Identify the figure of speech in the underlined part of the sentence:
After the Diwali party, Mummy looked at the dirty plates piled up in the sink and asked, “Who in this house has ever washed a single plate?”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Rhetorical question
Mummy does not want anyone to answer or to give her a name. She asks only to show that nobody in the house helps with the washing.
| Figure | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Rhetorical question (answer) | a question asked for effect, not for an answer | Can money buy a mother’s love? |
| (2) Apostrophe | the speaker talks directly to a thing, an idea or an absent person, as if it can hear | Little sparrow, come back to our balcony this summer. |
| (3) Personification | human qualities or actions given to a thing, an animal or an idea | The old well in our village keeps everyone’s secrets. |
| (4) Pun | a play on a word that has two meanings (or two words that sound alike) | When the ceiling fan crashed down, Papa said he was no longer a fan of that brand. |