HOMOPHONES & ANALOGIES Unit 6.3: Nonfiction Study

WHAT IS AN ANALOGY? 

• In simple terms, an analogy is describes or clarifies an idea by making a comparison between two things. However, analogies have a specific structure that will indicate a certain relationship between the two things. The setup of the analogy will indicate that relationship. When students struggle with analogies, it is because the relationship is difficult to understand.

WHAT IS AN ANALOGY?

For example:

Branch : tree :: arm : manHow do you even read that with so many colons? It must be a typo…but it's not! The colons are a part of the structure of an analogy. Instead of serving a grammatical purpose, the colons stand in for other words.

WHAT IS AN ANALOGY?

•Types of Analogies•Part to Whole

The first type of analogy is part to whole, which contains the part, or section of something larger, and the whole, or the entire entity. The example you have already seen shows a part to whole relationship:

Branch : tree :: arm : man.

• So what is the part and what is the whole?

For the first pair, the branch is the part and the tree is the whole. The second pair maintains this relationship, as an arm is a part of a man.

WHAT IS AN ANALOGY?

•Cause to Effect•The second type of analogy is cause to effect. This analogy contains one word that is the cause, or the source of some action or condition, and another word that is the effect, or the result or consequence.

WHAT IS AN ANALOGY?

Example:

•Earthquake : tsunami :: cavity : toothache.What caused the tsunami? The earthquake! And what caused the toothache? The cavity of course! Thus, each pair has one word representing a cause paired with the resulting effect.

WHAT IS AN ANALOGY?

Source to Product• is a type of analogy in which the first word contains the source or the person, place or thing from which something comes. The product is the substance or object that is manufactured or created.

WHAT IS AN ANALOGY?

Example of a source to product analogy:

•Wood : baseball bat :: oranges : orange juice.•Both these pairs show the source from which the product is created. A baseball bat is made from wood, and orange juice is squeezed from oranges. The wood and oranges are the sources, and the bat and juice are the products.

WHAT IS AN ANALOGY?

CategoryIn this type of analogy relationship, one word is the element/member of a group that the other word describes.

WHAT IS AN ANALOGY?

•Example to Category•Next we have the example to category analogy. This one will have the category, or a larger class of items that share specific characteristics. The second word in the pair is the example, or one item within the category.

WHAT IS AN ANALOGY?

Example:Nike : shoes :: beagle : dogs.In this case, shoes and dogs are the larger categories. Nike is a type of shoe, and the beagle is a type of dog.

WHAT IS AN ANALOGY?

WHAT IS AN HOMOPHONE?

•Homophone (noun): one of two or more words with the same pronunciation but different spellings and/or meanings (for example weak and week)

WHAT IS AN HOMOPHONE?

•Homophones are words that have exactly the same sound (pronunciation) but different meanings and (usually) spelling.

WHAT IS AN HOMOPHONE?

For example, the following two words have the same sound, but different meanings and spelling:hour (noun: 60 minutes)our (possessive adjective: belonging to us) 

WHAT IS AN HOMOPHONE? 

In the next example, the two words have the same sound and spelling, but different meanings:bear (noun: large, heavy animal with thick fur)bear (verb: tolerate, endure)