Cambridge University Press

978-0-521-73232-1 - Grammar Practice Activities, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for

Teachers
Penny Ur
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Grammar Practice Activities

Second Edition

© Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-73232-1 - Grammar Practice Activities, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for
Teachers
Penny Ur
Frontmatter
More information

Cambridge Handbooks for LanguageTeachers

This series, now with over 40 titles, offers practical ideas, techniques
and activities for the teaching of English and other languages providing
inspiration for both teachers and trainers.
Recent titles in this series:
Learner Autonomy
A guide to developing learner responsibility
ágota scharle and anita szabó
Personalizing Language Learning
griff griffiths and kathryn keohane
Teaching Adult Second Language Learners
heather mckay and abigail tom
Teach Business English
sylvie donna
Teaching English Spelling
A practical guide
ruth shemesh and sheila waller
Using Folktales
eric k. taylor
Learner English (Second Edition)
A teacher’s guide to interference and other problems
edited by michael swan and bernard smith
Planning Lessons and Courses
Designing sequences of work for the language classroom
tessa woodward
Teaching Large Multilevel Classes
natalie hess
Using the Board in the Language Classroom
jeannine dobbs
Using Authentic Video in the Language
Classroom
jane sherman
Extensive Reading Activities for Teaching
Language
edited by julian bamford and richard r. day
Language Activities for Teenagers
edited by seth lindstromberg
Pronunciation Practice Activities
A resource book for teaching English pronunciation
martin hewings
Drama Techniques (Third Edition)
A resource book of communication activities for
language teachers
alan maley and alan duff
Five-Minute Activities for Business English
paul emmerson and nick hamilton
Games for Language Learning (Third Edition)
andrew wright, david betteridge and
michael buckby
Dictionary Activities
cindy leaney
Dialogue Activities
Exploring spoken interaction in the language class
nick bilbrough

Writing Simple Poems Five-Minute Activities for Young Learners

Pattern Poetry for Language Acquisition penny mckay and jenni guse
vicki l. holmes and margaret r. moulton
The Internet and the Language Classroom
Laughing Matters (Second Edition)
Humour in the language classroom A practical guide for teachers
péter medgyes gavin dudeney

Stories Working with Images

Narrative activities in the language classroom A resource book for the language classroom
ruth wajnryb ben goldstein

© Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-73232-1 - Grammar Practice Activities, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for
Teachers
Penny Ur
Frontmatter
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Grammar Practice
Activities
SECOND EDITION

A practical guide for teachers

Penny Ur

Consultant and editor: Michael Swan

© Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-73232-1 - Grammar Practice Activities, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for
Teachers
Penny Ur
Frontmatter
More information

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi

Cambridge University Press

The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb2 8ru, UK

www.cambridge.org
Information on this title:
www.cambridge.org/978052ı73232ı

© Cambridge University Press 2009

It is normally necessary for written permission for copying to be

obtained in advance from a publisher. Certain parts of this book are
designed to be copied and distributed in class. The normal
requirements are waived here and it is not necessary to write to
Cambridge University Press for permission for an individual teacher to
make copies for use within his or her own classroom. Only those pages
which carry the wording © Cambridge University Press 2009 may be
copied.

First published 2009

Printed in the United Kingdom by TJ International Ltd.

A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data

Ur, Penny.
Grammar practice activities : a practical guide for teachers / Penny Ur ; consultant and editor: Michael Swan.
– 2nd ed.
p. cm. – (Cambridge handbooks for language teachers)
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-52ı-73232-ı (pbk. with cd-rom)
ı. English language–Study and teaching–Foreign speakers. 2. English language–Grammar–Problems,
exercises, etc. I. Swan, Michael. II. Title. III. Series.
PEıı28.A2U73 2009
428.007–dc22
200805363ı

ISBN 978-0-52ı-73232-ı paperback and CD-ROM

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or

accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet websites referred
to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such
websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

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Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-73232-1 - Grammar Practice Activities, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for
Teachers
Penny Ur
Frontmatter
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Contents

Thanks and acknowledgements xiii

Introduction ı

Part 1: Background theory and guidelines 3

1 Grammar 3
What is grammar? 3
The grammar practised in this book 3
The place of grammar in language teaching 4

2 Practice 6
Validity 6
Quantity 7
Success-orientation 7
Heterogeneity 8
Interest 9
Summary ı0

3 Activities ıı
Features of activity design ıı
Practical tips 24

Part 2: Activities 27
1 Adjectives 27
ı.ı ADJECTIVE BEFORE THE NOUN 27
ı.ı.ı Guessing adjectives 27
ı.ı.2 Inserting adjectives 28
ı.ı.3 The same tastes 29
ı.ı.4 Adjective poem 3ı
ı.2 COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES 32
ı.2.ı Adjectives on the Internet 32
ı.2.2 Brainstorming comparisons 33
ı.2.3 Bigger, better, faster! 36

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Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-73232-1 - Grammar Practice Activities, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for
Teachers
Penny Ur
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Grammar Practice Activities

ı.2.4 Circle comparisons 37

ı.2.5 Preferences 39
ı.2.6 Which is heavier? 40
ı.3 ADJECTIVES AFTER BE OR OTHER
COPULAR VERBS 42
ı.3.ı Guessing by description 42
ı.3.2 Not what it seems 43

2 Adverbs 44
2.ı MANNER ADVERBS 44
2.ı.ı How can you do it? 44
2.ı.2 Miming adverbs 45
2.2 FREQUENCY ADVERBS 47
2.2.ı Frequency surveys 47
2.2.2 What do you do when ...? 49

3 Conditionals 50
3.ı Finishing conditional sentences 50
3.2 Chains of events 52
3.3 Superstitions 53
3.4 Justifying actions 54
3.5 Looking back 56
3.6 I wish ... 57

4 Future tenses 59
4.ı FUTURE WITH GOING TO 59
4.ı.ı Mickey’s diary 59
4.ı.2 Finding a time to meet 62
4.ı.3 Future of a picture 63
4.ı.4 Mime continuation 67
4.2 FUTURE WITH WILL 68
4.2.ı Future of an object 68
4.2.2 How will the story end? 69
4.2.3 Horoscopes 70
4.2.4 The world tomorrow 7ı
4.3 THE FUTURE PERFECT TENSE 72
4.3.ı By six o’clock 72

vi

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978-0-521-73232-1 - Grammar Practice Activities, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for
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Penny Ur
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Contents

5 Imperatives 73
5.ı Please! 73
5.2 Directions 74
5.3 Recipes 76
5.4 Dos and don’ts 77
5.5 Symbols 78
5.6 Suggestions 80

6 Indirect speech 8ı
6.ı INDIRECT STATEMENTS AND QUESTIONS 8ı
6.ı.ı Can you remember what they said? 8ı
6.ı.2 Reporting interviews 82
6.ı.3 Correspondence 83
6.ı.4 People used to believe ... 84
6.ı.5 Need to know 85
6.2 INDIRECT COMMANDS 86
6.2.ı They told me 86
6.2.2 What’s she telling him? 87

7 Interrogatives 9ı
7.ı ‘YES/NO’ QUESTIONS 9ı
7.ı.ı Guessing 9ı
7.ı.2 Common denominator 93
7.ı.3 Questionnaires 95
7.ı.4 Don’t say yes or no 97
7.2 ‘WH-’ QUESTIONS 99
7.2.ı Find someone with the answer 99
7.2.2 Quizzes ı03
7.2.3 Your own comprehension questions ı05
7.2.4 Paired cloze ı06
7.3 ALL TYPES OF QUESTIONS ı09
7.3.ı Dialogues ı09
7.3.2 Wrangling ııı
7.3.3 Beat the clock ııı
7.3.4 Answer with a question ıı2
7.3.5 Filling in forms ıı3
7.3.6 Preparing interviews ıı6
7.3.7 Long subjects ıı7
vii

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978-0-521-73232-1 - Grammar Practice Activities, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for
Teachers
Penny Ur
Frontmatter
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Grammar Practice Activities

8 Is / are and there is / there are ıı8

8.ı Describing pictures ıı8
8.2 Picture dictation ı2ı
8.3 Find a twin picture ı22
8.4 Reverse guessing (ı) ı25
8.5 Is it in my bag? ı26

9 Modals ı27
9.ı Guessing by abilities ı27
9.2 Uses of an object ı28
9.3 Desert island equipment ı29
9.4 Games and their rules ı3ı
9.5 Rules and recommendations ı32
9.6 Duties and privileges ı33
9.7 Modal symbols ı34
9.8 Dilemmas ı36
9.9 Being polite ı38
9.ı0 Deductions ı39
9.ıı Evidence ı40
9.ı2 Then and now ı42

10 Negatives ı43
ı0.ı Erasing picture dictations ı43
ı0.2 What’s the difference? ı44
ı0.3 Picture differences ı47
ı0.4 Questionnaires with negative answers ı52
ı0.5 Don’t say no ı54
ı0.6 Negative hints ı55
ı0.7 Discrepancies ı55

11 Nouns, articles and determiners ı57

ıı.ı NOUNS WITH A / AN / THE / ZERO ARTICLE ı57
ıı.ı.ı What’s that? Where is it? ı57
ıı.ı.2 Expanding headlines ı58
ıı.ı.3 Occupations ı60
ıı.ı.4 Proverbs ı62

viii

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978-0-521-73232-1 - Grammar Practice Activities, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for
Teachers
Penny Ur
Frontmatter
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Contents

ıı.2 SINGULAR AND PLURAL, COUNTABLE AND

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS; A/AN/SOME/ANY ı64
ıı.2.ı Remembering pairs ı64
ıı.2.2 Piling up stores ı66
ıı.2.3 Shopping ı67
ıı.2.4 Finding investment partners ı7ı
ıı.3 BOTH … AND … , NEITHER … NOR … ı73
ıı.3.ı Association dominoes ı73
ıı.3.2 Similarities ı77
ıı.4 MUCH, MANY, A LITTLE, A FEW, NO ı80
ıı.4.ı How much patience? ı80
ıı.4.2 Healthy living ı8ı
ıı.5 NOUN MODIFIERS ı82
ıı.5.ı A business school ı82

12 Numbers ı84
ı2.ı CARDINAL NUMBERS ı84
ı2.ı.ı Telephone numbers ı84
ı2.ı.2 Address book ı86
ı2.ı.3 Number dictation ı86
ı2.ı.4 Numbers that are important to me ı87
ı2.2 ORDINAL NUMBERS ı88
ı2.2.ı Significant dates ı88
ı2.2.2 Getting in order ı89

13 Passives ı90
ı3.ı Passives on the Internet ı90
ı3.2 What is done – and who by? ı9ı
ı3.3 Describing changes ı92
ı3.4 Writing it up ı96
ı3.5 What’s being done? ı96
ı3.6 Election campaign ı97
ı3.7 It can be done ı97
ı3.8 By men, by women, or by both ı98

ix

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Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-73232-1 - Grammar Practice Activities, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for
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Penny Ur
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Grammar Practice Activities

14 Past tenses ı99

ı4.ı PAST SIMPLE ı99
ı4.ı.ı Recall and share ı99
ı4.ı.2 Listening to stories 200
ı4.ı.3 Piling up events 200
ı4.ı.4 Chain story 20ı
ı4.ı.5 Pictures into story 203
ı4.ı.6 Putting stories in order 207
ı4.ı.7 Cooperative story 209
ı4.ı.8 Changes in your life 2ı0
ı4.ı.9 Story behind a photo 2ı0
ı4.ı.ı0 Alibi 2ıı
ı4.ı.ıı Interrupt me! 2ı2
ı4.2 PAST PROGRESSIVE 2ı2
ı4.2.ı What were you doing? 2ı2
ı4.2.2 Are you a good witness? 2ı3
ı4.2.3 When it happened 2ı6
ı4.2.4 Begin a story 2ı6
ı4.3 PRESENT PERFECT 2ı7
ı4.3.ı Find someone who … 2ı7
ı4.3.2 What has happened? 2ı9
ı4.3.3 Oh! 220
ı4.3.4 Accounting for moods 222
ı4.3.5 Things have changed since then 225
ı4.3.6 The right experience for the job 226
ı4.3.7 I have lived here for … 227
ı4.3.8 What have they been doing? 228
ı4.4 PAST PERFECT 23ı
ı4.4.ı Past diary 23ı
ı4.4.2 Changes: before and after 23ı
ı4.4.3 True or false? 232

15 Possessives 233
ı5.ı Statues 233
ı5.2 Who is lying? 234
ı5.3 Family tree 235
ı5.4 Whose is it? 237
ı5.5 Distributing goods 238
x

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978-0-521-73232-1 - Grammar Practice Activities, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for
Teachers
Penny Ur
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Contents

16 Prepositions 240
ı6.ı Where were you? 240
ı6.2 On the table 24ı
ı6.3 In on at 243
ı6.4 Guessing locations 244
ı6.5 Describe and arrange 245
ı6.6 Where would you like to live? 247
ı6.7 Preposition poem 248
ı6.8 Who’s she talking to? 249

17 Present tenses 253

ı7.ı PRESENT SIMPLE 253
ı7.ı.ı Detectives 253
ı7.ı.2 Possessions 254
ı7.ı.3 Animal habits 255
ı7.ı.4 Opinion questionnaires 256
ı7.ı.5 Routines 258
ı7.ı.6 Guessing occupations 259
ı7.ı.7 What I do and don’t do 26ı
ı7.ı.8 Something special 262
ı7.ı.9 What do you feel about it? 262
ı7.ı.ı0 Things in common 263
ı7.ı.ıı Changing proverbs 264
ı7.ı.ı2 Is it true? 266
ı7.ı.ı3 Recall the plot 266
ı7.ı.ı4 Theme music 267
ı7.2 PRESENT PROGRESSIVE 267
ı7.2.ı He is running too! 267
ı7.2.2 What’s going on? 268
ı7.2.3 Guessing mimes 270
ı7.2.4 Silhouettes 273
ı7.2.5 Temporary and permanent 276

18 Pronouns 277
ı8.ı Reverse guessing (2) 277
ı8.2 It’s automatic! 278
ı8.3 Who are they? 28ı
ı8.4 Yourselves or each other? 283

xi

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978-0-521-73232-1 - Grammar Practice Activities, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for
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Penny Ur
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Grammar Practice Activities

19 Relative clauses 284

ı9.ı Likes and dislikes 284
ı9.2 Relative quizzes 285
ı9.3 Write your own test 288
ı9.4 Extending a story 289
ı9.5 Things I want to complain about 29ı

20 Short answers and tag questions 293

20.ı SHORT ANSWERS 293
20.ı.ı Answering guesses 293
20.ı.2 They do! 294
20.ı.3 Written enquiries 296
20.2 TAG QUESTIONS 297
20.2.ı It’s true, isn’t it? 297
20.2.2 Nice day, isn’t it? 298

21 Verb structures 300

2ı.ı ‘TO’ INFINITIVES 300
2ı.ı.ı What to do 300
2ı.ı.2 Purposes 30ı
2ı.ı.3 Professional help 302
2ı.2 ‘-ING’ FORMS OF THE VERB 308
2ı.2.ı Tastes 308
2ı.2.2 Surveys 308
2ı.2.3 How could you do it? 3ı2
2ı.3 VERB OBJECTS 3ı3
2ı.3.ı Can I help? 3ı3
2ı.3.2 Work it out 3ı5

References and further reading 3ı7

Index 3ı9

xii

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978-0-521-73232-1 - Grammar Practice Activities, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for
Teachers
Penny Ur
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Thanks and acknowledgements

Heartfelt thanks to Michael Swan for punctilious editing and lots of good
ideas.
1.1.4 Adjective poem and 16.7 Preposition poem are based on the ideas of
Vicki L. Holmes and Margaret R. Moulton, Writing Simple Poems: Pattern
Poetry for Language Acquisition, (200ı), Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press 200ı reproduced with permission.
1.2.5 Preferences is an activity I learnt from Mario Rinvolucri.

7.2.4 Paired Cloze makes use of material from Practice Your Unseens 3 by
Jack Baum and Michael Toben. © ı994 Eric Cohen Books Ltd.
Finally, my particular gratitude to my in-house editors, Claire Cole and
Alyson Maskell for their punctilious editing, professional approach and
unending patience. They suggested substantial improvements and
eliminated a large number of slips and inconsistencies. Any remaining
mistakes are my own responsibility.

xiii

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