Nineteenth century Spanish art inspired that plate. Maria’s manager has often encouraged her promotion. Let’s put them in the active voice and see if that makes a difference: You may have noted that both examples are in the passive voice. Can a plate be inspired-by another inanimate object? People who see language as creatively pliable could say yes.Īnother example might be that plate was inspired by 19th century Spanish art. Reason could argue no (personification!). If a promotion is not sentient, would it respond to another person’s motivation? While many of us may understand what is being expressed, those who are highly attuned to precision might challenge whether a promotion, which is an inanimate concept, can be encouraged. Sometimes a question can surface about the liberty taken in a sentence such as Maria’s promotion has often been encouraged by her manager. Inanimate Object: What Are Personification’s Limits? With perhaps a bit less creative license, we also commonly personify inanimate objects with statements such as the river runs south and the staircase rises to the third floor.

In each of these sentences, we are giving human characteristics to an inanimate (inhuman) object.

The tumbleweed danced with delight across the barren terrain. The falling feather etched an elegant script in the air with its descent. I think my boots walked away when I wasn’t looking. In addition to that example, we might hear personification of an inanimate object expressed in ways such as: It is the device that allows us to assign a human action ( lounging) to an inanimate object ( guitar). Personification is the attribution of human nature or character to something nonhuman, inanimate, or abstract.

With language, we can make an inanimate object come to life through personification. What Does an Inanimate Object Mean?Īn inanimate object is a thing that is not living or that does not move on its own, such as a rock, a stapler, or a hairbrush (or a guitar). What exactly do we have here? Let’s discuss that. Many of us may understand what that sentence conveys, but some of us might also ask ourselves if a guitar can lounge. For example, we might write or say something such as that guitar has been lounging in my living-room corner since Reagan was president. American English can be flexible and expressive in conveying thoughts and ideas.

Assigning gender to inanimate objects