Hey, guys.
I'm Alex.
Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on learning English with jokes.
For many advanced speakers, understanding English jokes is the last barrier they have to break through before they can really master the language and really capture its full meaning.
So today, what we're going to do is look at five English jokes, and they're funny because of the double meaning of the words in each joke.
Okay?
So let's look at the first two.
First, we have, why didn't the shark swallow the clownfish?
Now, first we have to understand the verb swallow.
This means when you eat something, you swallow it.
Okay?
So, why didn't the shark swallow the clownfish?
I'll tell you why.
Because It tasted funny.
No?
Okay.
To understand this joke, we have to understand the double meaning of funny.
So the setup of the joke is, why didn't the shark swallow the clownfish?
So you think of a clownfish, you see the word clown, clown.
You think of ha-ha-ha, somebody who makes people laugh.
So we have one version of the word funny, one definition.
Ha-ha funny.
Funny can also mean strange, not normal.
So food can taste funny.
So imagine that you're eating at a restaurant, you're trying something new and you go hmm, this doesn't taste right.
This tastes funny.
It tastes weird.
So the reason this joke is funny is because a double meaning of the word funny in it.
The clownfish tasted funny.
It tasted ha-ha.
It's a clownfish.
And strange, right?
Like food that is not really normal tasting funny.
Next joke.
Why was six afraid of seven?
Why was the number six afraid of the number seven?
Don't know why?
I'll tell you why.
Because.
Seven, eight, nine. little better right it's getting better it's getting better so you're wondering well why is this funny why was six the number six afraid of the number seven because seven eight nine let's see if we have any double meanings in the answer to this joke so we have the number seven Okay, there's no double meaning, we just have the number, the number seven.
We have eight, we have the number eight, and okay, we also have the past tense of the verb eat.
So, because seven ate the number nine.
It's funny now, right?
Because 7 ate the number 9.
So 6 was afraid of number 7, because 6 doesn't want to get eaten by number 7 either.
Okay guys, let's look at the next joke.
Okay, so why didn't the skeleton go to the party?
So again, skeleton Right?
Just bones.
No skin.
Just bones.
So why didn't the skeleton go to the party?
Because He had no body to go with.
Okay, so here we have to understand a double meaning of which word?
Well, we actually have two words here.
We have no body, and this obviously also sounds like nobody, right?
So, nobody and no body.
Again, a skeleton only has bones.
It doesn't have any skin.
It has no body, right?
So we can also mean that he has nobody.
Nobody, no person can go with him.
So he has no body to go with and he has nobody to go with.
It's pretty good.
This is one of my favorites.
And if you tell this to your kids, they'll like it if they speak English, which they might.
Okay?
Next one.
Why did the teacher wear sunglasses to class?
I'll tell you why.
Because...
Her students were so bright.
Okay, so we have to understand the double meaning of the word bright.
So you think of the sun, and the sun is very bright, right?
Now, bright in English can also mean that a person is very intelligent.
So if I say Einstein was a very bright person, it means that Einstein was a very intelligent, a very smart person.
So bright means like the sun.
The sun is bright.
It can also mean that somebody is very intelligent.
So in this joke the teacher wore sunglasses because her students were so bright, but really it means intelligent.
Okay?
Double meaning.
I really like this one, too.
All right, let's look at the last joke.
So why did the pregnant lady start yelling, I'm, didn't, can't?
Any guess?
Okay, let me tell you why.
Because She was having contractions.
Okay, so to understand this joke, you have to understand the double meaning of contractions.
So contractions are the pains that a woman feels when she's about to have a baby or many, many hours before she starts to have the baby.
The pain inside the stomach, from the back.
Anyway, ask a girl.
Ask anyone who's had a baby.
They can tell you the feeling of contractions.
Also, the double meaning of contractions is the grammatical contractions of I'm, didn't, can't.
So I'm is the contracted form of I am.
Didn't is the contracted form of did not.
And can't, can not. not.
Okay?
This joke can honestly work with any contracted verb.
So you can say, why did the pregnant lady start yelling shouldn't, wouldn't, couldn't?
It can be anything.
Okay?
And the joke, the ending is always the same, because she was having contractions.
Now, remember, I didn't say these were good jokes.
I didn't say they were funny jokes.
To me, they're funny because I'm an English teacher and I like English wordplay jokes like these.
If you understood these jokes, you are all the better for it.
And I really, really recommend that you use these at a party if you want no friends.
Okay guys, if you want to test your understanding of this knowledge, if you want to test if you remember the ending of these jokes and if you want to make the kids in your family laugh, you can check out the quiz on wwwengvidcom.
Good luck and take care.
Thank you.
