1. Situational irony: When something happens that is the opposite of what was expectedEx: While cooking dinner at the firehouse, a group of firefighters accidentally set fire to their kitchen.
2. Verbal irony: When someone says one thing but really means the opposite Ex: You’ve saved babysitting money for three months when your friends invite you to Tinker Town. Once there, you quickly realize your money isn’t going to go far; for example, at the concession stand, a snowcone costs $14. “Wow,” you say to your friends, “what a bargain! Maybe I ought to buy two?”
(Note: The difference between verbal irony and sarcasm is that sarcasm is usually said about a person and is intended to insult. Verbal irony is usually said about an event to point out the absurdity of a situation.)
3. Dramatic irony: The audience knows more about the events of a story than a character. Ex: You are watching a movie and see a man with a knife hide in an upstairs closet as the protagonist comes home from work.