8 I bought a cat last week

For each conversation:

1 Don’t write any notes! Read the text aloud – adding in the missing words as you speak.
2 Read it again – but this time, wherever you can, add in an adjective to go with each noun, for example: lovely cat, great film.
3 Now use the same conversation but change the vocabulary – for example, instead of cat – you could say car.

I bought last week.

That’s a coincidence. I bought
on Tuesday!

Wow! Where did you

get ?
It was at in .

Oh yes. I know it. It’s in next to .

I saw last night.

Did you go to or borrow ?

Actually we went to in .
Was it ?

No. I was with my boy/girlfriend! It was .

What kind of do you like?

Usually I like but last night I went to .

Was good?
Well we hated but loved .

Photocopiable Learning Teaching Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2011. This page may be photocopied for use in class.

Intermediate Teachers Notes.indd 16 11/16/10 1:04 PM

 8 I bought a cat last week
Activity
Pairwork. Speaking.

Focus
Articles.

Preparation
Photocopy one worksheet for each student.

Procedure
• Students work in pairs. Hand out the worksheets and ask
students to look at the instructions. For each conversation,
students follow the three-step instructions on their
worksheets, reading the conversation aloud. Each time
there is a picture they will need to find a suitable noun and
choose a / the / no article. Emphasise that students must
not note down any answers in this exercise; this is because
the task is working on helping them to spontaneously
select the correct article, not just to read answers aloud.
• While students are working, monitor and help them to
correct errors and say sentences with better stress and
intonation.

Answers
Pictures can be interpreted in different ways. Here are
some possible` answers. In many cases a and the are both
possible. The most likely answer is underlined. For the
first conversation some example adjectives are shown, but
remember that there are many alternatives.
A I bought a (lovely) cat last week
B That’s a coincidence. I bought a (beautiful) snake on
Tuesday!
A Wow! Where did you get the / a snake ?
B It was at a / the (small) shop in the (old) town centre.
A Oh yes. I know it. It’s in a / the (tall) building next to
the / a (new) supermarket.
* * *
A I saw a film last night.
B Did you go to a / the cinema or borrow a DVD?
A Actually we went to a club in the High Street.
B Was it a thriller?
A No. I was with my boy/girlfriend! It was a romantic
film.
* * *
A What kind of music do you like?
B Usually I like classical music but last night I went to a
pop concert.
A Was the concert good?
B Well we hated the singer but loved the guitarist.

Intermediate Teachers Notes.indd 17 11/16/10 1:04 PM