Free Literary Terms and Devices MCQs with Answers

• A. Syllabic consonants
• B. Sibilants
• C. Suffixes
• D. None of the above

Explanation: In sudden and mutton, the final /n/ can form the nucleus of its own syllable, replacing an expected vowel, and is therefore syllabic.

• A. Syllabic consonants
• B. Sibilants
• C. Suffixes
• D. None of the above

Explanation: A syllabic consonant functions as the nucleus, or central sound, of a syllable instead of a vowel, as /n/ does in sudden.

• A. Allophones
• B. Homophones
• C. Homographs
• D. Homonyms

Explanation: Bank has the same spelling and pronunciation in both uses but different meanings, so it is a homograph and, in the broader traditional…

• A. Allophones
• B. Homophones
• C. Homographs
• D. Homonyms

Explanation: Homophones have different spellings but the same pronunciation and different meanings, as in pair and pear.

• A. Semi__vowels
• B. Laterals
• C. Sibilants
• D. Trills.

Explanation: The sounds /j/ and /w/ function like vowels in some positions but occur at the edges of syllables like consonants, so they are called…

• A. Two
• B. Three
• C. Four
• D. Five

Explanation: Standard English has three nasal consonants: /m/ as in man, /n/ as in no, and /ŋ/ as in sing.

• A. Sibilant
• B. Lateral
• C. Nasal
• D. Semi__vowel

Explanation: /s/ is a sibilant because its narrow passage produces a strong hissing noise, as in see. It is not a lateral, nasal or semivowel.

• A. Plosives
• B. Affricates
• C. fricatives
• D. Trill

Explanation: /f/ and /v/ are fricatives because air is forced through a narrow gap, creating friction; /f/ is voiceless and /v/ is voiced.

• A. Plosives
• B. Affricates
• C. fricatives
• D. Trill

Explanation: The initial sounds in chair /tʃ/ and jam /dʒ/ are affricates, which begin like plosives and release into fricative sounds.

• A. The falling
• B. The rising
• C. The fall__rise
• D. None of the above

Explanation: A fall-rise intonation commonly signals an implied qualification, reservation or meaning that the speaker leaves unstated.

• A. The falling
• B. The rising
• C. The fall__rise
• D. None of the above

Explanation: Polite requests commonly take a rising intonation, which makes the utterance sound less forceful and more courteous.

• A. The falling
• B. The rising
• C. The fall__rise
• D. None of the above

Explanation: Commands usually take a falling intonation because the speaker presents them as complete and firm instructions.

• A. The falling
• B. The rising
• C. The fall__rise
• D. None of the above

Explanation: Ordinary declarative statements generally end with a falling tone, signalling completion and certainty.

• A. Progressive
• B. Regressive
• C. Reciprocal
• D. None of the above

Explanation: When an earlier sound affects the sound that follows it, the influence moves forward and is called progressive assimilation.

• A. Progressive
• B. regressive
• C. reciprocal
• D. Regressive
• E. None of the above

Explanation: Reciprocal assimilation occurs when two neighbouring sounds influence each other and merge or change into a third sound.

• A. Progressive
• B. Regressive
• C. Reciprocal
• D. None of the above

Explanation: In ink, the alveolar /n/ becomes velar [ŋ] because it anticipates the following velar /k/.

• A. Supra__segmental phonemes
• B. Secondary phonemes
• C. Prosodic features
• D. All the above.

Explanation: Stress, pitch, intonation and juncture operate across or alongside individual speech sounds, so they are called suprasegmental or…

• A. Palato__alveolar
• B. Palatal
• C. Velar
• D. Bilabial

Explanation: The initial sounds /ʃ/ in ship, /tʃ/ in church and /dʒ/ in judge are produced in the palato-alveolar region.

• A. Dental
• B. Labio__dental
• C. Bilabial
• D. Alveolar

Explanation: In /f/ and /v/, the lower lip approaches or touches the upper teeth, combining labial and dental articulation.

• A. Glottal
• B. Velar
• C. Palatal
• D. None of the above

Explanation: Glottal sounds are produced at the glottis, the opening between the vocal folds in the larynx.