wages

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Ben left workQUITTA LE TRAVAIL one Friday evening.

But since it was paydayJOUR DE PAIE, instead of going home, he stayed out the whole weekend partyingPASSA TOUT LE WEEK-END À FAIRE LA FÊTE with his palsPOTES and spending his entire wagesDÉPENSA TOUT SON SALAIRE.

When he finally went homeRENTRA CHEZ LUI on Sunday night, he was confronted by his angry wifeFUT CONFRONTÉ À SA FEMME EN COLÈRE and was barragedFUT BOMBARDÉ for nearly two hours about his behaviour.

Finally his wife stopped the naggingCESSA LES RÉFLEXIONS and said to him, “How would you like it if you didn’t see me for two or three days?”

Ben said, “That would be fine with me.”

Monday went byPASSA and he didn’t see his wife.

Tuesday and Wednesday came and wentPASSÈRENT with the same results.

But on Thursday, the swellingLE GONFLEMENT went downDIMINUA just enough for him to be able to see her a little out of the corner of his left eyeL’APERCEVOIR UN PEU DU COIN DE L’ŒIL.

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Vocabulary

Payday: the day when workers receive their wages or salary.

Swelling: a part of the body becoming enlarged after an injury.

Since it was paydayJOUR DE PAIE, Ben went out celebrating.

By Thursday, the swellingL’ENFLURE had gone down a little.

Grammar

The joke mainly uses narrative past tenses to tell a sequence of events and a conditional sentence for the wife’s question.

Past simple (narration): Ben left work on Friday and spent the weekend partying.

Second conditional: “How would you like it if you didn’t see me for two or three days?”

Synonyms & Alternatives

Pals: mates, friends.

Nagging: complaining, constant criticism.

Mini Dialogue

Oliver: Yesterday was paydayJOUR DE PAIE, so I bought a new bicycle.

James: Lucky you. I spent my entire wagesAI DÉPENSÉ TOUT MON SALAIRE fixing my car.

Oliver: My wife asked what I would do if she disappeared for two days.

James: Careful… you might end up with some serious swellingENFLURE too!

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