Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
Can you tell a story without having most of the information? It might sound silly, but this is what people do when they play Mad Libs. This popular word game began in 1958. To play Mad Libs, you need at least two people. One person sees a story with many fill-in-the-blanks. Each blank space needs a particular type of word, such as a noun or verb.
The person with the story asks the other person to give them words. They ask for verbs, pronouns, prepositions, and other types of words. They do not share the story with the other person until all of the blanks are filled. Of course, the other person will mismatch most of the words. In the end, both people read the story, and it causes much hilarity.
Dominique has never played Mad Libs. Listen to today’s English lesson to hear the silly Mad Lib that Gary shares with her.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
Gary: I want to tell you about something called Mad Libs.
Dominique: What’s that?
Gary: If I ask you for verbs, pronouns, and all of these things, I’m going to create a story that’s really silly and really fun because I’ll take all of those out of the original story, and we’ll mismatch all of your funny things into the real story.
Dominique: So, it’s sort-of educational with the fill-in-the-blanks.
Gary: Yeah! So, it’s a little bit of chaos because you don’t know what noun should be in the sentence. And it’s a little bit of hilarity because what you say… it’s not going to fit into the sentence, right? It’s a pastime of my family’s. We would do this every road trip.
Dominique: Cool! I’d have to try it…
Gary: Well, I’ve actually got one here, so… OK, ready?
Dominique: OK!
Gary: Give me a noun.
Dominique: Woman.
Gary: Woman. Give me a verb.
Dominique: Hike.
Gary: Give me a pronoun.
Dominique: She.
Gary: Give me a noun.
Dominique: Feet.
Gary: Ready for this?
Dominique: OK, let’s do it!
Gary: OK. Once upon a time, there was a woman who wanted to hike, but she didn’t have enough feet. What?!?!
Dominique: That’s hilarious!
Gary: That’s going to be really hard.
Dominique: Oh my gosh! OK, I sort-of like this Mad Lib thing.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Simple Future Tense" from this lesson
Quizzes
Lesson MP3
The iTEP® test
-
Sponsored by
Discussion
Gary knows that Dominique likes games. He tells her about the game Mad Libs. He and his family used to play this game when they traveled in the car. He loves it because it is a very silly game. He explains how to play the game. He tells Dominique that each Mad Lib is a story with missing words. Dominique thinks it sounds like the fill-in-the-blanks she remembers from school.
Gary’s story looks like this: Once upon a time, there was a _ who wanted to _, but _ didn’t have enough _. He asks Dominique for a noun, verb, pronoun, and another noun. She chooses woman, hike, she, and feet. When Gary reads the short story, it causes much hilarity. It doesn’t make sense, but it is very funny.
Have you ever played Mad Libs? Do you think Mad Libs can help you learn English?
Comments
Algeria |
Russian Federation |
Spain |
Viet Nam |
China |