 Re: Games to teach the difference between past simple and present perfect tense?
I had a very successful game I played in my class last week.
On separate pieces of paper write little phrases like "eat raw fish", "travel to Europe", "run 5 miles", "teach a class", "listen to American radio", etc.
All the phrases should be using the verb in the present tense. Before you play a game, review the past participle of all the verbs you used. Say "eat" and have the class shout out what they think..."eaten", "travelled", "ran", "taught", "listened", etc. If they are a higher level, give them irregular verbs that are more difficult "ride"/ "ridden", "write"/"written", etc.
The class sits in a circle (in chairs) and one person is in the middle without a chair. They have to pick a card and chose a person to ask the question (present perfect) to. If the card reads "eat raw fish" they have to ask "Have you ever eaten raw fish?"
If the person they are asking says "Yes, I have", everyone has to stand up and switch places. The person who asked will take the opportunity to steal a seat.
If the person says "No, I haven't", only the people on their immediate right and left have to switch places without the questioner taking a seat.
The students LOVE this game. The goal is to not be a questioner. But it is fun to see them using the present perfect while having a good time!  |