used to praise, not state fact. In language arts, superlatives like this are often considered figurative unless proven otherwise. But wait — let’s think again. Is it *always* figurative? Actually, in many contexts, especially in school worksheets, statements like “he is the tallest” or “she is the fastest” are treated as literal if they’re measurable. But “smartest” is harder to measure objectively. However, looking at common curriculum standards, this is often marked as figurative because it’s an opinion/exaggeration. Let’s check the pattern with other questions.

Wait — look at #6: *“The sun was shining bright.”* → That’s literal. So maybe #5 is also meant to be literal? Hmm.

Actually, let’s reconsider: The instruction says “figurative refers to words that do not mean exactly what they defined meaning”. So if “smartest” is being used to mean “very smart”, then it’s figurative. But if it’s meant literally (i.e., he scored highest on tests), it could be literal. Since no context is given, and this is a basic worksheet, likely they expect us to treat obvious facts as literal and opinions/exaggerations as figurative.

But here’s a better approach: Look at #7–#10 under Part B — those are clearly figurative. And #1–#4 are clearly literal. So #5 might be tricky.

Actually, let’s look ahead: Question 8 in Part C is “The sky never sounded like thunder.” — which is odd, but probably literal? Wait, no — that doesn’t make sense. Maybe I should just follow standard interpretation.

In most elementary/middle school materials, “He is the smartest student” is considered figurative because it’s an exaggeration or opinion — you can’t truly measure “smartness” absolutely. Whereas “He got the highest score” would be literal.

So I’ll go with:

✔ FIGURATIVE for #5

*(Note: Some teachers might accept literal, but based on typical usage in such worksheets, figurative is safer.)*

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Part B: Determine whether the underlined word/phrase makes the statement literal or figurative.

We need to decide if the phrase is used in its real sense (literal) or imaginative sense (figurative).

6. *It couldn’t rain cats and dogs.*
→ “Rain cats and dogs” is an idiom meaning heavy rain. You don’t actually get animals falling from sky.
✔ FIGURATIVE

7. *Bob’s voice carried over the park like singing birds.*
→ Voice doesn’t literally carry like birds sing — it’s a simile comparing sound quality.
✔ FIGURATIVE

8. *That car cut out an arm and leg trying to stop.*
→ Cars don’t have arms or legs. This is personification + exaggeration.
✔ FIGURATIVE

9. *That cat can catch any mouse in the neighborhood.*
→ This sounds like a boast or exaggeration. Unless it’s a super-cat, it’s unlikely true. Often used figuratively to mean “very good at catching mice”.
✔ FIGURATIVE

10. *Tom said he charged for nothing more than ten words (personification).*
→ Wait — the note says “(personification)” — but charging for words isn’t personification. Personification is giving human traits to non-human things. Here, “charged for nothing more than ten words” — if Tom is a person, this is literal. But the parenthetical says “personification” — that might be a hint that the phrase itself is being used figuratively? Or perhaps it’s mislabeled.

Actually, rereading: “Tom said he charged for nothing more than ten words (personification).” — This seems confusing. If Tom is a person who charges money per word, it’s literal. But why say “personification”? Maybe it’s a trick. Perhaps “charged” is being used in two senses? Like electric charge? Unlikely.

Alternatively, maybe the phrase “charged for nothing more than ten words” is meant to imply he’s so cheap it’s almost free — which could be hyperbole (exaggeration), hence figurative.

Given the label “(personification)” in parentheses — even though it’s not accurate — perhaps the test-maker intends this to be figurative.

To stay safe, since it’s labeled as personification (even if incorrectly), and personification is a type of figurative language, we’ll mark it:

✔ FIGURATIVE

*(Note: This is ambiguous, but following the hint in the question.)*

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Part C: Identify if the given sentence is LITERAL or FIGURATIVE.

Now we classify full sentences.

11. *Angela, the day misses the sun at night.*
→ Days don’t “miss” anything — missing is a human emotion. This is personification.
✔ FIGURATIVE

12. *Christmas will come soon.*
→ Christmas is a date on the calendar. It will arrive. Literal.
✔ LITERAL

13. *The clouds cried all afternoon.*
→ Clouds don’t cry — rain falls, but “cried” gives human action. Personification.
✔ FIGURATIVE

14. *She pleaded for her forgiveness but her friend’s heart was cold iron.*
→ Heart being “cold iron” is a metaphor — hearts aren’t made of metal. Figurative.
✔ FIGURATIVE

15. *The angry storm pounded the tin shelter.*
→ Storms don’t have anger — that’s personification. Pounding is also exaggerated.
✔ FIGURATIVE

16. *The children are playing in the park.*
→ Real activity.
✔ LITERAL

17. *I watched the stars twinkling down upon me.*
→ Stars twinkle due to atmosphere — scientifically literal. But “twinkling down upon me” adds poetic touch. Still, twinkling is real. Probably intended as literal.
✔ LITERAL

18. *Among my students, Nathan has the best project presented.*
→ “Best” is subjective, but in classroom context, it’s often taken as literal (based on grading). Similar to #5. But earlier we called #5 figurative. To be consistent, if #5 is figurative, this might be too. However, “best project presented” implies judged by teacher — so it’s a factual claim within context. Many worksheets treat this as literal. Let’s compare to #5.

Actually, #5 was “smartest student” — general trait. #18 is “best project presented” — specific evaluation. More likely literal.

✔ LITERAL

19. *There was a biting wind.*
→ Wind doesn’t bite — it feels sharp/cold. Metaphor.
✔ FIGURATIVE

20. *The principal lowered the banana leaves.*
→ Principals don’t lower banana leaves — unless it’s a ceremony? But “lowered” suggests physical action. Banana leaves are large — possible, but unusual. Likely figurative — maybe meaning he removed decorations? Without context, hard to say. But “lowered banana leaves” sounds odd — probably not literal. Perhaps it’s a cultural reference? Assuming standard English, this is likely figurative — maybe meaning he took down festive decorations.

✔ FIGURATIVE

21. *My baby smiled with a sea of tears.*
→ “Sea of tears” is hyperbole — babies don’t produce oceans of tears.
✔ FIGURATIVE

22. *John’s jokes sent his friends into stitches, surprisingly unpleasant.*
→ “Sent into stitches” means made them laugh hard — idiomatic. Figurative.
✔ FIGURATIVE

23. *My mother scolded me for coming home very late.*
→ Scolding is a real action.
✔ LITERAL

24. *Mr. Dela Santos has been teaching here since the farm age.*
→ “Farm age” — there’s no historical period called “farm age”. Probably meant “since farming began” or “since old times” — exaggeration. Figurative.
✔ FIGURATIVE

25. *I am reading over your school.*
→ Reading over a school? Doesn’t make literal sense. Probably means reviewing documents about the school — but phrased oddly. Could be figurative (like “reading over” as in supervising?). Unclear. But “reading over your school” isn’t standard — likely figurative or error. Given options, probably figurative.

✔ FIGURATIVE

26. *Sisters is a thoughtful daughter.*
→ Grammar error (“Sisters” plural, “daughter” singular). But assuming typo — if it’s “She is a thoughtful daughter”, it’s literal. As written, it’s nonsense — but probably meant to be literal. However, “thoughtful” is an opinion — but still, describing someone as thoughtful is usually taken as literal in such contexts.

Wait — “Sisters is...” — subject-verb agreement error. But ignoring grammar, if we assume it’s “She is a thoughtful daughter”, then:

✔ LITERAL

But strictly speaking, the sentence is grammatically incorrect — however, for purpose of literal vs figurative, we focus on meaning. Being thoughtful is a real trait.

✔ LITERAL

27. *Arguing with her was like dueling with hand grenades.*
→ Simile — comparing argument to dangerous duel. Not literal.
✔ FIGURATIVE

28. *Outside, a million pairs of shoes lay in the closet.*
→ “A million” is exaggeration — closets don’t hold that many. Hyperbole.
✔ FIGURATIVE

29. *Almost six dozen red roses sit in the center.*
→ Six dozen = 72 roses. Possible. If it’s approximate (“almost”), still plausible. Literal.
✔ LITERAL

30. *Her eyes were fireflies.*
→ Eyes aren’t insects — metaphor.
✔ FIGURATIVE

31. *David is never too shy for big crowds.*
→ “Never too shy” — absolute statement. Shyness varies. Likely exaggeration. Figurative.
✔ FIGURATIVE

32. *Her hair was a flowing golden river streaming down her shoulders.*
→ Hair isn’t a river — metaphor.
✔ FIGURATIVE

33. *David was applauded because of his performance.*
→ Applause is real.
✔ LITERAL

34. *The brown grass was begging for water.*
→ Grass doesn’t beg — personification.
✔ FIGURATIVE

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Now, let’s compile all answers neatly.

Final Answer:

Part A:
1. LITERAL
2. LITERAL
3. LITERAL
4. LITERAL
5. FIGURATIVE

Part B:
6. FIGURATIVE
7. FIGURATIVE
8. FIGURATIVE
9. FIGURATIVE
10. FIGURATIVE

Part C:
11. FIGURATIVE
12. LITERAL
13. FIGURATIVE
14. FIGURATIVE
15. FIGURATIVE
16. LITERAL
17. LITERAL
18. LITERAL
19. FIGURATIVE
20. FIGURATIVE
21. FIGURATIVE
22. FIGURATIVE
23. LITERAL
24. FIGURATIVE
25. FIGURATIVE
26. LITERAL
27. FIGURATIVE
28. FIGURATIVE
29. LITERAL
30. FIGURATIVE
31. FIGURATIVE
32. FIGURATIVE
33. LITERAL
34. FIGURATIVE