When the
students are beginning to write dialogues they need to know
a few tricks
on how to “elaborate” a simple sentence.
The
rule is to start with a simple thought and then add information
answering the questions, who, what, where, when, who with, who for, how,
etc.
Let’s
take these as examples:
I go to school.
I go to school every morning.
I go to school every morning by bus.
I go to school every morning by bus at 7 a.m.
I go to school every morning by bus at 7 a.m. with my best
friend.
I go to school every morning by bus at 7 a.m. with my best
friend, Mary.
I go to school every morning by bus at 7 a.m. with my best
friend, Mary, who is American.
I went shopping.
I went shopping in Rome.
I went shopping in Rome yesterday.
I went shopping in Rome yesterday with my mother.
I went shopping in Rome yesterday with my mother to buy a gift.
I went shopping in Rome yesterday with my mother to buy a birthday
gift.
I went shopping in Rome yesterday with my mother to buy a birthday
gift for my cousin.
I went shopping in Rome yesterday with my mother to buy a birthday
gift for my cousin who will be 21.
I went shopping in Rome yesterday with my mother to buy a birthday
gift for my
cousin who will be 21 next week.
When
the students see how simple it is, they will actually enjoy seeing how
long (and full of information!) they can make their sentence!
A class activity;
Let them try making up short sentences. They can write them on strips
(coloured!) and place them in a box. Then each student can pick out a
sentence to “Elaborate”.
A
Nice Thought
“Write down the thought of the moment. Those that come unsought for are
commonly the most valuable.
Francis Bacon