Pleonasm facts for kids

Pleonasm is when you use more words than you need to say something, but the extra words don't add new meaning. It's like saying "black darkness" or "burning fire." The word "darkness" is already black, and "fire" is already burning!

Sometimes, using extra words can be a mistake in writing. But other times, people use pleonasm on purpose to make a point stronger, or because a phrase has become a common way to say something.

Why We Use Pleonasm

Most of the time, when people talk about pleonasm, they mean words or phrases that are useless or just repeat something. But pleonasm can also be a normal part of how we speak.

Making Language Clearer

Pleonasm can help make writing clearer and easier to understand. Imagine you're talking on a bad phone line. If you say "go up upstairs," even if someone misses "up," they still get the idea you mean "upstairs." The extra word acts like a backup!

Common Phrases We Use

Some pleonastic phrases are just part of how we speak a language. In English, we often say "tuna fish" or "chain mail." Most people don't even notice the extra word. Even though "tuna" is a fish, and "mail" in this case is already a type of armor made of chains, these phrases are very common.

When we talk about something being possible, we might say "it might be possible" or "perhaps it's possible." Both "might" and "possible" suggest the same idea. In many languages, people just use one word for this.

• In Spanish, you might hear Voy a subir arriba, which means "I am going to go up upstairs." The word "arriba" (upstairs) already means "up," so "subir" (to go up) is extra.
• In Turkish, people say yemek yemek, which means "to eat food." "Yemek" means both "food" and "to eat."

Words in Special Jobs

Sometimes, in legal papers or special reports, you see phrases like "null and void" or "terms and conditions." These are often old legal phrases that have stuck around. Even if they seem to repeat themselves, they are used in specific ways in law.

How We Like to Speak

Sometimes, adding a few extra words makes our speech sound more natural. When we talk, we don't always plan every word. So, we might repeat ourselves a bit. In writing, cutting out every single extra word can make sentences sound stiff.

However, using too many extra words can make writing boring or confusing. Good writers try to be clear and to the point. As the writer William Strunk Jr. said, "Vigorous writing is concise." This means using only the words you need.

In Books and Poems

Writers in books and poems sometimes use pleonasm on purpose. It can add a special feeling or rhythm.

• "This was the most unkindest cut of all." —William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

* Here, "unkindest" already means "most unkind." Adding "most" makes it a double superlative, but it adds emphasis.

• "Let me tell you this, when social workers offer you, free, gratis and for nothing, something to hinder you from swooning, which with them is an obsession, it is useless to recoil ..." —Samuel Beckett, Molloy

* "Free, gratis, and for nothing" all mean the same thing, but they make the sentence more dramatic.

Types of Pleonasm

There are different kinds of pleonasm:

Words from Two Languages

This happens when a phrase combines words that mean the same thing, but from two different languages.

• The River Avon in England literally means "River River," because "Avon" comes from a Welsh word for "river."
• the Sahara Desert means "the The Desert Desert," because "Sahara" comes from an Arabic word for "desert."
• the La Brea Tar Pits in California means "the The Tar Tar Pits," because "La Brea" is Spanish for "the tar."

Grammar Pleonasm

This type of pleonasm happens when a language's grammar allows some words to be optional.

• "I know you're coming."
• "I know that you're coming."

Both sentences are correct. The word "that" is optional here. It doesn't change the meaning.

In Spanish, you can say Yo te amo or just Te amo. Both mean "I love you." The word yo (I) is optional because the verb ending already tells you who is doing the action. Many languages do this, like Korean, Japanese, and Italian.

In English, we usually need a subject for every sentence, even if it doesn't add meaning.

• "It's raining."
• "Is raining." (This sounds wrong in English!)

The "it" in "It's raining" is a pleonastic word. It fills the subject spot but doesn't mean anything specific.

Grammar Pleonasm Examples

• Double Negatives: In some languages, like Spanish or French, you use two negative words to make a strong negative statement. For example, in Spanish, No es nada means "It is nothing." It has "no" (not) and "nada" (nothing). In English, saying "I ain't got no money" is a double negative, but it means "I don't have any money."
• Double Affirmations: In English, you can add emphasis to a positive statement. "I do love you" uses "do" to make the feeling stronger, even though "I love you" already means the same thing.
• Double Possessives: Phrases like "a friend of mine" seem to repeat the idea of possession, but they are common and correct in English.
• Double Comparatives/Superlatives: Sometimes people say "more bigger" or "bestest." This is usually considered incorrect grammar, but it's used for extra emphasis. Shakespeare used "the most unkindest cut of all."

Meaning Pleonasm

This is about words that repeat meaning.

• Overlap: One word's meaning is already part of the other word.

* "Receive a free gift with every purchase." A gift is already free! * "I ate a tuna fish sandwich." Tuna is a fish. * The Big Friendly Giant. A giant is already big.

• Extra Words: A phrase has words that don't add anything new or useful.

* "I'm going down south." South isn't really "down" on a map, it's just a direction. * "He entered into the room." "Entered" already means "went into." * "Where are you at?" "Where are you?" means the same thing. * "Actual fact." A fact is always actual. * "On a daily basis." Just say "daily." * "Nine separate cars." Cars are always separate!

Sometimes, these phrases are used to make a difference. For example, "tuna fish" might be used to make sure you know it's the fish, not the prickly pear fruit also called "tuna."

Word Part Pleonasm

This happens when parts of words are repeated or are optional.

• The word "irregardless" is often criticized. "Regardless" already means "without regard." Adding "ir-" (which means "not") makes it a double negative, but it's not what the speaker means. Most people mean "regardless."

When Redundancy Isn't Really Redundant

Some phrases might seem to repeat themselves but actually have a special meaning or are used for humor.

• "It's déjà vu all over again." (Déjà vu means "already seen," so "all over again" seems extra, but it's a famous funny saying.)
• "I never make predictions, especially about the future." (Predictions are always about the future, but this is a clever, ironic joke.)

Sometimes, extra words are used to be very clear. For example, "The sound of the loud music drowned out the sound of the burglary." You don't have to say "sound of the loud music" because loud music makes a sound. But adding "loud" and "sound" makes it very specific.

Foreign Words and Acronyms

Sometimes, we use foreign words or acronyms (like NASA) in a way that creates a pleonasm.

• "We went to the El Restaurante restaurant." "El Restaurante" means "The Restaurant" in Spanish, so you're saying "the The Restaurant restaurant."
• "I forgot my PIN number for the ATM machine." "PIN" stands for "Personal Identification Number," so "PIN number" means "Personal Identification Number number." "ATM" stands for "Automated Teller Machine," so "ATM machine" means "Automated Teller Machine machine."

These are often used because the acronyms become common words themselves, and people forget what the letters stand for.

Images for kids

• 

  A robot helping kids learn.