What is satire? It is meant to be a humorous form of literature. It aims to criticize people’s lack of judgment, quirks about society, or institutions. As a caution, satire literature, at times, may be offensive or political in nature. So as an example, I’ll use something I’ve slowly grown to love and appreciate over time. It has absolutely no intentions of being either offensive or political in nature — broccoli!

As noted in the feature image, our superhero Brocco Li is saving the day with a caution – broccoli is bad for you… Is this satirical? We might have found three key elements: irony, exaggeration, and parody.

Elements of satire

Irony – expresses the opposite of what is intended to make a point. For example, broccoli is bad for you.

Exaggeration – overstating something. For example, broccoli will give you superpowers.

Parody – a mocking imitation

We can add more details to talk about time by using prepositions. Here are some examples:

Days or dates: on

I go to the gym on Mondays.
Sally studies English on Fridays.
Ed will visit his grandparents on the weekend.
She will visit the doctor on June 15.

Start and finish points: from/to or between/and

I work from 9pm to 5pm.
I work between 9pm and 5pm.
The bugs come out between dawn and dusk.
The ski resort is open between September and May.

Only a finish point: until

I work until 5pm.
I cannot leave until the teacher comes back.
I will keep eating until I am full.

To talk about how long: for

I have been working for 7 hours.
I have been waiting for an hour to see the doctor.
We lined up for 3 hours to buy tickets for the concert.

To talk about what you did in between,
use during.

I went for a walk during my break.
During summer vacation I went swimming a lot.
I slept well during the flight.