BEYOND RESOURCE CENTRE A2

Tips for using the Grammar Database

Tips for Using the Beyond A2 Grammar Database

The Grammar Database is a grammar reference section written in simple, clear language for
students to use alongside the Beyond A2 Student’s Book. It provides further support on the
grammar points that are covered in the main units. It includes things like verb tables, spelling
rules, notes on different uses, etc. The Watch Out! boxes warn learners about any extra
grammar-point conventions that they might not know. The Grammar Database can be a
helpful tool for students learning to become independent and effective learners of English.
This tips sheet provides suggestions for using the Grammar Database with your students, in
grammar lessons and beyond.

Use the Grammar Database … in Grammar lessons

1 Consolidate the Study exercises

When students have completed the Study exercise in a Grammar lesson, explain that, at the
bottom of each tinted grammar box, there is a page reference to the Grammar Database,
which will provide them with more support for that particular grammar point.

Example: Unit 10, page 111, Talk about future plans

 When students have completed Exercise 2, ask where in the Grammar Database they
can find more information about Going to (page 129).
 With the class, turn to page 129 and read through the USE box for Going to.
 Write the first example sentence from the box on the board (I’m going to visit my grandad
this weekend.) and check understanding by asking students the following:
When is/was the visit – in the past, present or future? (Answer: future)
Then write this statement on the board beside the example sentence:
This is an example of a p _ _ _ .
Ask a volunteer to come to the board and fill in the missing letters. (Answer: p l a n)
Now elicit a USE summary from students (Going to is used to talk about future plans.).
 Read through the FORM section with the class. Then check students have understood
how to form Going to correctly. Write the following on the board:
(A) I __________ my cousins at the weekend. (visit)
(B) My aunt __________ me at the train station. (meet)
(C) My cousins __________ me to their team’s football match. (take)
Ask volunteers to come up and fill in the gaps using the correct form of the verbs in
brackets. Then check answers as a class. Elicit the positive form of Going to (ie be +
going to + verb).
 Next, add not before the verbs in brackets (eg not visit) and ask for volunteers to change
each sentence to the negative form. Then elicit the negative form of Going to (ie be + not
going to + verb).
 Next, write the following on the board:
(A) What __________ at the weekend? (you, do)
(B) Who __________ at the train station? (you, meet)
(C) Where __________ you? (your cousins, take)
Ask for volunteers to complete the sentences. Then elicit the question form of Going to
(be + subject + going to + verb).
 Finally, write this question on the board:
Is my aunt going to meet me at the station?
Put a tick symbol () beside the question and elicit the positive short answer form (Yes,
she is.) Then put an X beside the question and elicit the negative short answer form (No,
she isn’t.)

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BEYOND RESOURCE CENTRE A2
Tips for using the Grammar Database

2 Activate existing knowledge

You can use the Grammar Database to build a lead-in to lessons that revise grammatical
points that students have covered before.

Example: Unit 1, page 13, There is / There are; prepositions of place

 Say what the aim of the lesson is (Describe what’s in a place) and point out the title of
the lesson above the aim: There is / there are; prepositions of place.
 Take a piece of paper and roll it up into a ball (or use a real ball). Place it on a table and
elicit the word on from students. Explain that this is a preposition of place. Elicit as many
prepositions of place (eg under, over, in front of, behind, on, in, near, next to, opposite,
between) as you can from the students by placing the ball in different locations. If
necessary, give them clues (eg write ‘o _ _ _ s _ t _ ’ on the board for opposite and so
on). Write all the prepositions of place on the board as they are elicited (preferably
beside a simple diagram exemplifying what each one means, eg = opposite ).
 Now make a second paper ball (or use a second real ball). Place both balls on a table.
Then write this sentence on the board:
There is / There are balls _ _ the table.
 Elicit the missing preposition of place (on) and then ask students to turn to Grammar
Database 1 on page 120 to check the correct answer (There is or There are). Ask a
volunteer to give the answer and explain why. Check if the other students agree with
him/her. (Answer: There are because there is more than one ball on the table.)
 Now check understanding. Remove a ball from the table, leaving only one ball there and
ask for a volunteer to correct the sentence. (Answer: There is a ball on the table.) Then
ask students to refer to the Grammar Database again and explain what we use There is /
There are for. (Answer: To describe what’s in a place.)
 Put the second ball back on the table and ask students: Are there any balls on the table?
Elicit the short answer. (Answer: Yes, there are.) Then remove one ball from the table
and elicit the new question form (Is there a ball on the table?) and the short answer (Yes,
there is.) Remove the ball and ask a student the question Are there any balls on the
table? (Answer: No, there aren’t.) Ask another student the question Is there a ball on the
table? (Answer: No, there isn’t.)
 Finally, get students to close their books and write the following table on the board for
them to copy and fill in in pairs:
Positive form ()

There __________ some balls on the

There __________ a ball on the table.
table.

Positive form (X)

There __________ a ball on the table. There __________ any balls on the table.

Question form

__________ a ball on the table? __________ any balls on the table?

Short answer

 ____________ X ____________  ____________ X ____________

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BEYOND RESOURCE CENTRE A2
Tips for using the Grammar Database

3 Personalise the grammar

Personalising the grammar can help to make it more memorable for students.

Example: Unit 1, page 15, Exercise 2

 Draw students’ attention to the first three example sentences in the USE section of
Grammar Database 1 on page 120: Have got. Encourage them to provide you with one
or more sentences for each use of Have got which are true for them.
 You could set a time limit for this to see who can think of the most correct sentences.
 Encourage students to call out their sentences and write these on the board.
 Does the rest of the class think each sentence is correct? If not, ask individual students
to say why and then come up to the board to correct the sentences.

Example: Unit 1, Page 15, Exercise 2

 When the example sentences given in the USE or FORM section of the Grammar
Database are questions, encourage students to actually answer the questions.
 For example, in Grammar Database 1on page 120 for Have got, ask students, Have you
got a lot of gadgets?
 Then, refer students back to the first three example sentences in the USE section and
ask volunteers to come to the board and write the question forms with you, eg:
(A) I’ve got one brother.
(B) I haven’t got any sisters.
(C) My brother’s got brown hair.
 Ask students to ask and answer Have got questions in pairs.

4 Consolidate spelling
Several of the grammar points in the Grammar Database contain a Spelling section. Here is
just one example of how these sections can be used:

Example: Grammar Database 2: Spelling of Present simple (he/she/it forms)

 Read through the Spelling section on page 121 of the Grammar Database with the
students and then ask them to close their books.
 Write the following sentences on the board:
(A) She __________ to the cinema every Saturday. (go)
(B) He __________ TV in the evening. (watch)
(C) He __________ his hair in the shower before school. (wash)
(D) She __________ the same sandwich for lunch as her friend. (choose)
(E) He __________ red and green paint to make brown. (mix)
(F) It __________ without a pilot or crew. (fly)
 Nominate students to come up to the board and write the answers.
 Check answers as a class and ask volunteers to correct any that are wrong.
 Write this table on the board (leaving out the answers in the right-hand column):
Verbs ending Present simple form (for he/she/it)
-ch / -s / -sh / -x / -o (Answer: -es)
(consonant)-y (Answer: -ies)
 Elicit the rules for spelling and ask volunteers to write them in the table.

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BEYOND RESOURCE CENTRE A2
Tips for using the Grammar Database

5 Self-checking and peer-checking

Students can use the Grammar Database to check their answers to many of the STUDY and
PRACTISE exercises in Grammar lessons.

Example: Unit 4, page 45, Exercise 6a

 Before the students check the answers, discuss as a class how they might find
information on how to form questions in the Present continuous (on page 123 of the
Grammar Database).
 Working in pairs, students could then check each other’s answers to Exercise 6a.

Example: Unit 4, page 47, Exercise 2a

 When students have found the Present continuous and Present simple verbs in Exercise
1, ask them to check their answers in the FORM section on page 123 of the Grammar
Database.
 With less confident students, ask them to check the Grammar Database before they
complete the STUDY exercise and see if they can find the answers there first.

NB. You may have your own system that you use for marking students’ work, eg a squiggly
line (~) for a grammatical error, the initials sp for a spelling mistake, wo for a word order
mistake, wt for wrong tense. Share this system with the class and encourage them to use it
when correcting each other’s or their own work.

Use the Grammar Database … with fast finishers

1 Find extra facts

Can students tell you something new they have learned from the Grammar Database that
isn’t covered in the grammar box in the Grammar lesson?

Example: Unit 7, page 79, Was/were; ago

 Check understanding of how we use ago by writing the following sentences on the
board:
(A) My parents were at work an hour___________ .
(B) My parents were at work for just an hour ___________ .
Ask students discuss in pairs which sentence (A or B) takes ago. (Answer: A)
 Encourage pairs to write an explanation for when we use ago. Write this gapped
explanation on the board if they need help and remind them that they can check the
answer in Grammar Database 7 on page 126:

Use a ____ _______ + ago to talk about ___________ something happened in

relationto ___________ .

(Answer: Use a time period + ago to talk about when something happened in relation to
today.)

2 Colour-code tenses
 If students own their coursebooks and they are allowed to write in them, they can colour-
code the grammar tables in the Grammar Database according to the tenses.
For example, they could use a yellow highlighter pen to highlight the present continuous
verb table and a blue highlighter pen to highlight the present simple verb table.

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BEYOND RESOURCE CENTRE A2
Tips for using the Grammar Database
 Encourage them to use the same colours whenever they are making notes about these
tenses throughout the year. They will then be able to associate a tense with a particular
colour and in that way make it more memorable.

3 Use the Watch Out! boxes

Example: Grammar Database 6, page 125

 Remind the class of some of the Watch Out! boxes they have covered in earlier units.
For example: Grammar Database 1, on page 120 has a Watch Out! box highlighting
how short forms should never be used in positive short answers (eg Yes, I have. not
Yes, I’ve.) Ask the class what they think the Watch Out! boxes are for. Encourage them
to write their own Watch Out! box for spelling Adverbs of manner, eg:
WATCH OUT!
Most adjectives add –ly, BUT if an adjective ends in –y,
drop the –y and add -ily.
easy > easily (not easyly)

Example: Grammar Database 8, page 127

 Encourage students to create their own correct-option choice or gap-fill activity from a
Watch Out! box and give it to another fast finisher to complete.
 For example, they could turn the Watch Out! box from the Past simple negative column
on page 127 into the following activity:

Choose the correct option to complete each sentence.

(1) I didn’t watch / watched the show last night.
(2) She didn’t break / broke the window.
(3) Did you see / saw the film on Channel 10?

Use the Grammar Database … in non-Grammar lessons

1 Writing tasks
Encourage the class to look back at the Grammar Database when they’re completing
Writing tasks.

Example: Unit 9, page 106, Exercises 5 and 6

 These exercises ask students to write an advert.
 Encourage students to check their grammar by getting them to underline all the
Comparative adjectives and Superlative adjectives in their story and then check they
have used and formed them correctly by looking at Grammar Database 9 on page 128.
 They should pay special attention to irregular adjectives (eg bad > worse > worst).

Example: Unit 10, page 116, Exercises 5 and 6

 These exercises ask students to write an invitation.
 Encourage students to underline any examples of Going to they have used in their
written answer and ask them to refer to Grammar Database 10 on page 129 to check
form and use are correct.

2 Unit Reviews
When students are completing the grammar exercises in the Unit Review sections at the end
of each unit, encourage them to first read through the relevant section in the Grammar
Database to remind themselves of what they have learned.

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BEYOND RESOURCE CENTRE A2
Tips for using the Grammar Database

3 Workbook exercises
Similarly, encourage students to self-check their work when completing Workbook grammar
exercises for homework.
 Discuss with them how they can use the tables in the Grammar Database to check they
have formed grammatical structures correctly.
 Remind them that the USE sections in the Grammar Database will help them if they are
completing an exercise where they have to choose between two tenses for example.
 Encourage them to pay careful attention to the Watch Out! boxes in the Grammar
Database which provide useful information on tricky areas, common mistakes or spelling.

This page has been downloaded from www.macmillanbeyond.com

© Macmillan Publishers Limited 2015. This sheet may be photocopied and used within the class.