B1 Grammar

FIRST

5C Passive forms – Disastrous dinner!

Aim B1
PRELIMINARY Grammar
to practise using the passive voice

5C Passive forms – Disastrous dinner!

Activity type
a storytelling and communication activity Student A

Classroom dynamics Last week I met my friends to have dinner in a new restaurant in town – what a disaster! First,
when we arrived, the waiter said that we had reserved the table for the next day! We had an
argument and eventually he gave us a table by the toilets, but it smelt quite bad. We decided
pairwork to order dishes so we could try lots of different food, but when the food was
brought by the waiter it was almost all disgusting! The waiter gave me a curry which was far too
; it really hurt my mouth! My friends weren’t happy with their food either, even

Time taken though my best friend said he had been told by his mum that that the food was delicious. For
dessert we had the cheesecake, but it was really disappointing – it like they had
made it a week ago! We thought that the meal should be paid for by the restaurant, but then the
20 minutes manager arrived …

Preparation
be on a diet bitter can/can’t afford gorgeous ingredient quality recipe
You will need one copy of the activity sheet for each pair, suit someone taste good/bad throw away tongue value

cut into two sections.

Student B
Procedure
1 Ask students to brainstorm words which come to mind Last week I met my friends to have dinner in a new restaurant in town – what a disaster! First,
when we arrived, the waiter said that the table was reserved for the next day! We had an
when they hear the phrase ‘disastrous dinner’. Ask them argument and eventually he gave us a table by the toilets, but it quite bad. We

to share any related stories from their own experiences. decided to order a variety of dishes so we could try lots of different food, but when the waiter
brought the food it was almost all ! I was given a curry which was far too spicy;
it really hurt my mouth! My friends weren’t happy with their food either, even though my best friend
2 Tell students they are going to read about an awful meal. said his mum had told him the food was . For dessert we had the cheesecake,

Divide the class into pairs and hand out the two halves
of the activity sheet to each pair. Explain that the two
stories are similar but not identical. First, students read
and complete the story by obtaining the words from their
partner. Pairs should not look at each other’s texts, so this
but it was really disappointing – it tasted like it had been made a week ago! We thought that the
restaurant should pay for the meal, but then the manager arrived …
be on a diet bitter can/can’t afford gorgeous ingredient quality recipe
suit someone taste good/bad throw away tongue value

step should be done by discussing the gaps. PHOTOCOPIABLE © Pearson Education Limited 2020 23

3 Next, students identify the verbs which are written

differently in each text. In each case they should change
the active structure in one text to the passive voice.
4 Once the story has been completed, each pair writes a
paragraph to finish the story. Explain to students that they
should try and utilise the passive voice where possible,
as well as key vocabulary from the vocabulary box below
the text.
5 Pairs share their story endings with the class. Ask the class
which ending they think is the best.

Adaptation and extension

Rather than writing a paragraph, combine pairs into groups
of four and ask them to write a script for the ending of
the story. Ensure that the script uses the passive voice
and key vocabulary from the vocabulary box. Each group
performs their story ending and the class votes for the most
entertaining/worst dinner.

Answer key
See the activity sheet.

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