This is maybe the most persistent mistake among students, at least here in Spain. I regularly hear the phrase “My weekend was very funny.” I almost always know that they are using the wrong adjective. The little watch dog inside of my head barks immediately and says “No, no, no…you don’t know what you’re saying, man, are you crazy!” He is also a little over-dramatic, as any vigilant watch dog should be.
I have frequently gone through the routine of ignoring it for the moment and making a mental note to come back to this point. But having good intentions and not interrupting the student usually means “fun” and “funny” never get the attention they deserve. Let’s be honest. It is a micro-lesson that seems too obvious to most English speakers (i.e. teachers). It is a small infraction that isn’t going to obscure any real meaning. The student is practicing their fluency and that was the first thing they said, don’t stop them yet!
Well…I have to stop you right here.
I have had enough. The point is they are using the word wrong. And consistently wrong! So, lets have that conversation, now. I have recently started interrupting them when they use “funny”. It’s not a rude interruption, of course. Just a short: “Did you mean ‘fun’ or ‘funny’?” or “Explain what you mean by funny.” The response is usually vague and unclear. They never have a good reason. The most frequent response is that one is used for situations and the other is used for people, (that is a favorite category of distinction when there are no other obvious explanations at hand).
Then, instead of giving them translations, which I suspect as the real culprit, I give them “the list,” which I repeat every time they make the mistake.
- the park
- the beach
- sports
- dancing
- comedians
- cat videos
- jokes
- clowns
They must tell me what adjective is used for each item on “the list”. Usually, they get every answer wrong or they get 50/50. Even if you give them the right answers they still think it might be something about people vs situations.
So what is the reason? Every proficient English speaker knows that something “funny” makes you laugh (pronounced /laf/, not /lauf/ or /laj/). And if it doesn’t make you laugh then…it’s not funny! So that makes this list easy now, doesn’t it? Answer: The first 4 items are “fun” and the last 4 are “funny”.
Except that, there is always that one person who raises their hand (the “dog-person”) who doesn’t like “cats”. And I immediately point to the door and tell them to leave…
ha ha ha…
just kidding…
I don’t do that…but then I have to explain that “funny” is a category of things that intend to make people laugh. And some people laugh at things, while others don’t. That thing is still included in the category of “funny”. You can disagree and say that you personally don’t think something is “funny”. You are really saying that either it makes you laugh or it doesn’t.
Obviously, clowns are nobody’s favorite in the funny category. They may fit better into the scary, or creepy. But we all know the clown’s laughter, the intention of making people laugh, the archetypal “funny man”. Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton made people laugh. Even if, John Wayne Gacy (serial killer) and Pennywise (from the movie ‘It’) terrified people.
So why is fun and funny confused so often? I don’t know but because they are not polar opposites, they tend to be associated with positive adjectives, and the generalized definition of “fun” (something “enjoyable, exciting”) usually overshadows the specific definition of “funny” (something that “makes you laugh”).
All of my analytical or precocious students always remind me that you can laugh at the beach. And I look at them and point to the door and tell them to leave…
Because, I am tired of explaining this.
I show them a picture of a beach and I ask them “Does that make you laugh?”. Most mentally healthy people do not laugh at a picture of a beach. So…I say…it is not considered “funny”. They are probably saying that the joke that was told at the beach was “funny”. But there is nothing funny about the sand and water.
Once they begin to produce the correct adjective for each item on the list, I move on to another topic.
Unless, they want me to torture them a little more (that is why they are paying me, right?) with another long winded explanation. “Funny” is not what you think it is. Now, my students look at me desperately, white-knuckled, and impatient.
I must explain. Things which are “funny” are often things that are not supposed to happen, break some normative behavior, or are a surprise. Someone slips on a banana. A baby babbles on the phone imitating their mother but isn’t really saying anything or talking to anyone. A cat jumps and attacks their reflection in a mirror. In each of these examples something breaks the rational order of things. Reflections are not real beings, babies can’t talk, and…where did that banana come from? Many times people who are exceptionally funny think in very unusual ways. So, this third definition disrupts the balance formed by the “fun/funny” explanation.
Yes, the sad truth it that “Funny” leads a double life and goes out at night dressed up as “Strange”. We, native speakers, even have to clarify this on occasion. Do you mean “funny – ha ha” or “funny – strange”?
So, if you think the beach is “funny”, you are laughing at some sand and water and people are going to think you are strange. They may think you’re “funny”, but not “funny-ha ha”, but “funny – off in the head”. And, there you go! It’s easy! You laugh at jokes because they are funny. You enjoy the beach because it is fun. You throw away food from the refrigerator because it tastes funny.
The last and final word for you is a joke, which doesn’t particularly make me laugh.
The famous Hannibal “the Cannibal” sat in an interview and was asked his opinion about clowns. He said he didn’t really like them. When asked why, he responded, “Because, they taste funny.”
Now, you understand why most students have no idea…absolutely no idea…what they are saying! If only they knew…but you do and you can thank me! That is all you need to know in order to pass the C1 Advanced exam, impress your boss and get that promotion, or sign that contract with that British conglomerate who thinks Spaniards are daft for thinking the beach is funny.