Imperative Dominoes

This domino-inspired ESL imperatives activity offers plenty of ways to practice and master this target langauge.

This printable and online-friendly PDF ESL worksheet helps beginners and pre-intermediate students master imperatives while having fun. The activity is designed as a domino-inspired game where each tile connects a verb (e.g., “Don’t…,” “Drink…,” or “Learn…”) with an image (e.g., a pot of coffee or a clock). The goal? Use the verb and image to inspire creative imperative phrases in the form of life advice or tips.

Instructions

Students take turns crafting unique phrases, ensuring that even with static connections, the game stays fresh as players compete to generate new and creative advice. Encourage teamwork and discussion as students evaluate which phrases are most useful, funny, or clever.

Perfect for real-life classrooms, virtual lessons, or independent learning, this activity boosts vocabulary, fluency, and confidence while engaging students in a dynamic way.

📌 Key Features:

• Level: Suitable for beginners and pre-intermediate learners.
• Format: Printable and online-friendly PDF for flexibility.
• Focus: Practicing imperatives with verbs and images.
• Skills: Creativity, speaking, and critical thinking.
• Usage: Ideal for group work, pairs, or even as a solo activity.

Get your students talking, laughing, and learning with this ESL imperatives activity today!

Here are some alternate ideas and instructions for this activity you might be interested in trying:

1. Charades with Imperatives (Using the whole domino)

   • Instructions: One student picks a domino and acts out the imperative phrase they come up with (e.g., “Learn fast!”). The rest of the group guesses the phrase.
   • Objective: Combine physical actions with verbal expressions to reinforce meaning.

2. Classroom Rules Creation (Using the whole domino)

   • Instructions: Assign small groups different dominoes and ask them to turn their phrases into classroom rules. They can write them on posters or present them as a group.
   • Objective: Encourage collaboration while practicing formal or humorous imperatives.

3. Advice Column

   • Instructions: Students create an “advice column” using the phrases from the dominoes. Each student (or pair) writes down three life tips inspired by their assigned dominoes. For example, the image of a clock with “Don’t…” might lead to “Don’t waste your time.”
   • Objective: Practice writing skills and creativity while generating meaningful imperatives.

4. Memory Game

   • Instructions: The same as the original instructions, except this time students must repeat all the past tips before coming up with their own.
   • Objective: Build fluency and extra practice.

5. Bad Advice

   • Instructions: Ask students to come up with “bad advice” or the opposite of the expected imperative (e.g., instead of “Learn something new,” they might say, “Forget everything you know!”).
   • Objective: Introduce humor and critical thinking by flipping expectations.

Check out our very first GRAMMINO activity from a few years ago!

Grammino: Present Perfect Questions with Irregular Verbs