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.
Right. Right. It’s the same word, isn’t it? The answer is yes… and no. In English, not only do we pay attention to what words we say, but also how we say them. Your tone makes a big difference in what other people understand.
Some people are always serious. What they say is what they mean. Others like to kid around. Their personality might be more sarcastic. You might not realize that they’re joking if they have a very dry humor. It’s not always easy to understand. Something as simple as, “I read the book” can be a joke if the right person says it!
Being sarcastic isn’t always bad, but it can offend people if you’re not careful. People, especially your friends, like to know you care about them. If you’re always answering them with biting comments, don’t be surprised if your friends start disappearing.
Lily and Brian are discussing sarcasm. Learn who’s taking things too far in this English lesson about personalities.
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.
Lily: Brian, you are not serious about anything.
Brian: Do you really think that?
Lily: You’re being sarcastic again!
Brian: No, I’m honestly asking you a question. I mean, sarcasm’s hard to judge because there’s definitely a certain type of tone.
Lily: Right.
Brian: And it’s kind of just a part of my personality.
Lily: I get it. So your personality is to laugh everything off, just joke and kid about everything.
Brian: No, I totally am. Sometimes I can have a dry humor. Like the other day, the elevator door opened up, and I walked in, and I was like, “Going down?” Because the elevator was going down.
Lily: Do you have to be so biting all the time? Don’t you worry about offending people?
Brian: Not really. I feel like if they don’t realize it’s a joke, then they won’t realize it’s sarcasm, so they think I’m being serious. So then it’s fine either way.
Lily: So then they think you’re being a jerk. They have to take everything you’re saying with a grain of salt.
Brian: Are you trying to tell me I’m a jerk?
Lily: Oh, no, not at all.
Brian: You could really use some lessons in sarcasm. That’s all I’m going to say.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "It's vs. Its" from this lesson
Quizzes
Lesson MP3
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Discussion
Lily has something serious to tell Brian: she thinks he’s never serious!
Brian admits that being sarcastic is part of his personality. Sometimes he says things that are funny in a non-humorous way. He doesn’t think his sarcasm is a problem.
Lily asks Brian if he’s worried about offending people. She thinks that people will think he’s being a jerk. It sounds like Lily wants to help her friend, but Brian wonders if Lily actually thinks he’s being mean.
To prove her point, Lily tries out some sarcasm, but she fails. Brian and Lily obviously have very different personalities.
Are you sarcastic or serious? When is it OK to joke around?
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