Grammar joke

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Posted on my friend’s Facebook page:

A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to drink.

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2

Sorry, it really is not very funny, although it is grammar related.

3

Luschen, I am ashamed to say that I don’t understand it. Is “drinking to drink” a known expression?

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No, I guess I am ashamed of posting it - I was so excited to see a grammar joke that I sort of forgot to make sure it made sense!

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5

Maybe it should go something like “an infinitive walked into a bar because he forgot to duck”.
Hehe.

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Luschen,
“I sort of forgot to make sure it made sense!”
In this sentence, is the word - ‘forgot’ a noun?
How to form sentences using ‘sort of’? Please guide. Thanks.

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7

What I don’t quite get is the preposition ‘to’. I mean, when two people walk into a bar they are with each other, rather than ‘to’ each other. Thomas, please enlighten us. Many thanks, Torsten

TOEIC listening, photographs: A flower shop

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Well, I thought it meant “drinking in order to drink” - maybe I can ask my Facebook friend what it means :slight_smile:

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9

Luschen,
I am awaiting your answer for my query.

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10

I’m not Luschen :slight_smile:
But “forgot” is decidedly not a noun. It’s the past tense of the verb “to forget”.
“Sort of” is defined here: thefreedictionary.com/sort%20of

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11

A gerund (drinking) and an infinitive (to drink) walk into a bar . . .

Hm, makes sense to me, and I even find it amusing. Thanks for sharing the joke. Greetings to your friend! :wink:

Claudia

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12

Luschen/Our Tort System,
I couldn’t understand the explanation of : thefreedictionary.com/sort%20of
and how Luschen formed the sentence “I sort of forgot to make sure it made sense!”.
I hope Luschen could explain to me.

13

Another grammar joke:

Does “In day show dan mere my face way!” make any sense to you?

Claudia

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14

Hi, here is the idiom definition from your link:

sort of
Informal

Somewhat; rather

So “sort of” means somewhat in my sentence: “I somewhat forgot to make sure it made sense.”

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15

A perfect day for me…

  1. Bunked all the classes.
  2. Using an internet connection which is working SO WELL.
  3. Watching Videos/playing games.
  4. All alone in my room.
  5. Have thrown my phone on the other bed and I know… am not gonna pick it up from there even if someone calls me.
  6. And the best of all, my laziness is at its peak… m just staring at the switches and m not taking the PAIN to switch on the fan… even when I am feeling like to do so. :smiley: :smiley:
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That’s how I understand it too. :slight_smile:

Nope, no sense whatsoever! I suspect it has more to do with pronunciation than it has to do with grammar – but I can’t figure it out.

[size=59]Something about shoes, by any chance? :-S[/size]

17

Hi,
What I’ve just found reads: A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking a drink.
Perhaps a bit funnier?

18

In case you’re still willing to have some more – the original joke by Luschen is better digested while watching other characters visiting the same bar:

A Question mark walks into a bar?
Two Quotation marks “walk into” a bar.
A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking a drink.
The bar was walked into by the passive voice.
The past, the present, and the future walked into a bar. It was tense.
A synonym ambles into a pub.
A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to drink.
A hyperbole totally ripped into this bar and destroyed everything.
A run on sentence walks into a bar it is thirsty.
Falling slowly, softly falling, the chiasmus collapsed to the bar floor.
A group of homophones wok inn two a bar.
– So Luschen’s joke proved very helpful methinks.

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Thanks Eugene, those are excellent!

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Aaah, you’re on the right track!

It’s not English at all; it is Franconian for “These shoes hurt my feet”.

Now I will go and hide under a rock. :wink:

Claudia