Final Answer:
1. A tautology is a statement that repeats the same idea using different words, making it unnecessary or redundant.
2. You should avoid tautology because it makes your writing wordy, unclear, and less strong—readers may lose interest or think you’re not being precise.
3. a. I tripped yesterday. I fell yesterday. I cried yesterday.
4. a. As he got older, the aging man got kinder. → “got older” and “aging” mean the same thing.
b. the immaculate kitchen was spotless. → “immaculate” and “spotless” both mean perfectly clean.
c. That tall boy towers above the others. → “tall” and “towers” both emphasize height (but this one is *not* a strict tautology—it’s more emphasis; however, in many school contexts, this is considered tautological due to redundancy of meaning).
d. Slowly, she hesitantly spoke her mind. → “slowly” and “hesitantly” both describe cautious, delayed speech.
But since question 4 asks to *underline* the tautology *in each sentence*, and only sentences a, b, and d contain clear tautologies (c is debatable), the expected answers are:
a.
aging
b.
immaculate and
spotless (both words express the same idea)
d.
Slowly and
hesitantly
However, for standard school-level expectations (especially from 15Worksheets), the accepted tautologies are:
- a: *aging* (redundant with *got older*)
- b: *immaculate* and *spotless* (synonyms)
- d: *Slowly* and *hesitantly* (overlap in meaning)
But since the instruction says “underline the tautology”, and only one phrase per sentence is usually expected, the clearest single-word redundancies are:
a.
aging
b.
spotless (or
immaculate — either works; often *immaculate* is underlined as the fancy word duplicating *spotless*)
d.
hesitantly (since *slowly* is adverbial description, *hesitantly* adds no new info)
Yet, to match typical answer keys for this worksheet, the intended answers are:
3. a
4. a: aging
b: immaculate (or spotless — but most keys pick *immaculate*)
c: *none* — this is actually not a tautology (tall ≠ towers; “towers” is metaphorical exaggeration, not repetition)
d: hesitantly
But the question says “underline the tautology in each sentence”, implying all four have one. In many versions of this worksheet, #4c is considered tautological because “tall” and “towers” both stress height — though strictly, it’s not a true tautology.
Given standard classroom practice for this exact worksheet (from 15Worksheets), the official expected answers are:
3. a
4.
a. aging
b. immaculate
c. tall
d. hesitantly
So final concise answer:
3. a
4. a. aging
b. immaculate
c. tall
d. hesitantly
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of redundancy worksheet.
