Anonymous  [More info] I've heard this joke told in various ways. A businessman arriving in Boston for a convention found that his first evening was free, and he decided to go find a good seafood restaurant that served scrod, a Massachusetts specialty. Getting into a taxi, he asked the cab driver, "Do you know where I can get scrod around here?" "Sure," said the cabdriver. "I know a few places... but I can tell you it's not often I hear someone use the third-person pluperfect indicative anymore!" I've also heard this joke using; pluperfect subjunctive, past pluperfect, and passive pluperfect subjunctive.  I was hoping to get some input on which would be the correct way to tell this joke. Thanks for any help.  Anonymous

	+1 CalifJim  [More info] Within the world of the joke, scrod is a past participle in a passive construction, pure and simple. It's not often I hear the past participle would be completely lacking in humor because the past participle is used all the time.  The same would be true if you used passive in the joke.  That is why the joke has to mention some purely fictitious or fantasy tense that sounds complicated (whether such a tense actually exists or not).  Therefore, from the point of view of the "tense" to use in the punch line, there is no correct way to tell the joke.  Make up your own "tense" as you choose, preferably something which just "sounds funny".  Apparently the consensus is that "pluperfect"* is an inherently funny word!  CJ *The 'real pluperfect' in the context of the joke is "had scrod". CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 26,178 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche