Building verb phrases

In this resource we’ll look at how verb phrases can be built up by putting auxiliary verbs and main verbs together.

Goals

• Practise creating verb phrases by dragging and connecting tiles on a smart board.
• Identify the various verbs that can be combined in verb phrases.

Lesson Plan

In the slide show in the Activity page in the right hand menu, a box of verbs appears. The teacher explains that the students' task is to find as many ways as possible of putting the verbs together to form verb phrases with two words or more. Some combinations don’t work, and some verbs won’t fit together. So you’ll need to test them out, and see which combinations and orders work.

To perform the exercise, select a card and hold it to drag words around the screen. Join words by dragging one word close beside another, which will flash. Separate them by double-clicking on a word.

Identify the combinations that are and aren't possible. Then have the students divide the phrases into groups. For example, some verb phrases begin with the same auxiliary verb.