What has a ring but no fingers?....a telephone.

 

Do you enjoy solving riddles? Riddles are difficult or confusing questions and statements that are phrased to have a funny or clever solution.

 

Riddles are an engaging way to exercise our minds. We can also use them to learn English vocabulary and grammar. You have to use your intelligence to think outside of the box to unravel the answer.

 

Are you up for the challenge? Below are the benefits of using riddles to learn English as well as some examples. 

 

Think critically

 

The best part of solving riddles is analyzing all of the possible solutions. Some people are naturally quick at thinking critically while others may take a little longer. Whichever type of riddle solver you are, riddles are excellent ways to keep your mind sharp.

 

1. I am always hungry and will die if not fed, but whatever I touch will soon turn red. What am I?

Fire

2. I have lakes with no water, mountains with no stone and cities with no buildings. What am I?

A map

3. What goes up but never comes down?

Your age

 

Learn homophones

 

Homophones are words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings or spellings. For example, the words hole and whole. Riddles often contain homophones that you have to pay attention to in order to get the answer right.

 

1. What type of fruit sounds like it should live underground?

Berry

2. What time period has no strength?

Week

3. When does a green book change color?

When it is red

  

 Improve spelling

 

As English is not a phonetic language, spelling can be tricky. Riddles that play with spelling can be intimidating at first but once you begin to learn how to spell more and more words, you’ll become an expert in no time.

 

1. What would you find in the middle of Toronto?

The letter “o”

2. Two in a corner, one in a room, zero in a house, but one in a shelter. What is it?

The letter “r”

3. What is heavy forwards but not backwards?

Ton

 

Study idioms

 

Idioms are often challenging for English language learners as they are based off of cultural expressions that typically do not translate directly. Idioms are phrases that when read literally do not make much sense within the context. To kill two birds with one stone is an example of an idiom which means to do one task but accomplish two at the same time.

 

1. Why didn’t Mother Nature go to work?

She was under the weather.

2. What happened when the chicken told a joke?

The eggs were cracking up.

3. Why did the boy throw the clock out the window?

Because he wanted to see time fly

 

While riddles tend to be brief, they stimulate the mind by giving learners the opportunity to challenge themselves. Whatever your reason for learning English, using riddles can help you not only improve your vocabulary but also have fun!