APIEComedy, Humour and Satire: Vocabulary & Pronunciation
Comedy, humour and satire
Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.
How to use this lesson
👩🏫 For Teachers
Plan 20 minutes: learners study the word table, do the 16 practice items, then record the shadowing items.
Check answers together after learners complete each practice section.
🎓 For Learners
Read the word table and memorize the quick tips first.
Next, complete the practice tasks and record your voice in the shadowing section.
Word table
Study these 10 core words and their forms before doing the practice tasks.
| Word | Meaning | Common collocations | Word forms | Example sentence | Memory tip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satire | Use of humour/exaggeration to criticise political issues | biting satire, political satire | satirical (adj), satirise (v) | The show uses satire to attack corrupt politicians. | Tip: SATIRE sounds like "sad tire" - flattening big egos with jokes. |
| parody | A funny imitation of a piece of art, music, or writing | brilliant parody, film parody | parody (v) | Her parody of the evening news was absolutely hilarious. | Tip: PARODY = Pair + Comedy (imitating an original pair). |
| irony | A situation that is funny because the outcome is opposite to expected | dramatic irony, subtle irony | ironic (adj) | The irony is that the fire station burned down. | Tip: IRONY is when life gives you a hard, cold "iron" twist. |
| sarcasm | Remarks that mean the opposite of what they say, used to hurt or be funny | heavy sarcasm, pure sarcasm | sarcastic (adj) | "Oh, brilliant job!" he said with clear sarcasm. | Tip: SARCASM sounds like a sharp cut that stings. |
| Word | Meaning | Common collocations | Word forms | Example sentence | Memory tip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| punchline | The final phrase of a joke that makes it funny | deliver the punchline, ruin the punchline | – | He forgot the punchline and ruined the whole joke. | Tip: PUNCHline gives the punch of laughter at the end. |
| witty | Quick and clever with language and humour | witty remark, witty comment | wit (n) | She made a witty comment that entertained everyone. | Tip: WITTY people have quick WIT to win conversations. |
| absurd | Completely unreasonable, illogical, or ridiculous | total absurdity, completely absurd | absurdity (n) | Expecting rain in the desert seemed totally absurd. | Tip: ABSURD sounds like an abnormal bird flying backward. |
| Word | Meaning | Common collocations | Word forms | Example sentence | Memory tip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ridicule | Speech or action that makes someone look silly | hold up to ridicule, face ridicule | ridiculous (adj) | His strange costume made him an object of ridicule. | Tip: RIDICULE makes someone look RIDICULOUS. |
| mock | To laugh at someone in an unkind way or copy them | mock someone's voice, publicly mock | mockery (n) | Do not mock people when they make mistakes. | Tip: A mock exam is a copy, and to mock someone is to copy them so people laugh at them. |
| caricature | A drawing or description that exaggerates features for humour | political caricature, crude caricature | caricature (v) | The artist drew a clever caricature of the president. | Tip: CARICATURE exaggerates CHARACTER features. |
Practice
Complete these 16 items to consolidate your vocabulary knowledge.
Collocation Matrix: Match each verb to its natural noun partner.
Dialogue Gap-Fill: Complete the blanks using the word bank.
Sentence 1:
The new comedy show is a brilliant political ____ that exposes government mistakes.
Sentence 2:
Mind you, her funny ____ of the movie was kind of brilliant.
Dialogue 1:
A: "Did you enjoy her dinner speech?"
B: "Yes, she made a very ____ remark that made everyone laugh."
Dialogue 2:
A: "They expect us to finish this huge project by noon!"
B: "That is completely ____ and unreasonable!"
Choose the Word: Select the option that best fits the sentence meaning.
1. The newspaper published a biting _____ to criticise the prime minister.
2. He ruined the joke completely because he delivered the _____ too early.
3. "Oh, brilliant job," she said with pure _____, clearly feeling annoyed.
4. It is totally _____ to pay fifty dollars for a small bottle of water.
Word-Formation: Complete each sentence using the correct form of the given word.
1. The magazine published a ____ cartoon about the upcoming election. (SATIRE)
2. He faced public ____ after making such a foolish mistake. (MOCK)
3. It is ____ that the security guard lost his own keys. (IRONY)
4. The situation reached complete ____ near the end of the film. (ABSURD)
Shadowing
Listen to the native pronunciation, then record yourself repeating each phrase or sentence.
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