TKT: KAL Part 3 Grammar: other verb forms and patterns –

trainer’s notes

Description
This activity reviews a number of verb forms to complement other TKT: KAL activities.
Participants use texts to identify different verb patterns and then discuss problems students
may have with this area of language, using students’ written work.

Time required: 40 minutes

Materials ƒ Participant’s Worksheet 1 (one copy for each participant)
required:
ƒ Participant’s Worksheet 2 (one copy for each participant)
ƒ Sample Task (one copy for each participant)
Aims: ƒ to review a range of different verb forms
ƒ to discuss possible difficulties students may have with different verb
forms
ƒ to identify student mistakes related to use of verbs, as well as
examples of good use of verbs
Note: It is recommended that the activities TKT: KAL Part 3: Adverbials, TKT: KAL Part 3:
Types of clauses and TKT: KAL Part 3: Tense, aspect and modality are completed before
doing this activity.
Procedure
1. Establish with participants the importance for learners of mastering different verb
forms. Explain that this session is going to review this area with them. Elicit as many
as possible of the following verb forms from participants.
• Imperative • Gerund
• Infinitive • Verb + gerund/ infinitive
• Indirect question • Indirect command
• Passive form • Tag question
• Indirect statement • Interrogative
• Negative • Rhetorical question
2. Give out Participant’s Worksheet 1, which lists these verb forms and has three
short texts. Participants work in pairs to find examples of the verb forms listed. Point
out that two of the verb forms are not exemplified in the texts.
3. Once they have found all the verb forms, they should discuss with their partner why
each one is used in each case. Feed back together (see Key below).
4. Put participants into small groups of 3 or 4. Allocate one point below to each group to
brainstorm:
• the uses of the passives

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 • the uses of tag questions
• verbs followed by gerund
• verbs followed by infinitive.
All groups should also discuss:
• What problems in your experience do learners have with these verb patterns?
Allow 3–4 minutes for this. Encourage participants to give a wide range of problems
that relate not just to tenses but to verb patterns, agreement, different uses of tenses,
forming complex sentences, understanding finite/ non-finite verbs, etc. See Key
below.
(Note: many of these areas of language are covered in other Teaching Resources
activities for TKT: KAL. At this point, participants only need to list these possible
problems and don’t need to go into any detail.)
5. When they have finished, either feed back each group’s ideas to the whole class, or
reorganise participants into groups of 4 with one representative from each group, to
share their ideas.
6. Discuss the following questions with the whole group:
• How might knowledge of clauses, adverbials and verb forms and
patterns help the teacher in the classroom? (to help them help their
learners to, for example:
ƒ identify the parts of a sentence which are part of a verb pattern and so
improve their comprehension
ƒ form verb patterns and structures correctly
ƒ help them understand texts with more complex grammar
ƒ write texts effectively, including more formal ones
ƒ help teachers understand the problems learners have with verb
formation in English, especially those from non-Latin influenced
languages.)
• Would it be useful or not to teach learners the terms related to these?
(There is no correct answer to this: teachers may have different and valid
arguments either way, according to the context in which they teach.)
7. Give out Participant’s Worksheet 2. There are 2 pieces of writing by B2 level
students. In pairs or small groups, participants should consider each of the
underlined mistakes, decide what the mistake is and correct it. They should also look
for good uses of verb forms in each of the letters.
8. Join the pairs/small groups together to compare and discuss their answers. Monitor,
and feed back any relevant points (see Key below).
9. Round up by giving out the Sample Task. Explain to participants that verb forms and
patterns are regularly tested in TKT: KAL. Tasks sometimes focus on what forms can
follow which verbs, sometimes on the uses of the forms. Particular forms (e.g. the
passive) may be focussed on separately or tasks may focus on various forms. The
tasks may be text or sentence based.
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Additional information
This section is mainly for revision, giving you and participants a chance to check they know
the meaning of some key terms related to verbs, some uses of these terms and they can
identify learners’ mistakes, with verbs. Verbs are a key area for learners to master in
English.

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TKT: KAL Part 3 Grammar: other verb forms and patterns – answer
keys

Key to Procedure step 4

Passive: Uses: • to show you are not responsible/ involved
• to make something sound impersonal
• to emphasize the subject, to focus on a process
(without agent).
Possible • how to form past participle
problems of • use of correct tense and part of verb ‘to be’
form:
• whether to use an agent or not
• use of correct preposition with agent
Possible • understanding that the subject of the verb is not the
problems of doer of the verb
meaning: • understanding that the passive conveys a sense of
anonymity or formality
Tag Uses: • with falling tone used to ask for confirmation
questions: • with a rising tone used to ask a real question.
Possible • when to use negative and positive tags
problems: • different meanings of tag questions
• agreement between verb and tag
Verbs Uses: e.g. object to, give up, delay, involve, risk, miss, avoid,
followed by prevent, fancy, adore, admit, recall, imagine, dread, mind,
gerund: etc.
Some verbs can have an object between the verb and the
gerund, e.g. stop (him) falling asleep; see (her) talking to
them, etc.
Possible • which verbs take the gerund and which the infinitive
problems: • differences in meaning after some verbs (e.g. to see)
of gerund and infinitive
• use of possessive adjective before gerund e.g. I
understood his confessing to the crime
Verbs Uses: choose, decide, continue, fail, refuse, offer, promise, learn,
followed by manage, etc
infinitive:
Possible • which verbs take the gerund and which the infinitive
problems: • which verbs to the infinitive and which the bare
infinitive
• form and use of perfect infinitive
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 Key to Participant’s Worksheet 1

A B
Do you ever find (l) your students
annoying, lazy or just plain stupid?
These thoughts have occasionally
crossed my mind, but last year I
realised that, after six years in
Taiwan, that my Chinese was still
pretty rudimentary, so who was I to
judge? (k, l)
With minimal guidance, students can
create (h) a story orally and
collaboratively. Story-telling is a
universal tradition and we are all
primed (d) to listen (b) to and tell (b)
stories. Even students who claim not
to have (b, f) much imagination may
surprise (h) themselves doing (g)
these activities.
Watch (a) me doing (g) this story-
telling activity on: www.youtube……

C
For years
(First twoteachers
excerpts have
from been told 2010,
ETP May (d) not to useadapted.)
slightly (b, f, i) too much TTT. We were
asked (d) to think (b, i) about who needed speaking (g) practice in the classroom. It
wasn’t the teacher, was it? (j) So, we practised keeping (h) quiet and handing (h)
talking (g) time over to the learner. But now, as in so much else, the tide is beginning
to turn (h) for TTT .Turning (g) TTT into a teaching tool ………

c (indirect questions) and e (indirect statements) are not used in the texts.

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Key to Participant’s Worksheet 2

Letter A Problem Correct answer

1. enjoied spelling enjoyed
2. to organise preposition + gerund organising
3. I suggest you suggest + that… I suggest (that)
to be you’re/you should be
4. advice spelling advise
5. I could meaning of ‘could’, past tense of ‘can’ was able
Strengths The writer shows good use of tenses and agreement. Problems seem to
be mostly with spelling and verb patterns after other verbs or prepositions.
Letter B
6. will be wrong tense in indirect statement thought/ would/could
OR wrong tense in ‘thought’ think/ will
7. belived wrong tense and spelling believe
8. wanted wrong tense want
9. was wrong tense, needs to refer to future in indirect would
speech
Strengths Verbs are sometimes used well in complex structures e.g. ‘it was a good
idea … courses’, ‘You mention that ….students’, but the writer has
repeated the same mistake with misuse of the past tense. In this context,
this misuse is quite confusing to the reader as you don’t know when he/
she is talking about.

Key to Sample Task

1D 2B 3C 4B 5B 6A 7C 8A

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TKT: KAL Part 3 Grammar: other verb forms and patterns –
Participant’s Worksheet 1

Look at the list of verb forms and the extracts from a magazine for teachers.
Find examples in the texts of the verb forms. Why has each form been used?
You will not find any examples of two of the forms.

a. Imperative g. Gerund
b. Infinitive h. Verb + gerund/ infinitive
c. Indirect question i. Indirect command
d. Passive form j. Tag question
e. Indirect statement k. Interrogative
f. Negative l. Rhetorical question

B
A With minimal guidance, students can
Do you ever find your students create a story orally and collaboratively.
annoying, lazy or just plain stupid? Story-telling is a universal tradition and
These thoughts have occasionally we are all primed to listen and tell
crossed my mind, but last year I stories. Even students who claim not to
realised that, after six years in have much imagination may surprise
Taiwan, my Chinese was still pretty themselves doing these activities.
rudimentary, so who was I to judge?

Watch me doing this story-telling

activity on: www.youtube……

C
For years teachers have been told not to use too much TTT. We were asked to think
about who needed speaking practice in the classroom. It wasn’t the teacher, was it?
So, we practised keeping quiet and handing talking time over to the learner. But now,
as in so much else, the tide is beginning to turn for TTT .Turning TTT into a teaching
tool ………

(Extracts A and B from ETP May 2010, slightly adapted.)

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TKT: KAL Part 3 Grammar: other verb forms and patterns –
Participant’s Worksheet 1

Look at the underlined verbs in these two pieces of intermediate (B2) students’ writing.
Identify the kinds of mistakes they are, then correct them. Comment on any good use of
verbs you notice.
A

Dear Benson
I am so enthousiasm for your letter! How are you? Of course and I enjoied yours school
social programme! It was fantastic and I would be glad if I could help you with my
suggestions.

Firstly, about your question how can the college encourage more people to get involved in
swimming and chess club I think that I have an idea. How about to organise races that in
the end the winner will take some money?

In addition, I suggest you to be very careful about who you are going to invite for
speaking, because the students may be bored. I would advice you to invite a member of a
gym organisation to speak about the goods that gymnastic provides. Friday evening is not
a good time because the students will be tired. In my opinion Friday morning is a better
time.

In the end, I think that a disco would be better for the students. They will dance and
have fun. I hope I could help you with my advice.

B
Dear Mr Benson

I am writing to say that I enjoyed the time I spent at your social programme last summer. I
thought that next summer the social programme of your school will be better.

I thought that is a good idea to keep the swimming club and chess club, but you must hire
some professional coatches with experience to help the childrens. Also I belived that it was a
good idea to advertise these courses.

You mention that you are going to invite some people to come and speak to the students. I
thought that you must invite famous players that the children will be more careful with them.
I didn’t belive that Friday evening is a good time, because the children wanted to spend their
time with their family.

I thought that this year it was a good idea that after the course should be a disko time,
because the childrens wanted to have some fun.
Yours faithfully

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TKT: KAL Part 3 Grammar: other verb forms and patterns – Sample
Task

A teacher is doing a task from a language awareness book to check his understanding of
verb forms.
For questions 1–8, match the examples of verb forms in the sentences to their grammatical
names listed A–D.
You will need to use some of the options more than once.

Grammatical names
A indirect question
B passive voice
C indirect command
D rhetorical question

Examples of verb forms

1. How can I possibly get there by 5 o’clock with all the work I’ve got that needs
finishing?
2. It ought to have been repaired by now.
3. Could you please tell him to get there early?
4. His life prior to returning to Paris was often discussed in great detail.
5. They felt they had been overlooked for promotion.
6. He couldn’t understand what the matter was.
7. They asked them to return the key to the porter when they left the flat.
8. I don’t know how many times she’s been to London.

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