Splice: Simple Past x Past Perfect

I. Watch the movie segment and write 1 next to the activity that was performed first and 2 next to the second one.


1.

( ) She looked at the ceiling.

( ) She stuck her tongue out of her mouth.



2.

( ) She opened the suitcase.

( ) She saw herself in the mirror.


3.

( ) She played with toys.

( ) She wore the crown.


4.

( ) She looked at the picture.

( ) She closed the suitcase.


5.

( ) She saw the cat.

( ) She fetched the cat.


6.

( ) She held the cat tenderly in her arms.

( ) She ran with the cat in her arms.


II. Fill in the blanks with either the simple past or the past perfect forms of the verbs in parentheses. Remember that the action that took place first should be in the past perfect form and the most recent one in the simple past.


1. She _______ (look) at the ceiling when she ______ (stick) her tongue out of her mouth.

2. She ________ (open) a suitcase when she _____ (see) herself in the mirror.

3. When she ______ (play) with the toys, she ______ (wear) a crown.

4. She _______ (look) at the picture when she ______ (close) the suitcase.

5. She ______ (see) the cat when she ______ (fetch) it.

6. When she _____ (hold) the cat tenderly in her arms, she ______ (run) with it in her arms across the barn.


III.

1. Describe her to your partner. Is she human? Why (not)?

2. What are some of her human characteristics?

3. Which ones are not?


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MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - SPLICE


Answer Key:

I.

1 1,2
2 1,2
3 2,1
4 1,2
5 1,2
6, 2,1

II.

1. She had looked at the ceiling when she stuck her tongue out of her mouth.

2. She had opened a suitcase when she saw herself in the mirror.

3. When she played with a toy, she had worn a crown.

4. She had looked at a picture when she closed the suitcase.

5. She had seen the cat when she fetched the cat.

6. When she held the cat carefully in her arms, she had run with it in her arms.

Tangled: Past Perfect (with Never)

This movie is amazing. The graphics and the story itself made me have a wonderful time during my trip to New Orleans, because I saw it on the plane that flew me there.



I. Write down at least one thing that you HAD NEVER DONE before the following moments in your life (select the items according to your group's ages.


- You met your current (last) boy (girlfriend) / You got married

(Ex: I had never fallen in love).


- You passed the vestibular (PAS) (College entrance exam) (started studying at college or your current school).

- You first traveled abroad (by plane).


- You got your first job.


- You got the job you have now.


- You moved to the house you live in now.


- You started studying English.



II. GAME - Work in pairs. Watch the segment and write down as many sentences as you can remember about what Rapunzel had never done before she left the castle for the first time. Each sentence with correct information and grammar use scores 1 point. The winner is the group that scores most points. You have 3 minutes to write the sentences.


- Ex: She had never seen a river.


1 ..........................................................

2 ..........................................................

3 .........................................................

4 .........................................................

5 .........................................................

6 .........................................................

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - TANGLED

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Answers will vary.

The Proposal: Past Perfect x Past Perfect Continuous

Romantic comedies are not my favorite kind of movie, but they usually have great scenes for grammar. This one is no exception. I think this is one of the funniest scenes involving dogs that I have ever seen. I used it to practice contrasting the past perfect and the past perfect continuous tenses.





A. Fill in the blanks with the past perfect or the past perfect continuous form of the verbs in parentheses. When both are possible, use the past perfect continuous.



1. She _______________ (leave) the house when the dog started following her outside.


2. She _________________(talk) on the phone for a few minutes when the eagle fetched the dog.


3. The eagle _____________ (fly) with the dog in its claws when she threw the phone at the bird.


4. The eagle ___________ (drop) the dog when she caught him before he hit the ground.


5. She ______________ (run) away from the eagle when it suddenly took her phone from her hands.


6. She _________________ (carry) the dog around the yard when her fiance and his family finally saw her there.


7. She ___________(let) the dog go when the couple held each other in the garden.


Answer Key:

1.had left
2. had been talking
3. had been flying
4. had dropped
5. had been running
6. had been carrying
7. had let

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Coraline: Past Perfect x Simple Past

I loved this movie, but I believe many children might have been afraid at certain scenes of this highly creative film. I used it to have students combine sentences with the past perfect and simple past tenses.


A. Take a look at the pair of sentences below. Write 1 next to the action that took place first and 2 next to the one that took place later.




___ Coraline went through a purple tunnel.
___ She entered a beautiful, neat living room.


___ She smelled something good.
___ She saw her other mother cooking in the kitchen.


___ Coraline talked to her other mother in the kitchen.
___ Her father sang her a song.


___ Coraline ate some chicken.
___ She drank some mango milk shake.


___ She went to bed in a comfortable bedroom.
___ She saw and talked to her friends in the picture.


B. Now connect the sentences above using the past perfect tense for the action that took place first and the simple past tense for the action that took place later.

Ex: Coraline had gone through a purple tunnel when she entered a beautiful, neat living room.



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How to prepare your own video activity:

- Select a scene in which there is a sequence of events.

• Prepare an exercise in which the students have to decide which action took place first.

• Students write 1 or 2 next to the actions, according to the order of the events in the segment

• Students combine both sentgences using the simple past or the past perfect tenses.

Falling Down: Past Perfect - By the Time...

This movie is about an ordinary man who reacts very aggressively to everyday stressing situations we all face in our routines. Because many things happen before the end of the scene. I prepared an activity in which the students will write down sentences in the past perfect tense after or before expression with BY THE TIME...





A. Talk to a partner:





1 - What kind of customer are you? Do you complain when the service is poor or do you prefer to remain quiet and forget it?





2 - Tell your partner about a situation in which you had to be firm to grant your rights as a consumer.





3 - What's your opinion about the service provided to the citizens in your country (town)?





4 - Is it worth complaining? Justify it.







B. Watch the movie segment and check the items of what had happened by the time he asked the hostages in the resaturant a question about the sandwich quality (the end of the scene).





( ) 1. The restaurant stopped serving breakfast.



( ) 2. Sheila called the manager to solve the situation.



( ) 3. The main character told everyone to sit down.



( ) 4. He accidentally shot the roof.



( ) 5. The manager decided to serve breakfast.



( ) 6. He changed his mind and ordered lunch.



( ) 7. One of the customers vomited her sandwhich.



( ) 8. He complained about the sandwich he ordered.



( ) 9. He apologized to the manager.



( ) 10. The police arrived.









C. Rewrite the sentences above with the correct verb tense. Complete the first sentence and rewrite the other ones, according to the segment.





By the time he ___________ the hostages a question about the quality of the sandwich,



1.........................................................



2........................................................



3........................................................



4........................................................



5........................................................



6........................................................



7........................................................



8........................................................



9........................................................



10......................................................







Answer Key:



B. All the items should be checked, except #10.





C.

1. The restaurant had stopped...

2. Sheila had called...

3. He had told...

4. He had accidentally shot...

5. The manager had decided...

6. He had managed...

7. One of the customers had vomited...

8. He had complained...

9. He had apologized...

10. The police hadn't arrived...

How to prepare your own video activity:

- Select a scene in which several a/completed ctions take place by the time something happens.

- List the actions that took place before the final moment.

- Have students write sentences about the actions using the past perfect and by the time... the final action takes place.

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The Other Man: Past Perfect x Simple Past

This is an intriguing scene because it is about a men who finds out his wife has a lover because he decided to investigate her private messages, such as the ones in her cell phone and laptop. I like using it to practice the contrast between the simple past and past perfect tenses.

A. Talk to a partner:

1 - Do you think it is correct to check your husband's (wife's) messages? Justify it.
2 - Is it important to have privacy in a relationship? Explain it.
3 - Do you have documents in your computer that only you have access to? Why (not)?
4 - If you were suspicious about how faithful your partner is to you, would you fuss around his stuff? Why (not)?
5 - If you found out you were being cheated on, what would you do?


B. Watch the segment and check which activity took place first. Write 1 next to the activity that took place first and 2 next to the activity that took place later.


I . ( ) He listened to her voice mail.
( ) He turned on his wife's laptop.


II. ( ) He looked at some pictures of his family.
( ) He tried to open a folder called love.


III. ( ) He tried opening the love folder using some passwords with his family names.
( ) He opened a folder called London.


IV. ( ) He saw the picture of a black man trying to kiss his wife at a party.
( ) He read an email sent by Ralph.


V. ( ) He remembered being introduced to Ralph.
( ) He finished reading the email.




C. Now combine both sentences using the simple past and the past perfect tenses. Make sure you know what action took place first so you can choose the correct verb tense.



I. ..........................................................................................................................................

II. .......................................................................................................................................

III. .....................................................................................................................................

IV. ......................................................................................................................................

V. .......................................................................................................................................

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Correct answers:
B.

I. 1, 2
II. 1,2
III. 1,2
IV. 1,2
V. 2,1


C. Possible answers:
I. He had listened to his wife's voice mail when he turned on her laptop.
II. He had looked at some pictures of his family when he tried opening a folder called Love.
III. He had tried opening that folder with passwords of his family names when he opened a folder called London.
IV. He had seen a picture of a black man trying to kiss his wife when he read an email sent by Ralph.
V. He remembered being introduced to Ralph, when he had finished reading the email.


How to prepare your own video activity.

- Select a scene with a sequence of events
- Write down two sentences that took place at different times
- Have students decide which action took place first
- The students combine both sentences, using the past perfect and simple past tenses

Casino Royale: Simple Past x Past Perfect

In my opinion, this is one of the best 007 movie. I used this scene to have students practice the use of the past perfect x simple past tenses.







Watch the video segment and write ( 1 ) in the parentheses of the action that took place first and ( 2 ) in the parentheses of the action that happened later.

Ex:
( 1 ) James Bond took a plane to the Bahamas.
( 2 ) He drove across the island to the hotel.

a)
( ) He crouched to tie his shoe string.
( ) He gave his car keys to the bellboy.

b)
( ) Two guys gave Bond their car keys by mistake.
( ) Bond crashed their car in the parking lot.

c)
( ) He threw the car keys away.
( ) He entered the hotel lobby.

d)
( ) He made a reservation at the hotel
( ) He saw the images of the parking lot in the surveillance room.

Now fill in the blanks of the exercise below with the simple past or the past perfect forms of the verbs in parentheses. You may use "already" if it is applicable.

a) When he _____________ (drive) across the island to the hotel, James Bond ___________ (take) a plane to the Bahamas.

b) When Bond _________________ (crouch) to tie his shoe string, he ______________ (give) his car keys to the hotel bellboy.

c) Two guys _____________ (give) Bond their car keys by mistake when he ____________ (crash) their car in the parking lot.

d) Bond _________________ (throw) the keys away when he ______________ (enter) the hotel lobby.

e) When he ____________ (make) a reservation at the hotel he ________________ (see) the images of the parking lot in the surveillance room.

Answer Key:

A.

I. 1,2
II. 2,1
III. 1,2
IV. 2,1

B.

1. drove / had taken
2. crouched / had given
3. had given / crashed
4. had thrown / entered
5. made / had seen

How to prepare your own video activity:

Grammar Goal: Simple Past x Past Perfect

• Select a scene in which there is a sequence of events.
• Prepare an exercise in which the students have to decide which action took place first.
• Students write 1 or 2 in the exercise parentheses, according to the order of the events in the segment
• Students fill in the blanks of the exercise with either the simple past or the past perfect form of the verbs in parentheses.









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