用法
1.用作动词，是不及物动词；若表示跟某人开玩笑或拿某事开玩笑，分别用介词 with（后接人）或about（后接事物）。2.joke偶尔还可用作及物动词,这时可接宾语从句。3.用作名词时，注意它与动词的常见搭配：表示讲笑话，通常用动词tell或make；表示开某人的玩笑或戏弄某人，通常用动词play；表示经得起开干玩笑，通常用动词take；表示理解其中的可笑之处，用动词see。4.joke with sb 和某人开玩笑; joke about sth 拿某事开玩笑;njoke with sb about sth 拿某事和某人开玩笑；nYou must be〔have got to be〕 你一定是(在)开玩笑。
Genericmeaning
Jokes have a generic meaning of verbal humor, including one-liners,riddles, and other things that make us laugh;
but the joke is also a form, a funny, made-up story with a punchline told by one person.
Formofstory
A joke is distinguished from an anecdote, which may be a funny story andhave a punchline, but is about a real or true incident. Because it is a form of story, the joke has some of the attributes of a story, such asa beginning, middle, and end. The beginning is the set-up for the joke.While the setting, mood, and tone of, say, a short story or novel are established over time, these elements are often compressed into as little as a single sentence in a joke.
