About this activity
Twelve negative sentences across several forms: I don't like broccoli; she isn't home right now; they can't come to the party; he didn't finish his homework; we won't be late; I haven't seen that movie; the dog is not sleeping; that's not my backpack. The set mixes contracted and full negatives deliberately, since students often have one and not the other.
How to use it in a session
Give the positive sentence and ask for the negative. I like broccoli to I don't like broccoli is the transformation being taught, and it is harder than repeating the negative form. Group by auxiliary — the don't sentences, the isn't sentences, the can't sentences — because the auxiliary is what changes and the rest of the sentence does not. Eight minutes covers the twelve.
What to listen for
Listen for the auxiliary. He no finish and he didn't finished are two different errors — the first is missing the helping verb, the second has kept the past marking on the main verb after the auxiliary took it. Both are common in early development and in second-language learners, and they need different corrections.
Carrying it home
Negatives happen all day. Modelling the full form back — no, I don't want that one — rather than accepting a one-word no gives a child the structure repeatedly without any teaching.
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Kindergarten through third, and older students learning English as an additional language.
- Do I need to sign in?
- No, all twelve sentences play free in the browser.
- My student says 'he didn't finished'. What is that?
- Double marking — the auxiliary didn't already carries the past tense, so the main verb goes back to its base form. It shows the student has both rules and is applying them at once, which is a normal stage.