chair
Ret's ESL Jokes
A philosophy teacher entered the classroom to give his senior class their final exam.
He placed a chair on his big mahogany desk 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 sought arguments to prove the inexistence of the chair.
Except for one student in the back row. He spent thirty seconds writing his answer, then handed in his paper and sat back down.
Time passed, and the students finally received their final grades.
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?”
Vocabulary
Sought: past tense of seek; looked for, searched for.
Handed in: submitted (especially homework or an exam paper).
They sought arguments to disprove the chair’s existence.
He quickly handed in his paper to the professor.
Grammar Focus
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 sought every argument from Descartes and Berkeley!
Student B: I just handed in my paper… I finished in twenty seconds.
Professor (later): And the best grade goes to… “What table?”