Part 1: Humour Collocations
Collocations are words that naturally go together. Native speakers use these combinations automatically!
Adjectives + Humour
| Collocation | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| good sense of humour | "She has a good sense of humour." | Ability to appreciate jokes |
| dry humour | "I love his dry humour." | Subtle, deadpan comedy |
| wicked sense of humour | "He has a wicked sense of humour!" | Mischievous, naughty humour |
| hilarious joke | "That was a hilarious joke!" | Extremely funny joke |
| practical joke | "They played a practical joke on him." | Physical trick or prank |
| sick joke | "That's a sick joke, not funny." | Offensive or tasteless joke |
Verbs + Humour
| Collocation | Example |
|---|---|
| crack a joke | "He's always cracking jokes." |
| tell a joke | "Let me tell you a joke." |
| get a joke | "Did you get the joke?" |
| burst out laughing | "We burst out laughing at his story." |
| have a laugh | "We had a good laugh about it." |
Practice: Collocations
Exercise 1: Complete the collocations
1. She has a great sense of . (humour/humor)
2. He's always jokes at work. (cracking/making)
3. That was a joke! (hilarious/funny)
4. I love British humour. (dry/wet)
5. We out laughing! (burst/broke)
Part 2: Humour Idioms
Idioms are expressions with meanings different from the literal words. They make your English sound natural!
Common Humour Idioms:
- Pull someone's leg - Joke with someone
"I'm just pulling your leg, don't worry!" - Laugh your head off - Laugh a lot
"We laughed our heads off at the comedy show." - In stitches - Laughing uncontrollably
"His story had us in stitches!" - No laughing matter - Something serious
"Climate change is no laughing matter." - Have the last laugh - Be proven right in the end
"They mocked him, but he had the last laugh." - Laugh all the way to the bank - Make lots of money easily
"He's laughing all the way to the bank with that deal." - Barrel of laughs - Very funny person/thing
"The party was a barrel of laughs!" - Joke's on you - You're the victim of the joke
"You thought you tricked me? The joke's on you!"
Practice: Idioms
Exercise 2: Match the idiom to its meaning
1. "Stop pulling my !" (leg/arm)
2. "We were in watching that film!" (stitches/pieces)
3. "I laughed my off!" (head/face)
4. "This is no matter." (laughing/joking)
5. "He'll have the last ." (laugh/smile)
Part 3: Humour Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are verbs combined with prepositions or adverbs that create new meanings!
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| laugh at | Find something funny | "Everyone laughed at his joke." |
| laugh off | Dismiss with humour | "He laughed off the criticism." |
| crack up | Start laughing | "I cracked up when I heard the story." |
| joke around | Act in a playful way | "Stop joking around and be serious!" |
| play on | Make a pun or wordplay | "That's a clever play on words!" |
| lighten up | Become less serious | "Come on, lighten up! It's just a joke." |
| mess around | Behave in a silly way | "We were just messing around." |
| wind up | Tease or trick someone | "Are you winding me up?" |
Usage Tips:
Pull someone's leg is very common - use it when joking with friends
Wind up is British English - Americans say "mess with"
Crack up is informal - don't use it in formal situations!
Practice: Phrasal Verbs
Exercise 3: Complete with the correct phrasal verb
1. Everyone at his funny story. (laughed/smiled)
2. Come on, up! It's just a joke. (lighten/cheer)
3. I up when I saw the meme. (cracked/broke)
4. Stop around and get to work! (joking/messing)
5. Are you me up? (winding/pulling)
Well done! You've mastered humour vocabulary - now go have a laugh and practice!