Review Irregular Verbs Differently

Tic-Tac-Irregular

The game is based on the likes of tic-tac-toe, connect 4, X’s and O’s, crosses and oughts, or (which I just recently learned) an m,n,k game. Apparently “m,n,k” is the technical mathematical nomenclature. Google it.

Simple Variant

The game has 100 different irregular verbs in boxes of various colors. The colors represent frequency of usage in the English language. The center box contains the most often used irregular verbs and they become less common as you go out towards the edge. Taking turns, students choose a verb and give its three forms: infinitive, past simple, past participle (otherwise known as 1rst, 2nd, and 3rd form). They can do this out loud, but I would recommend you have them also type their responses in the chat. If the student is correct, mark that box with their color. Each student gets their own color.

This color-coded marking system can be done on zoom with the drawing functions, on google jamboard with the pen or marker function, or even on most PDF viewers with a highlighter or pen function.

A marked box cannot be repeated. The student who can put 4 of their colored ellipses in a row (horizontal, diagonal, or vertical) is the winner. If you have a group of 3, 4, or more, you can even play simply to 3! It’s a silly game, but you won’t believe how competitive your students can be or how much fun they’re going to have. The PDF also doubles as a useful reference for irregular verbs. Its originality comes from its organization. No more alphabetical order! Here, your students have a visual representation of their utility.

Other variants and ideas

• Add a time limit! Can’t figure it out in time? Lose your turn.
• Create a sentence! Students must say or write a grammatically correct sentence using this verb.
• Add a constraint! Add a constraint of your choosing, for example, use an adjective, use an adverb, talk about the future, talk about the past, talk about a routine, ask a question, etc when giving a sentence.
• Themes! Add a themed constraint to practice the current lexical field of your course.
• Charades! You can play individually or in pairs. Without saying it out loud, one student chooses a box and mimes it. The others, or their partner, guesses which verb they are miming. The first one to correctly guess can put their colored ellipse on that box.
• I’m sure there are more but that’s all I’ve got for today.

Do you have another clever idea? Let us know in the comments. You can also check out for more irregular verbs ESL activities