Topic 1.11.4 Exaggeration and Understatement
EXAGGERATION AND UNDERSTATEMENT
“exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement”
1.Warm up
- Do you know anyone who uses over or understatement a lot? Do you?
- Do you think overstatement and understatement can be used to good effect in business?
1B. Watch this video as an example of an understatement made by a pilot in an emergency situation in 1982:
2A. Understating
In pairs read the conversations below.
Chat A
- Anne: Have you seen Greg lately?
- Carlos: Yes, I have. He’s very fat. What happened to him? He used to be a fitness freak.
- Anne: I know. He must have changed his lifestyle when he got married. Have you met his wife?
- Carlos: Yes, I have. She’s very old.
- Anne: Yes. And she has a horrible personality. I really don’t know what he sees in her.
- Carlos: I couldn’t agree more. Well, you know what they say– love is blind.
Chat B
- Anne: Have you seen Greg lately?
- Carlos: Yes, I have. He’s a bit on the large side. What happened to him? He used to be a fitness freak.
- Anne: I know. He must have changed his lifestyle when he got married. Have you met his wife?
- Carlos: Yes, I have. She’s kind of old, don’t you think?
- Anne: Yes. And she isn’t the nicest person in the world. I really don’t know what he sees in her.
- Carlos: I couldn’t agree more. Well, you know what they say– love is blind.
Chat C
- Anne: What do you think of this restaurant?
- Carlos: It’s awful. The service is terrible.
- Anne: But the food is delicious.
- Carlos: No, it’s very bad. The Waldorf Restaurant was much better.
- Anne: But the Waldorf is expensive. Well, you get what you pay for.
Chat D
- Anne: What do you think of this restaurant?
- Carlos: Well, it certainly isn’t the best restaurant in town. The service is a little on the slow side.
- Anne: But the food is delicious.
- Carlos: I wouldn’t say it’s delicious. The Waldorf Restaurant was much better.
- Anne: But the Waldorf is a bit overpriced.
- Carlos: Well, you get what you pay for.
Which conversations sound more tactful? Which sound a bit rude?
2B. Now study the understatements below.
3.Practice
4.Exaggerating
We often exaggerate when telling a story or describing an event in order to sound more interesting.
Choose six adjectives on the left and think of a situation that you can describe with each word. Tell your partner using an extreme adjective, for example:
“My boss asked me to work overtime last Monday. By the end of the day, I was absolutely exhausted.”
5.Speaking
Work with a partner and do the tasks below.
- Think of an experience that you had in the past. It could be a trip to another country, a bad day at work, etc. Tell your partner about it, exaggerating where possible.
- Write down the titles of four films/movies that both of you have seen, but they cannot be your favourite ones. Student A, choose one and ask questions, for example ‘What did you think of the acting?’, ‘Did you like the plot?’, ‘What did you think of the script?’, etc. Student B, try to give some negative opinions using understatement. Choose another title and change roles.