Does 开他的玩笑 mean "he" plays or is played?

Question

In the following sentence:

艾文特别老实、害羞，提什么建议，他都说好的好的；有时开他的玩笑，他会脸红得不知所措，只是憨憨地笑。他喜欢骑自行车，我俩就骑着车在南京城里转，在我这个业余导游的指引下，早到哪儿，逛到哪儿。

Since it starts with 他 as a subject, I feel that it is "he" that makes fun of something, not that he is being. But since the latter sentence makes an impression that he feels embarrassed, so I also feel that he is actually joked at here.

How can I know which is correct? Usually, the sentence should be 他开玩笑 I think, but I wonder if it is actually "he" that is making fun of, why is it in such a form...

Or is 开X的玩笑 different word from X开玩笑? If it is the same and the subject is 他, why not simply say 他开玩笑, instead of 开他的玩笑?

Answer 1

'他的' in '开他的玩笑' is not the subject, it is an 'adjectival phrase'

开玩笑 = to joke

他的 = (对)他的 = toward/ about him

'对他的' (toward/ about him) is the adjectival phrase for '玩笑' (joke). It describes what kind of joke it is - 'a joke toward/ about him'

'开玩笑' (to joke) is a single verb treated as one word, but in this structure, 玩笑 (joke) is isolated out and treated like a noun, therefore (对)他的 could be applied to it.

Similarly:

回家 (go home) is a single verb

in '回[溫暖的]家' , '家' is isolated out as a noun and '溫暖的' (warm) is the adjective for '家'(home)

Answer 2

他开玩笑 he cracked/played a joke
某人开他的玩笑 someone played a joke on him
开我的玩笑 make fun of me

他都说好的好的;
He was always saying ok ok,
有时开他的玩笑，
sometimes, when someone played a joke on him,
他会脸红得不知所措，
he would blush and not know what to do,
只是憨憨地笑。
except laugh a silly laugh.