chair

Passez la souris ou touchez les mots soulignés pour voir la traduction.

A philosophy teacher entered the classroom to give his senior class their final exam.

He placed a chair on his big mahogany deskBUREAU EN ACAJOU and said to the class, “Using everything you’ve learned in this class this year, prove to me that this chair doesn’t exist.”

The students wasted no time. Pencils were scribbling and pages were turning. They soughtCHERCHÈRENT arguments to prove the inexistence of the chair.

Except for one student in the back rowRANG. He spent thirty seconds writing his answer, then handed in his paperREMIT SON PAPIER and sat back down.

Time passed, and the students finally received their final gradesNOTES.

There was shock all around when the student who had written for only thirty seconds received the highest grade in the class.

His answer was simply: “What chair?”

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Vocabulary

Sought: past tense of seek; looked for, searched for.

Handed in: submitted (especially homework or an exam paper).

They soughtCHERCHÈRENT arguments to disprove the chair’s existence.

He quickly handed in his paperREMIT SON PAPIER to the professor.

Grammar

The joke uses mainly past simple for narration of completed actions and past continuous to describe background activities in progress at a specific moment.

Past simple: He placed a chair… / They wasted no time… / He spent thirty seconds…

Past continuous: Pencils were scribbling and pages were turning.

Synonyms & Alternatives

Sought: searched for, looked for, tried to find.

Handed in: submitted, turned in, gave in.

Mini Dialogue

Professor: You have one hour. Prove that this table doesn’t exist.

Student A: I soughtCHERCHAI every argument from Descartes and Berkeley!

Student B: I just handed in my paperREMIŚ MON PAPIER… I finished in twenty seconds.

Professor (later): And the best grade goes to… “What table?”

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