Tecnico Lab. Clinico

A lesson about imperatives (Chapter 7)

Notes for the Teacher

1. The Song
Do a search on the Internet to find the song “Martha, My Dear” by The Beatles. When you search, be sure to include thetitle and the name of the artist.

2. Song background
You are going to hear a song by The Beatles, a very successful musical group from England that played music throughout the 1960s. In this song,the singer is talking to a friend (Martha) who he wants to spend more time with.

3. Grammar background
Go over the use of the imperative. Explain that the imperative form is used to give ordersor make requests. Tell students that the imperative is the simple form of the verb, and if the command is negative, we use don’t + the simple form. Here are some examples:

Take a bus to the zoo.Don’t forget to water the plants.

Encourage students to give some examples of commands. They can tell you or another student to perform some action in the classroom.

You can find moreinformation on imperatives on p. 213 of Fundamentals of English Grammar.

4. Vocabulary
These are just some of the words you may want to discuss during your lesson.

• in the thick of it: in trouble• inspiration: someone or something that encourages you to do good
• bound to: certain to do something

Student Worksheet

While you listen

1. Listen through the song oncefor meaning. What does the singer want Martha to do?

2. Now listen again. Write down the imperative forms that you hear. Don’t look at the text yet!

3. Listen a third time and follow alongwith the text. Underline all the imperative forms that you find? Then look at your list. Did you hear them all the first time?


4. The singer also wants Martha to do something for him. Name twothings he wants
her to do for him. Write them here.

1.

2.

After you listen


1. Things to think about and discuss
In pairs, small groups, or as a whole class, share your...