Exercises C2 : Grammatical figures of style in English (answers)

These exercises build directly on the grammatical figures of style covered in the course: parallelism, anaphora, and chiasmus. Test your ability to identify, complete, and correct these structures at a true C2 level.

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Exercise 1 : Completing Parallel Structures

Fill in each blank with the correct parallel element to complete the grammatical figure of style. Then write the full corrected sentence.

1. She came, she saw, and she ___ (conquer — parallel structure).
2. To err is human; ___ divine (complete the chiasmus-adjacent parallelism with the correct infinitive phrase).
3. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight ___ (complete the anaphoric pattern).
4. Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what ___ (complete the chiasmus).

Correction

1. She came, she saw, and she conquered.
2. To err is human; to forgive is divine.
3. We shall fight in the hills.
4. Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

Exercise 2 : Spotting Broken Figures of Style

Each sentence contains an error that breaks a grammatical figure of style (parallelism, anaphora, or chiasmus). Identify the error and rewrite the full corrected sentence.

1. He liked reading, to write poetry, and going for long walks in the countryside.
2. Every generation faces its own trials. Every generation must make its own choices. Each era defines what it stands for.
3. Fair is foul, and foul things are sometimes rather fair.
4. The team worked quickly, with efficiency, and in a way that was careful to avoid mistakes.

Correction

1. He liked reading, writing poetry, and going for long walks in the countryside.
2. Every generation faces its own trials. Every generation must make its own choices. Every generation defines what it stands for.
3. Fair is foul, and foul is fair.
4. The team worked quickly, efficiently, and carefully to avoid mistakes.

Exercise 3 : Identifying Grammatical Figures of Style

Choose the answer that correctly identifies the grammatical figure of style used in each sentence and explains why.

1. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness." — Which figure of style is primarily at work here?
   • A) Chiasmus, because two ideas are reversed in symmetrical order.
   • B) Anaphora, because the phrase 'it was' is repeated at the beginning of successive clauses.
   • C) Parallelism, because the clauses share a similar grammatical structure but with no deliberate repetition.
   • D) Antithesis only, because the sentences simply contrast opposite ideas without any structural pattern.
2. "Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you." — Which figure of style does this sentence exemplify?
   • A) Anaphora, because the word 'never' anchors each clause.
   • B) Parallelism, because both clauses follow an identical subject-verb-object pattern.
   • C) Chiasmus, because the words 'fool' and 'kiss' are repeated in reversed grammatical roles.
   • D) Antithesis, because two opposite moral lessons are placed side by side.
3. "We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France." — What makes this an example of anaphora rather than mere repetition?
   • A) The repeated phrase 'We shall' appears at the beginning of successive clauses, creating a deliberate rhetorical effect.
   • B) The same noun is echoed at the end of each clause to reinforce the theme.
   • C) Two contrasting ideas are mirrored symmetrically across the sentences.
   • D) The sentences share a parallel structure but 'We shall' is only coincidentally repeated.
4. "He came, he saw, he conquered." is a classic example of parallelism. What would make it a chiasmus instead?
   • A) Replacing one of the verbs with its opposite, such as 'He came, he saw, he retreated.'
   • B) Reversing the grammatical structure so that the second half mirrors the first in inverted order, such as 'He came and conquered; conquered and came he did.'
   • C) Adding an anaphoric element by repeating 'he' at the start of a fourth clause.
   • D) Extending the sentence with a subordinate clause to disrupt the rhythm.

Correction

1. B) Anaphora, because the phrase 'it was' is repeated at the beginning of successive clauses.
2. C) Chiasmus, because the words 'fool' and 'kiss' are repeated in reversed grammatical roles.
3. A) The repeated phrase 'We shall' appears at the beginning of successive clauses, creating a deliberate rhetorical effect.
4. B) Reversing the grammatical structure so that the second half mirrors the first in inverted order, such as 'He came and conquered; conquered and came he did.'