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Using Humor to learn English

Using Humor to learn English

Date: Jan 30 2012

Topic: Reading

Author: englishteacher24/7

Lesson

Humor can be used to learn English.  The goal is to understand the joke and develop your comprehension of English.  Combine this method along with others to have an alternative to grammar.  Have fun reading!

Comments

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DAMAVAND

DAMAVAND

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

wow! dear Alston, really thanks for the clear explanation, i got it completely :D


we have also those slangs in our native language, for example if a young boy see a beautiful girl, he may say : “oh she is attractive, terribly” it makes sense in english when he says “she is terribly attractive” (extremly) but in Farsi, if you aren’t native means: “a horrible woman” so the feature of these words is to modify good feelings by using the bad words!!


Have a terribly happy weekend :D

06:43 AM Jun 01 2013 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

Damavand, in the context of the sentence, “nothing” doesn’t mean literally “nothing” it means “anything” or “something.”  Therefore, the sense of the sentence is read like this: “you don’t know anything!”


This is why double negatives can be confusing to ESL students because it doesn’t make sense, but many words spoken by native speakers doesn’t make sense.


For example: A young person may see a nice sports car and make the statement: “Wow, that is a bad car!”


Does it mean the car is broken? No, “bad” is slang for “extraordinary” or “something desirable.”  Hope this helps!

03:04 AM Jun 01 2013 |

1 person likes this

DAMAVAND

DAMAVAND

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Now, i got confused ;) just a question: “you don’t know nothing” means “nothing exists that you don’t know about” ?? you know every thing, yes?

01:53 AM Jun 01 2013 |

Nijar

Nijar

Egypt

My teacher, an eye can’t be above the eyebrow!!


I only try to be aware in on every word you write to gain much ice cold lemonade:-)


Thanks, your words are my cupcakes!!

01:10 AM Jun 01 2013 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

Nijar, Nijar, I see the characteristics of a good attorney in you!  This subject of double-negatives can be very confusing and I thought about this before I posted the joke.  I should have thought about you being in class to keep the board straight (as my college instructor would often say).


Okay, let’s get into it and analyze what we’re talking about.


“Double” means two, “negative” means the opposite of positive.  So from the definition, double-negative means two negative words in the same sentence.


For the benefit of newcomers, I’ll restate the joke:


Sam and Dave were roommates in college and Sam says to Dave, “Between me and my brother, we know everything!”  Therefore, Dave asked him a question (to test him) and Sam responded, “I don’t know, but my brother knows!”  So Dave asked him another question and Sam responded, “I don’t know, but my brother knows!”


Dave asked him a third question, and Sam responded, “I don’t know, but my brother knows!”


So Dave says to Sam, it seems that your brother knows everything and you don’t know nothing!”


Analysis:


Here is the sentence with the double-negative:


“So Dave says to Sam, it seems that your brother knows everything and you don’t know nothing!”


The word “don’t” is a negative.  The word “nothing” is the opposite of “something,” therefore, it is a negative.  So from the definition, this sentence is a double-negative sentence.


However, you are absolutely correct in your assertion that my statement in the joke of the two negatives are not canceling out each other.  


In double negative sentences, this is not true in every case.  The joke sentence is a good example where it does not cancel out each other and a positive word remains.


I appreciate you for correcting me and it is a good example how one person sharpens another!   I owe you a glass of ice cold lemonade, thanks! 



06:53 PM May 31 2013 |

1 person likes this

Nijar

Nijar

Egypt

 First at all let me thank you for these jokes which I’ll try to commit them to memory and spill them out again with my friends:)


Here’s another professor with a naughty student;



 


It seems the problem of all the professors all over the world with their students(except my teachers:)


 Now let me disagree with you politely my teacher about Double negatives, you said” Each negative cancels out each other” I do really know this rule ,so let me say the sentence will be; it seems that your brother knows everything and you know everything!!


Double negatives mean affirmation(standard English), I learnt that at school furthermore I do search on the internet, nevertheless I read that in some languages and dialects we use “Double negative” to intensify the negation (this which I think we will apply on that joke)


About Jim joke, I’d like to say it reminded me with “Pointless Talent”



 


Jim looks like a mirror both of them can read backwards:) 


Now here’s my joke;  a teacher asked : What’s the awkward moment in your life?(he rotated his eyes here and there and suddenly pointed: Hey you, give me an answer)


The student stood up and replied: That awkward moment when the teacher is looking for volunteers to answer the question and you accidentally make eye contact :)

09:31 PM May 30 2013 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

A husband returns home unexpectedly and his wife questioned him for his early arrival; she says to him:


Wife: Jim, why are you home so early?


Jim: Dear, my boss said something I didn’t like.


Wife: What did he say?


Jim: Well, my boss complained that I was tardy for work a lot; I accepted his reprimand about that.  Then he said that my work quality was not good; but I understood that there was room for improvement, so I didn’t have a problem with that statement.


But when he said I was fired, I said; “I QUIT!”  :)

11:33 AM May 30 2013 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

Notice the use of double negatives in this joke, i.e. “You don’t know nothing!” Each negative (don’t/nothing) cancels out each other, therefore, you are left with “not knowing anything!”


Double negatives is non-standard English, nevertheless, people speak with a disregard for using proper English.  Do not write using double negatives but I included it in this joke for you to be aware of its usage.

09:25 PM May 27 2013 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

Sam and Dave were roommates in college and Sam says to Dave, “Between me and my brother, we know everything!”  Therefore, Dave asked him a question (to test him) and Sam responded, “I don’t know, but my brother knows!”  So Dave asked him another question and Sam responded, “I don’t know, but my brother knows!”


Dave asked him a third question, and Sam responded, “I don’t know, but my brother knows!”


So Dave says to Sam, it seems that your brother knows everything and you don’t know nothing!”


06:02 PM May 25 2013 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

A professor was planning to give a lecture on the consequences of lying. Therefore, he gave his class a reading assignment (on short notice) to read Chapter 17 in their class book (though the book had only 16 chapters) by Friday.


On Friday he asked the class to raise their hands if they read Chapter 17.


The class raised their hands.


The professor said: “There isn’t a Chapter 17!”


Now you’re ready for the lecture!


englishteacher24/7

United States

A friend stepped on his friend’s shoe by mistake and said, “Excuse me!”


His friend responded, “That’s ok, you walk on the tops and I walk on the bottoms!”

09:05 AM Dec 03 2012 |

abu reema

Saudi Arabia

great method


 

08:21 AM Nov 19 2012 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

You’re welcome Irene.  Speaking of ducks, it’s been said: “If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, swims like a duck; it’s a duck!”

05:38 AM Nov 18 2012 |

Irene Forever

Ukraine

Hello Alston. Thank you for another idiom.


ducks in a row gifts, ducks in a row gift, ducks in a row merchandise, gifts for ducks in a row, gift for ducks in a row



‘Try as I may to get my ducks in a row, here’s always some turkey stepping out of line.’


08:58 AM Nov 14 2012 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

Poor Fred, I hope he doesn’t give up.  It’s what you call “having all your ducks in a row!”  Thanks Irene.

08:41 AM Nov 14 2012 |

Irene Forever

Ukraine

 Fred is 32 years old and he is still single.

One day a friend asked, “Why aren’t you married? Can’t you find a woman who will be a good wife?”

Fred replied, “Actually, I’ve found many women I wanted to marry, but when I bring them home to meet my parents, my mother doesn’t like them.”

His friend thinks for a moment and says, “I’ve got the perfect solution, just find a girl who’s just like your mother.”

A few months later they meet again and his friend says, “Did you find the perfect girl? Did your mother like her?”

With a frown on his face, Fred answers, “Yes, I found the perfect girl. She was just like my mother. You were right, my mother liked her very much.”

The friend said, “Then what’s the problem?”

Fred replied, “My father doesn’t like her.” Laughing

Saladeen

Saladeen

Pakistan

Hilarious retorts!


...................................


Cup cakes and muffins are quite simillar, but muffins top is quite funny, in teenglish it means the spread of fats when someone wears too-tight trousers so their stomach buldges out. Like the top of a muffin bulging out of its casing …



10:44 AM Nov 13 2012 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

A wife who is older than her husband made a joking remark to her husband as follows:


Husband:  This cupcake doesn’t taste as good as the cupcakes I ate in my youth.


Wife: When you ate cupcakes in your youth, dinosaurs were roaming the earth!


Husband: Look who’s talking, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw rocks!


Wife: You’re in the doghouse for that comment!

englishteacher24/7

United States

La Princes, Anja, Lesya and Fetar, thanks for submitting your jokes, they all tell a story and expressed in English.


Learning English doesn’t have to be boring but exciting once you understand it.  Wink

08:07 AM Oct 11 2012 |

Fetar

Belarus

Once,one rich Endlish or German bissnesman arrived in Moskow .Bissnes demanded that he was   waked up very early and bissnesman asked about it Hotel,s service people.They were answering to him..,-if we,re stopping to sleep,we ll wake You…

07:34 AM Oct 11 2012 |

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