Name: ______________________________________________ Eat anything good today? _______________ Date: ____________________________________
Bell work: Semi-colons and Irony
Today’s Objective:
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Read the following scenarios. Determine if it the responses are literal, verbally ironic, or sarcastic. Write
your answers and rationales on the lines.
1. A mean old man ate a large meal at a restaurant. The waitress tried to provide him with excellent
service, but every time she brought him a dish, he complained. First he thought that the soup was too
cold then he said that his steak was too chewy. Next he complained that her (blonde) hairs was in his
mashed potatoes, but the hair was grey. The waitress remained patient and continued to try to help
him. Just before he left, left her a one-dollar tip (on a twenty-dollar meal). She caught him at the door
and said “Thank you for the tip, Mister.”
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2. You are playing basketball and failing miserably. You somehow manage to steal the ball but are quickly
tailed by three bigger, more experienced players. In panic, you decide to make a half-court shot. Even
as you know your coach would never want you to do this, you bend your knees, aim, and … shoot the
ball miserably into the crowd.
Your teammates say: "Nice, shot, man." _________________________________________________
You respond: "Yeah, I can’t wait to hear coach’s reaction”. __________________________________
3. Last task. Reread the example in number one. Draw in the missing semi-colon. Afterwards, create one
sentence about either scenario (1 or 2) that correctly uses a semi-colon. Remember, you need two
independent clauses that COULD be joined by a conjunction OR are ALREADY joined by a conjunctive
adverb:
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