Free Literary Terms and Devices MCQs with Answers
330 Literary Terms and Devices MCQs from English Literature, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
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330 questions · page 11 of 17
- A. The position of the lips
- B. The part of the tongue that is raised
- C. The height to which the tongue is raised
- D. The state of the tension of the tongue
Explanation: Tense and lax vowels are distinguished by the muscular tension involved in articulating them, especially the tension of the tongue.
Correct answer: The state of the tension of the tongue- A. The position of the lips
- B. The part of the tongue that is raised
- C. The height to which the tongue is raised
- D. All the abovE.
Explanation: Front, back, and central vowels are named according to the part of the tongue raised toward the palate.
Correct answer: The part of the tongue that is raised203. The classification of vowels into round vowels and unrounded vowels is based on ________________?
- A. The position of the lips
- B. The part of the tongue that is raised
- C. The height to which the tongue is raised
- D. All the abovE.
Explanation: Rounded vowels are produced with the lips rounded or protruded, while unrounded vowels are produced without that lip shaping.
Correct answer: The position of the lips204. According to the height to which the tongue is raised, vowels can be classified into __________?
- A. Round vowels & unrounded vowels
- B. Front vowels & back vowels
- C. High vowels & low vowels
- D. Tense vowels &lax vowels
Explanation: Vowel height refers to how high the tongue rises in the mouth, giving categories such as high and low vowels.
Correct answer: High vowels & low vowels- A. Round vowels & unrounded vowels
- B. Front vowels & back vowels
- C. High vowels & low vowels
- D. Tense vowels &lax vowels
Explanation: The position or shape of the lips divides vowels into rounded and unrounded types.
Correct answer: Round vowels & unrounded vowels- A. Portmanteau
- B. Onomatopoeia
- C. Clipping
- D. Metanalysis
Explanation: A portmanteau, also called a blend, combines parts of two words, as in brunch from breakfast and lunch.
Correct answer: Portmanteau- A. Complementary distribution
- B. Contrastive distribution
- C. Non__complementary distribution
- D. None of the above
Explanation: The aspirated and unaspirated forms of /k/ do not create different meanings in this environment, so they are allophones in complementary…
Correct answer: Complementary distribution- A. Contrastive distribution
- B. Complementary distribution
- C. Non__contrastive distribution
- D. None of the abovE.
Explanation: Phonemes are in contrastive distribution when replacing one with another in the same environment changes meaning, as /p/ and /b/ do in pin…
Correct answer: Contrastive distribution- A. The international phonetic script
- B. The international phonetic alphabet
- C. The international phonemic script
- D. The intelligible phonetic script.Social Sciences
Explanation: The International Phonetic Alphabet, abbreviated IPA, is the standardized system of symbols created by the International Phonetic…
Correct answer: The international phonetic alphabet- A. A slash
- B. An arrow mark
- C. A hyphen
- D. A vertical bar
Explanation: A hyphen is conventionally used to show the division of a word into syllables, as in syl-la-ble.
Correct answer: A hyphen- A. Allophones
- B. Allomorphs
- C. Morpheme variants
- D. Minimal pairs
Explanation: The two /l/ sounds in little are allophones because they are positional variants of the same phoneme, with the initial one typically clear…
Correct answer: Allophones- A. Kill
- B. Skill
- C. Skin
- D. Skit
Explanation: The /k/ in kill is aspirated because it occurs at the beginning of a stressed syllable, producing a noticeable puff of air.
Correct answer: Kill- A. Concord
- B. Gerund
- C. Phrase structure
- D. None of the above
Explanation: Concord means grammatical agreement between related elements, such as a singular subject taking a singular verb.
Correct answer: Concord- A. Transformational Generative grammar
- B. The phrase structure Grammar
- C. Immediate Constituent Analysis
- D. All the abovE.
Explanation: Immediate Constituent Analysis groups a sentence into its immediate grammatical constituents, making alternative structures and…
Correct answer: Immediate Constituent Analysis- A. Portmanteau
- B. Onomatopoeia
- C. Clipping
- D. Metanalysis
Explanation: Onomatopoeia refers to words whose sound imitates or suggests the sound of what they denote, such as buzz, hiss or bang.
Correct answer: Onomatopoeia- A. Portmanteau
- B. Onomatopoeia
- C. Clipping
- D. Metanalysis
Explanation: Clipping forms a shorter word by removing part of a longer one, as photo is shortened from photograph.
Correct answer: Clipping- A. An adjective forming morpheme
- B. Plural morpheme
- C. Possessive morpheme
- D. Verb forming morpheme
Explanation: The suffix -en in strengthen changes the adjective strong into the verb strengthen, so it is a verb-forming morpheme.
Correct answer: Verb forming morpheme- A. An adjective forming morpheme
- B. Plural morpheme
- C. Possessive morpheme
- D. Past morpheme
Explanation: The final /t/ in walked is the regular past-tense allomorph of the -ed morpheme, selected after the voiceless /k/ sound.
Correct answer: Past morpheme- A. Allophones
- B. Allomorphs
- C. Minimal pairs
- D. None of the above
Explanation: Allomorphs are variant forms of the same morpheme that occur in different phonological or grammatical environments, such as the plural…
Correct answer: Allomorphs- A. A free morpheme
- B. Free variation
- C. Bound morpheme
- D. None of these
Explanation: The -ing in sleeping cannot normally stand alone with the same grammatical function, so it is a bound morpheme.
Correct answer: Bound morpheme