Become a better writer: How to use personification

NEXT, watch these lessons to take your learning even further:

TRANSCRIPT

Hello. Welcome back to engVid. Today we have a writing lesson for you to transform your writing so that it becomes richer and more interesting to read. Okay. What are we talking about? We're talking about personification today. "Personification", let's just write it, there. "Person", "fication" - that suffix means making into. So, we're making into a person an object or a non-human thing.

For example: "The car. The car screamed around the corner." If I say: "The car screamed", I'm exaggerating the noise of the car. It's obviously got a very powerful engine; slightly antisocial. Okay? "The car screamed around the corner." It exaggerates how much of a hurry this car is in.

"The sun". Okay? Which one of these words do you think would go with "sun"? Would the sun watch? Not really. So, it's either going to be a nice feeling, the sun - it's warming us; or it's too hot, in which case it's going to be slightly unpleasant. "The sun sat... Sat up in the sky"? Possibly. "The sun spat" - no, that sounds more like rain than sunshine to me. What about "glared"? Okay? It's looking and it's quite harmful, these rays. "The sun glared out. The sun glared out, shining its harmful UV rays into the person's skin." Right.

"The house". The house can either: "spit", "sit", or "watch". What should we go for? "The house spat out"? No. "The nightclub spat out the drunk", but I don't think we're going to have a house spitting. It may be sitting, though. "The house was perched; the house was sat on the top of the hill from which there was a fantastic view."

"The clock", "watched". "The clock", "the clock". Let's go for the ones that's easiest first; it's always a good exam technique - you go what's... Through what's easier first. "The washing machine spat out the dirty clothes at the end of the cycle." A "cycle" is a complete sort of revolution; it's a complete trip in the washing machine. A trip in the washing machine? You know what I mean. It's when the clothes go in and it finishes.

That means we have: "The clock" and "watched". "The clock watched the inhabitants of the house mournfully." Okay? "Mournfully" - an adverb to express sadness.

So, what are we doing here? What we're doing is we're bringing to life these objects. They're kind of turning into characters. We don't say: "he" or "she" for objects, like you do in other languages, but we can use personification to describe and give things more of a quality.

Let's have another go:
"The washing machine _________ my change".
Okay? So, a vending machine is something, you know, you put a coin in, get a can of Coke or get a chocolate bar, or something healthier. Right? I've put some money into the vending machine, and it's taken that money and not given me a can of Coke. So, obviously that's quite annoying, so I want to turn this vending machine into an annoying person. Okay? So, what's going to be an annoying action? I need to describe the swallowing of my change. That's something a human could do; a human swallows. Let's have that kind of idea, but I'm going to use: "gobbled up". "The vending machine gobbled up my change." Nasty vending machine.

Then what's it going to do? "It..." Hmm.
"It _________ at me as if it had not done anything wrong."
Okay? So, I don't know about you, but when I'm a teacher and I look out to my class and I catch someone doing something they shouldn't do, and they'll often go: "Mm, no. I haven't done anything wrong." Okay? It's the same with this vending machine. We're trying to turn them into a human being. "It stared at me as if it had not done anything." Obviously, the vending machine doesn't eyes... Doesn't have eyes, but we're giving it a human characteristic. […]

[biancapereira]

Awesome class once again!! You are my favorite teacher :)

[raymondjblaze]

The shoes shield my feet
from the ground's pavement.
The hoover enjoys feasting on the carpet's dust and debris.
During math class, the letter jumped from one hand to another.
The broken key denied Mark's access to the basement.

[kanhakun]

The shoe requested to ignore it's appearance, it wanted to walk again.
The hoover was exhausted from excessive eating.
The letter refused to be opened as if it had already read the message.
The key tricked the master and escaped through the hole.

[luzavila]

Thank you. I looking forward to watching your next video.

[buiphucmai]

The shoes looks tired to run with me today.
The hoover groaned like an old people.
The key played hiding and finding with me.
I did this before watching the example of Mr.Benjamin.
Sorry for the bad sentences and if there are anything wrong in it, please help me fix it.
Thanks so much. ^^

[alfonsoramirez]

coming to my apartment, look at the letter on the floor rest like someone on a summer day in the park; I leaned to lift it, I had the feeling that the key was swinging in my pocket like a 10-year-old child, I slowly opened the door and looked at a small vacuum cleaner, going from one place to another with great impetus as if I were a soldier . I knew that the carpet was clean and my shoes knew it too. ( I write this very spontaneously, I hope I wrote it well) Regards.

[SunnySunny-qumq]

Thank you so much. Cool English teacher!💪💪

[rhondahoward]

The shoes squeezed my feet, causing me discomfort.
The hoover dominated the particles and dust on the carpet, forcing them to succumb to its might.
The letter sliced my finger, its sharp edge biting me.
The key refused to turn in the door, denying me access into my own humble abode.

[phabyo]

Way to go, Benjamin!
Thanks so much for this one.

[robwrd]

He has the best teaching skills but the least subs
I am very sorry
You are my fav teacher

[tylergilleland]

I don't understand how people have this creativity.

[mahadinchowdhury]

l I have learned a lot of lessons from here thanks ☺️☺️ from Bangladesh

[afiabasit]

You explain really well how to use and make sentences using personification.

[KarynaStrilets]

Firstly, no one has helped and inspired me like this, and secondly, I wonder why you don't have a million followers yet?

[paulkiss]

Very interesting and useful ideas, thanks a lot, Ben!

[zeinabjannati]

Thanks a lot... that was a really interesting lesson🌷🌷

[moinbhatti]

good lesson you really defined tips of writing nicely you should refer
some more links through which listener can get more you did really a good job....

[maltesers]

I never fully understood what a washing cycle was until I watched this video. Thanks for clearing the air on that one 👍🏻

[amirachannel-]

Hi Benjamin, I'm delighted I found your channel today, and I can attest to the fact that you're a fantastic teacher. Your explanation and pronunciation are both excellent. Please be aware that I am currently taking GCSE English Language and that I desperately need your help to improve my writing abilities. Arabic is my mother language, and I would appreciate extra lessons in writing since I still have three weeks till my actual exam.

[raymondjblaze]

Does the use of action verbs help with the use of personifications?