Aug 20, 2009

The Money Pit: Causative Verbs

This is a classic comedy that was forgotten by the media and public. This couple of newly weds buy this beautiful house, which is a lemon. Nothing works; it's falling apart. It is excellent for practicing causative verbs - make, let, get, have. Pre-teach some occupation vocabulary (carpenter, plumber, etc) and the students will be able to practice this grammar point in a contextualized manner.



Watch the movie segment and choose the best verb to complete the sentence, according to the segment. Then decide how to complete the blanks, using the given words.

1. The garage is dusty.
They will have / make / get / let ………………… (someone/clean) it.

2. The mattress isn’t firm enough .
Anna will have / make / get / let ………………… (Walter / replace) it.

3. Old wires burned the doorbell.
They will have / make / get / let ………………… (an electrician / fix) it.

4. The front door fell off the house.
They will have / make / get / let ………………… (a carpenter / repair) it.

5. The plaster ceiling came down in the bedroom .
Anna had / made / got / let ………………… (Walter/ fix) it.

6. The plumbing system is not perfect
they will have / make / get / let ………………… (a plumber / unblock) it.

7. She was extremely upset about the house.
Walter had / made / got / let ………………… (Anna/ try) to enjoy it.

8. She was attacked by a wild animal.
The animal had / made / got / let ………………… (Anna/ run) madly around the house.

9. The roof was leaking.
They will have / make / get / let ………………… (someone/ replace) the tiles.

10. They couldn’t make the rain stop.
They had / made / got / let ………………… (the rain/ fall) on their heads.

The correct verb choices are in bold.
Correct patterns:

get + someone + to verb
make, have, let + someone + verb

help + someone + verb or to verb

WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - THE MONEY PIT

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nossa gatinho! Your blog is just wonderful.
I'm an English teacher from Mexico and just want to thank for this amazing idea.
Levo o Brasil no peito.

Beijinhos,
Diana Pérez.

Claudio Azevedo said...

Thanks, Diana. I'm really glad to hear that! See you.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this--I am going to use it in class today!
Jen from the US

Claudio Azevedo said...

Thanks, Jen. I hope yo
ur students like the activity. See you.

Anonymous said...

Merhaba..I'm a teacher in Turkey.Thank you for this wonderful opportunity you have given us and to our students.Tomorrow I will use it for the first time and I'm sure it will be great.

Claudio Azevedo said...

Thanks for your words. I hope it works!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Rey said...

Thank you Claudio for such wonderful blog, I really enjoy it. You are very creative and also very inspiring. I told my friends about this blog and they all love it too. Thanks again

Fernanda Maisa said...

Hi, congrts. Ur blog's just amazing. I've been using for a couple of days. Thank u for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot from a teacher in Hungary! You have put so much good work into this site :)

Claudio Azevedo said...

Thanks. This is really motivating.

Anonymous said...

congratulations!!!! great job!
thank you

Claudio Azevedo said...

Thanks. Great to hear that.

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot Claudio!
You are a great inspiration for all dedicated teachers. I will use these excellent ideas in my class!
Tuğba, from Turkey

Claudio Azevedo said...

Thanks for the feedback, Tugba!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful! Thank you so much - really brightened up the class!

Claudio Azevedo said...

Great to hear that!

filma said...

Absolutely fascinating exercises and ideas! Big thanks from Russia!

Unknown said...

This is such an amazing idea! It fits in perfectly with the theme of my class this week. Thank you so much from here in San Diego!

Claudio Azevedo said...

Thanks, Tobin
It is motivating to hear that.