"tell a joke"是英语中常用的动词短语,字面意思是“讲一个笑话;说笑话”,强调“通过语言分享幽默内容”的动作。
作为及物动词短语,"tell a joke"通常需要连接“讲述对象”或“笑话主题”,常见结构有3种:
She told me a funny joke about her cat.(她给我讲了一个关于她猫的有趣笑话。)
Can you tell us a joke to break the silence?(你能给我们讲个笑话打破沉默吗?)
He told a joke to the whole class and everyone laughed.(他给全班讲了个笑话,大家都笑了。)
I want to tell a joke to my grandma to cheer her up.(我想给奶奶讲个笑话让她开心。)
Don’t tell jokes about other people’s appearance—it’s rude.(别讲关于别人外貌的笑话——很没礼貌。)
She told a joke about her first day at work that made us cry with laughter.(她讲了一个关于她上班第一天的笑话,逗得我们笑到哭。)
时态变化:过去式"told a joke"(讲过笑话),现在分词"telling a joke"(正在讲笑话)。
例句:He told a joke at the party last night.(他昨晚在派对上讲了个笑话。)
否定/疑问:常用于请求、建议或禁止。
例句:① Don’t tell that bad joke again!(别再讲那个烂笑话了!)
② Did you tell a joke to your new colleague?(你给新同事讲笑话了吗?)
"tell a joke"是“传递幽默”的基础表达,关键是明确“讲给谁听”(间接宾语)和“讲什么内容”(about+主题),结合场景灵活使用双宾语或"to/about"结构即可。