Two markings
Put your marked transcript next to your teacher's. Count three numbers: how many you both marked, how many only they marked, and how many only you marked.
The third number is not zero, and it is not a mistake — sometimes you will have corrected something that was already right.
One question about your two markings.
1. Which number matters most?
The transcript
From Lesson 5 — verbatim
1. What did you did on Saturday?
2. Where did you go after that?
3. What time you arrived?
4. Did you enjoyed it?
5. How long it took?
6. Who did you go with?
7. Did you be tired after?
8. Why you didn't stay?
Read all eight aloud before you answer.
1. How many are completely correct?
2. Sentences 1 and 4 fail the same way. How?
3. Sentences 3 and 5 fail a different way. How?
4. Sentence 8 has all the right words. What is wrong with it?
Four families, four fixes
What went wrong, and the one-line rule that fixes it
| Family | What it sounds like | The rule |
|---|---|---|
| Double-marked past | Marked once per clause. did has it, so the verb is bare. | |
| Missing auxiliary | Every past question needs did — except with be. | |
| The be error | be inverts on its own: Were you tired? | |
| Word order | Wh- + auxiliary + subject + bare verb. The auxiliary comes before the subject. |
One diagram for all four.
(Wh-) + did + subject + base verb + the rest?
Every one of the eight transcript lines either fits that shape or does not. There is nothing else to remember.
Except be, which has its own shape: (Wh-) + was/were + subject + the rest?
Match each transcript line to its family. Two belong to the same one, and one is not an error at all.
Repair, then produce
The transcript errors plus four more of the same families. Rewrite each one in full.
1. What did you did on Saturday?
2. What time you arrived?
3. Did you enjoyed it?
4. How long it took?
5. Did you be tired after?
6. Why you didn't stay?
7. Who you saw there?
8. Where did she went?
No visible errors this time. One word per gap — build each question correctly from scratch.
— did you get home? — About two. — Two! you tired the next day? — Exhausted. — didn't you leave earlier? — I wanted to, but I not have my car. — Oh, you? How you get there, then? — My brother drove me.
The same interview, clean
Task card · Speaking
Interview your teacher about a different weekend. Six minutes.
Fewer than three errors from the four families. Your teacher transcribes again, so the two transcripts compare directly.
- Do not slow down to be accurate. Accuracy at conversation speed is the target.
- The follow-up rule still applies after every answer.
- Ask for the number before you see the transcript.
Stop at three minutes.
1. Which family is still slipping?
2. Compared with Lesson 5?
Two transcripts
Compare the counts your teacher just read.
1. Did the number go down?
2. Which one error will you watch for in the fluency drill next lesson?
One diagram to keep
Rebuild the diagram. Put the five slots in order.
Before Lesson 7. Next lesson is 4/3/2: the same story, three times, in four minutes, then three, then two.
Choose the weekend you will tell. Do not write anything down and do not rehearse — the whole technique depends on the first telling being unpractised.