Phrasal Verb Cards

These help to review SS' knowledge of phrasal verbs ("come out"), - or adjectives/verbs that take specific prepositions ("afraid of"/ "comply with").

ACTIVITY 1:

1. Make cards of about 7 x 10 cm. On each card, write (with thick marker) a verb particle or a preposition.
2. Divide SS into groups (of up to four people). Give each group a name or number.
3. Place cards in the middle of the room, and get SS to stand around (not too close!). They don't need to be standing close to a teammate.
4. T calls out a synonym for a given phrasal verb (e.g. "leave" for "go away"). SS have to find the preposition ONLY ("away"). The first group to show the preposition to the T wins a point (or 10 000 points - up to you!).
5. Tell you class beforehand how many round of this you'll have. At the end of it, count points.

ACTIVITY 2:

Same as activity 1, but instead of SS picking out the preposition, they pick out the verb particle.

ACTIVITY 3:

Another option is to have enough copies of the cards for each group, and in a far end of the room, to place a basket or hat for each group. The first group to put in both verb particle and preposition into their basket wins x points.

ACTIVITY 4:

SS put cards upside down, forming a neat square, and play memory - the SS who finds two cards which can form a phrasal verb studied in class, can keep them for points and have another turn.

ACTIVITY 5:

Give each SS one set of cards. In twos, SS play "snap":

1. Each Ss holds their cards in one hand in a pile, with cards facing downwards.

2. With the other hand they take hold of the first card in their pile, and together count "1, 2, 3"

3. On the count of three, both SS place their card, facing upwards, on the desk/floor, next to each other.

4. If the cards are not identical (i.e., if they show different words), SS simply count "1, 2, 3" again, and place the next card on top of the previous one.

5. If the cards are identical (i.e., if both have the same word), the first student to yell "snap!" and cover both piles with his/her hand wins all those cards.

6. The game ends when all the cards have found an "owner". The SS with the most cards wins

VARIATION:

These games can be played with any vocabulary item, one card being the actual word, and the other being a definition, a picture, phonetic script, or whatever the teacher's imagination can come up with.