Ejercicios C2 : Jugar con las palabras en inglés (corregido)

Estos ejercicios te ayudarán a consolidar tu comprensión de los juegos de palabras en inglés: puns, homofonía y doble sentido. Pon a prueba tu dominio del humor lingüístico anglosajón al nivel C2.

→ Ver el curso : Jugar con las palabras en inglés : curso completo

Ejercicio 1 : Comprensión del doble sentido

Elige la opción que explica correctamente el juego de palabras presente en cada enunciado.

1. Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything.
   • It plays on 'make up' meaning both 'to constitute' and 'to invent lies'.
   • It plays on 'atoms' sounding like 'Adams', a common surname.
   • It plays on 'scientists' and 'science' being homophones.
   • It plays on 'everything' meaning both 'all things' and 'nothing'.
2. I used to be a banker, but I lost interest.
   • It plays on 'interest' meaning both financial interest and personal enthusiasm.
   • It plays on 'banker' sounding like 'anchor', a nautical term.
   • It plays on 'lost' meaning both misplaced and defeated in a game.
   • It plays on 'used to' as a homophone of 'useful'.
3. Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
   • It exploits the double meaning of 'flies' as a verb and a noun, and 'like' as a verb and a preposition.
   • It plays on 'arrow' and 'narrow' as near-homophones in some dialects.
   • It plays on 'fruit' meaning both produce and the result of an action.
   • It exploits the homophony between 'time' and 'thyme', the herb.
4. I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down.
   • It plays on 'put down' meaning both physically setting a book down and being unable to stop reading it.
   • It plays on 'anti-gravity' sounding like 'anti-gravy', a cooking term.
   • It plays on 'reading' as both a present participle and the name of the English town Reading.
   • It plays on 'impossible' meaning both very difficult and literally against the laws of physics.

Correction

1. It plays on 'make up' meaning both 'to constitute' and 'to invent lies'.
2. It plays on 'interest' meaning both financial interest and personal enthusiasm.
3. It exploits the double meaning of 'flies' as a verb and a noun, and 'like' as a verb and a preposition.
4. It plays on 'put down' meaning both physically setting a book down and being unable to stop reading it.

Ejercicio 2 : Homofonía en acción

Asocia cada par de homófonos con la oración que los usa correctamente a los dos en un juego de palabras.

1. Asocia el par homófono 'knight / night' con su pun correspondiente.
2. Asocia el par homófono 'bare / bear' con su pun correspondiente.
3. Asocia el par homófono 'flour / flower' con su pun correspondiente.
4. Asocia el par homófono 'sole / soul' con su pun correspondiente.

• She gave him a flower and a bag of flour, saying she wanted their relationship to blossom and rise.
• He poured his soul into cobbling shoes, claiming the sole of a shoe had more sole than most people.
• The bear could barely bear the weight of his own fur on such a hot day.
• The knight said goodnight and disappeared into the night, his armour gleaming under the moon.

Correction

1. Asocia el par homófono 'knight / night' con su pun correspondiente. – The knight said goodnight and disappeared into the night, his armour gleaming under the moon.
2. Asocia el par homófono 'bare / bear' con su pun correspondiente. – The bear could barely bear the weight of his own fur on such a hot day.
3. Asocia el par homófono 'flour / flower' con su pun correspondiente. – She gave him a flower and a bag of flour, saying she wanted their relationship to blossom and rise.
4. Asocia el par homófono 'sole / soul' con su pun correspondiente. – He poured his soul into cobbling shoes, claiming the sole of a shoe had more sole than most people.

Ejercicio 3 : Completa el pun

Completa cada pun con la palabra que activa el doble sentido o la homofonía correcta. Escribe la oración completa en tu respuesta.

1. I would tell you a joke about construction, but I'm still ___ on it.
2. Did you hear about the claustrophobic astronaut? He just needed a little ___.
3. I told my doctor I broke my arm in two places. He told me to stop ___ to those places.
4. The bicycle couldn't stand on its own because it was two-___.

Correction

1. I would tell you a joke about construction, but I'm still working on it.
2. Did you hear about the claustrophobic astronaut? He just needed a little space.
3. I told my doctor I broke my arm in two places. He told me to stop going to those places.
4. The bicycle couldn't stand on its own because it was two-tired.