1408: Reflexive Pronouns

This thriller is based on a Stephen King's short story. As you can tell, it is scary, but it is not a violent movie. This is an exciting scene that I used for practicing reflexive pronouns with my students, because the snippet shows objects moving by themselves inside a hotel room, which number is 1408. This activity makes the grammar point more meaninful, I guess.





I. Work in pairs:





1. Do you believe in supernatural activities? Explain it.





2. Have you ever seen or known someone who has experienced supernatural activities?



3. Would you stay in a hotel which is famous for having ghosts? What about a history of murders? Why (not)?



4. Would you like to make contact with people who have passed away? Why (not)?





II. Watch the segment and complete the blanks with a reflexive pronoun:

MYSELF - YOURSELF - HIMSELF - HERSELF - ITSELF - OURSELVES - YOURSELVES - THEMSELVES

1. The main character, Louis, served _________a drink.



2. The radio started playing a song by ________________.



3. The alarm clock reset ________________ to 60:00.



4. Louis recorded _____________ saying what was going on in the room.



5. The window closed by ______________ and hit Louis's fingers.



6. He started washing ____________ when the faucet started doing unexpected things by ______________.



7. The curtains were moving by _________________.



8. What about you? Would you spend the night in this room by ___________.



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MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - 1408







Answer key:



1. himself

2. itself

3. itself

4. himself

5. itself

6. himself / itself

7. themselves

8. yourself

The Ant Bully: This, That, These, Those - Demonstrative Pronouns

This is a wonderful movie. It's fun, clever and the graphics are amazing. I took advantage of this attractive scene to practice the use of demonstrative pronouns, because the characters use them all the time in a contextualized and visual manner.


I. Before watching the scene, complete the blanks with THIS, THAT, THESE, or THOSE. There is more than one possible answer.

1. __________ is a big nest.

2. What's ________?

It's just a door.

3. All your guests pass under __________ door?

4. Oh, ________ is too bad! Now we have to go home!

5. ________ is called hang-gliding.

6. Oh, sorry, was ________ the word?

7. ________ is Hawaii. We went there last summer.

8. ______ are the pyramids. Well, not the real pyramids...

9. Are __________ your nest mates?

Yeah, ________'s my family.

10. Is __________ what humans do when they are sad?

11. When we ants are sad, we do _________ .

II. Now watch the movie segment and check if your answers are correct, according to the segment.

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MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - THE ANT BULLY

Answer Key:

1. this, 2. that, 3. this, 4. that, 5. this, 6. that, 7. this, 8. these, 9. these / that, 10. that, 11. this

Sunshine Barry and the Disco Worms: Possessive Adjectives

This is a great animated movie, especially because it talks about being different and fighting against prejudice. The music is great, especially if you like disco music. The scene is full of visual input, so it is perfect for beginners.

A. Watch the movie segment and complethe the blanks with possessive adjectives
(My, Your, His, Her, Its, Our, or Their).



1. The scene is about a worm. _____________ name is Barry.


2. Barry has an album. __________ name is Greatest Disco Hits 77.


3. Barry's mother is at the door. ___________ mother is not happy.


4. She talks to Barry. __________ voice is very loud.


5. Barry can't stop dancing. _________ tail is dancing too.


6. He's wearing a suit and a tie. __________ colors are black and white.


7. The books and records are __________ dad's stuff.


8. He lives with his father and mom. Barry lives in __________ house.


9. Barry's mother has a funny face. _________ eyes are big and ________ hair is brown.


10. - Do you like disco music? What's _________ favorite kind of music?

- ___________ favorite kind of music is samba.

Answer key; 1. his, 2. its, 3. his, 4. her, 5. his, 6. their, 7. his, 8. their, 9. her - her, 10. your - my.


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Ice Age: Possessive Adjectives

Ice Age is one of my favorite animated movies. This scene is great and I used it to practice the use of adjective pronouns, not for beginners, but basic learners. I hope you enjoy it!






A. Watch the movie segment about an eskimo family that is attacked by a group of sabre-tooth tigers. Then complete the blanks with adjective pronouns.


My - Your - His - Her - Its - Our - Their








1. The eskimo tribe lived in the woods. The sabre-tooth tigers invaded __________ territory.


2. The eskimos had some dogs. They barked to warn _________ owners about the dangerous tigers.


3. Kinu, the eskimo, used ___________ spear to fight the tiger and protect ________ family.


4. Jana, the eskimo mother, held __________ baby before Diego, the tiger, attacked it. She would never leave _______ child behind.


5. The tiger grabbed ____________ necklace, but it didn't grab ___________ baby.


6. ________________ husband could not help her because of the tigers. Kinu wanted to help _______________ wife and child, but she ran away with _________ baby.


7. The dogs defended ______________ owner from the tigers.


8. The tigers were unhappy with Diego because of __________ incompetence to get the baby.


9. Kinu found _________ wife's necklace. _______________ friends followed him to look for _________ wife and child.


10. Did you like the segment? What's __________ opinion about it?



11. I (liked/didn't like) it. In ___________ opinion, the segment is (great / terrible / fantastic / etc).




Answer Key:

1. their
2. their
3. his / his
4. her / her
5. her / her
6. her / his / their
7. their
8. his (its)
9. his / his / his
10. your
11. my



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The Bucket List: Possessive Pronouns with Gerunds

This is a great movie with touching messages. Although the story seems to be sad, the film itself is uplifting. This scene in particular is funny and exciting. I took advantage of such a thrilling scene to have students practice the construction of possessive pronouns before gerunds.

A. Talk to a partner:



1. Have you ever gone skydiving? Would you like to do it? Why (not)?

2. What was the most exciting adventure you have ever had? Tell your friend about it?

3. Do you prefer to have vacation time in a place to practice extreme sports and/or enjoy nature, or would you rather travel to the city in order to enjoy its night life? Explain it.

4. Are you braver than you used to be when you were younger or are you less courageous nowadays? Why do you think so?


B. Watch the movie segment and choose the best way to complete the sentences below.












Carter and Edward

1. Their/ They/ Them getting ready to jump was extremely awkward.
2. One of Carter's concern was his/ he/ him/ missing the chance to see his wife again.

3. Edward disliked Kyle's / Kyle making comments about Edward's second wife.

4. Edward supported Carter's / Carter jumping off the plane.

5. Carter was really concerned about the parachute's/ parachute not opening.

6. Their/ Them/ They having a few months of life made them experiment new adventures efore dying.

7. Edward's instructor was desperate with his/ he/ him singing while they were skydiving.

8. Edward and Carter seemed to have enjoyed their/ their/ they diving.

C. Complete these sentences. Use pronouns / possessive ('s) before gerunds in your answers.

1. One interesting thing in the scene was ………………………………………………………….
2. The funniest moment of the segment was ………………………………………………………..
3 . ………………………………………………………………………………………….….. was amazing.


D. Individually, make a list of 10 things you would like to do before you die. Don't show it to anyone.


E. Work in groups of three students now. Share your list with a friend and come up with a final one with 10 things the three of you would like to do before you die. You have to negotiate and convince your partners because only 10 activities are possible.



F. Share your list with your classmates.

Answer Key:

Their / His / Kyle's / Carter's / Parachute's / Their / His / Their

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