Learn English With Jokes • Little Johnny & The Black Balls
Learn English With Jokes
Ret's ESL Jokes
Intermediate · Past Simple · Conditional
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Survolez les mots en ambre pour voir les définitions en français.
One day a teacher walks into her classroom, and announces to the class that every Friday she'll ask a question, and any pupilÉLÈVE who answers correctly won't have to come to school on Monday.
On the first Friday, the teacher asks, "How many grains of sandSABLE are on Omaha Beach?"
Needless to sayIL VA SANS DIRE (QUE), no one could answer.
The following Friday the teacher asks the class, "How many stars are in our galaxy?"
And again no one could answer.
Frustrated, little Johnny decides that he would somehowD'UNE MANIÈRE OU D'UNE AUTRE answer the question, next week Friday, and get a 3-day weekend. So, on Thursday night, Johnny takes two ping-pong balls and paints them black.
The next day he goes to school with them, in a paper bag in his backpackSAC À DOS. At the end of the day, just when the teacher says, "Here's this week's question," Johnny empties the bag to the floor, sending the ping-pong balls bouncingREBONDISSANT to the front of the classroom.
Because they are children, and find any disruption of class amusing, the whole class starts laughing.
The teacher says, "Okay, who's the funny guy with the black balls?"
Little Johnny immediately stands up and says, "Eddie MurphyEDDIE MURPHY (CÉLÈBRE ACTEUR ET HUMORISTE AMÉRICAIN). See y'all on Tuesday!"
📘 Key Vocabulary
📖 Grammar Points
1. Past simple for narrative sequence
The joke uses past simple to tell the chain of events: walked, announced, asked, decided, took, painted, went, emptied, started, said, stood up. This tense is standard for storytelling because it presents completed actions in chronological order. Each verb moves the plot forward: Johnny's decision leads to his actions, which lead to the punchline. Learners can see how English speakers rely on past simple to build a clear, easy-to-follow narrative.
2. Conditional with "would" for a future-in-the-past plan
The sentence "little Johnny decides that he would somehow answer the question" uses would to express a future action from a past perspective. This is sometimes called the future-in-the-past. At the moment Johnny decides (past simple), answering the question is still in his future. In French, this is similar to the conditionnel présent (il répondrait). This structure is very common in reported thoughts and plans: He knew he would succeed. She hoped she would win.
🔁 Synonyms & Alternatives
Both fit the tone: “any student who answers” or “by some means, he would succeed”.
💬 Mini Dialogue
Context: Two friends, Musa and Fatima, are talking about a tricky exam question. Musa is trying to figure out a clever way to answer it.
Fatima: “Needless to sayIL VA SANS DIRE (QUE), no one knew the capital of Kyrgyzstan.”
Musa: “I decided I would somehowD'UNE MANIÈRE OU D'UNE AUTRE find the answer. That night, I searched on my phone.”
Fatima: “And then?”
Musa: “The next morning, I walked in with my backpackSAC À DOS, feeling confident. But when the teacher asked, my mind went completely blank.”
Uses past simple (“decided”, “searched”, “walked”), “would” for future-in-the-past, and vocabulary items integrated naturally.
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