Travel and Adventure
Sound words and describing phrases
Learn the sound words and describing phrases that bring the story to life.
'The Tunnel' is built out of sounds, because so much happens in the dark or round a bend. Five sound words to know exactly:
| Word | Meaning | In the story |
|---|---|---|
| creaking | a long low sound of wood or a door moving | "creakings and whisperings, as though the trees were coming to life" |
| chatter | quick high sounds, by birds or monkeys | the seven sisters' noisy chatter |
| hissing | a long 's' sound (like a snake, or steam) | the engine came round the bend "hissing at them" |
| rustle | a soft, dry sound of leaves or paper moving | "a rustle of dry leaves" |
| puffing | blowing in short, quick bursts | the engine "snorting and puffing" |
Now the describing phrases. The story often joins an -ing word + a noun to make a little picture: the drifting smoke, the approaching engine, a sawing sound, flickering lights.
Each does in two words what would otherwise take ten. The approaching engine = the engine that is coming nearer. Flickering lights = lights burning unsteadily.
Use them in your writing:
- We could hear the approaching engine long before we saw it.
- The boy walked home guided by the flickering lights from the houses.
- The sawing sound from the carpenter's workshop grew louder.
- She watched the drifting smoke float across the backyard.
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