This ESL group activity focuses on verb-noun collocations in the present simple tense, making use of a dominoes game mechanic. Students must make affirmative statements using ‘have’, ‘take’ and ‘go’ verb-noun collocations.
This game is ideal for 2 or 3 players of beginner (A1) to pre-intermediate (A2) level. The students must shuffle the dominoes and hand out six each, leaving the rest face down on the table in a stack. The first player turns the first domino in the stack face up on the table. They must then create a verb-noun collocation by placing one of their dominoes at either end of the domino on the table.
If the player can create a verb-noun collocation, they must then say a present simple affirmative statement using the collocation they just made with the dominoes, for example “I go swimming every day”. The other players must then judge this player’s statement. If it is grammatically correct, the student leaves the domino where it is. However, if the sentence is not grammatically correct, the player must pick up the domino and keep it.
Successive players must then try to place one of their dominoes at either end of the line of dominoes on the table. If a player cannot add one of their dominoes to the line, they must take a domino from the top of the ‘face down’ stack, place it and make a sentence if possible. However, if there are no dominoes left in the stack, it is next player’s turn. The first player with no dominoes remaining wins.
