BEING SARCASTIC (Advanced) (EXERCISE A39E160)

People are sarcastic when they say the opposite of the truth, or the opposite of their true feelings in order to be funny or to make a point. Be careful however when using sarcasm, as it is easy to offend people. Make sure your conversation partner realizes you are being sarcastic; you can do this by exaggerating your feelings using strong words or lively intonations.

 SOME COMMON EXAMPLES OF SARCASM.

After something, bad or annoying happens:

Oh terrific / great / brilliant /That’s just what I need!   

After something unsurprising happens:

Well what a surprise!

After someone makes a mistake:

Oh nice one! /Oh well done!

After someone says something obvious:

No! / Really? / You’re quick / clever!

THE LANGUAGE OF SARCASM:

There are no fixed rules about what language to use when being sarcastic, but the following features are quite common. 

Tag questions:  Of course, you’re the real expert at driving, aren’t you?

You can use this form to disagree or agree with someone by seeming to agree:  (A)  Slow down! You are driving too fast.

  (B)  Yeah right, cause you never drive too fast do you?

   (A)  Slow down! You are driving too fast.

   (B)  Sorry, I forgot you are an expert driver! How many speeding tickets did  

         you get last  year?

If …… Must: Well if you read it on the internet, it must be true. 

TO PRINT