Marley & Me: Zero Conditional

When I read the book, I thought a movie about Marley would be sensational. In fact, it is a great movie, but the ending is terrifying due to Marley’s suffering and the family’s loss. Those who have dogs should never see this movie, I guess. However, the scene I selected to practice the zero conditional is funny and entertaining. The couple have to leave Marley with a dog sitter while they take a brief week off. It is perfect to practice the zero conditional because they leave instructions and write about what to do when Marley performs certain actions.

A. Talk to a partner:

1- Do you have a pet? Tell your partner about it or about a friend’s pet you know.

2- What animals can be raised as pets?

3 – What are some unusual pets you know?

4 – What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a dog as a pet?

B. Marley’s owners are leaving him with a dog sitter. The first column is the condition the owners present and the second one is what they tell the sitter to do in those situations. Match both columns before you watch the segment.

Condition Clauses

1 – Marley jumps on you

2 – Marley looks starved

3 – Marley poops in the garden

4 – Marley tries to drink water from the toilet

5 – Marley wants to exercise

6 – A storm is arriving

7 – Marley is stressed

Result Clauses:

……… Feed him again.

……… Keep the toilet lid closed.

…….. Give Marley sedatives.

…….. Walk or run with him twice a day.

…….. Knee him.

…….. He chews the furniture.

…….. Use the poop scooper and watch your step.

C. Watch the segment and check your answers.

D. Now rewrite the sentences using the zero conditional. Notice that we are talking about something which is generally true, not a specific event.

1 – ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2 – ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

3 – …………………………………………………………………………………………………

4 – ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

5 – ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

6 – ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

7 – ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Teacher’s Key

Correct answers:

B.
2, 4, 6, 5, 1, 7, 3

D. Possible answers:

1. If Marley jumps on you, knee him.

2. If Marley looks starved, feed him again.

3. If (when) Marley poops in the garden, use the poop scooper and watch your step.

4. If Marley tries to drink water from the toilet, keep its lid closed.

5. If Marley wants to exercise, walk or run with him twice a day.

6. If a storm is arriving, give Marley sedatives.

7. If Marley is stressed, he chews the furniture.

WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD – MARLEY & ME

0 comments

Debora

Sep 16, 2009

Claudio, I'm having problems to print the worksheet.The page set up is too big for just one copy. Any sugestions? Do I have to install anything?

Debora Pinho

Claudio Azevedo

Sep 16, 2009

Hello Debora,
Please, try it again. I have replaced the document at scribd. I think it will work now. Let me know if you managed it. Otherwise, I'll email you the file. See you.

Nagaraj

Jan 25, 2010

I am unable to download the video segments. Please help me.

Claudio Azevedo

Jan 25, 2010

Check out the link below with the instructions to download the segment. That's the opnly way I know.

http://moviesegmentstoassessgrammargoals.blogspot.com/2008/11/downloading-movie-segments.htmldobsconi

Yzabella

May 24, 2014

Claudio,
Thank you so much.The activity was so useful and fun. Kids enjoy working.

Anonymous

Nov 5, 2014

What a great activity!!really good job, thanks for sharing it!

Anna

Nov 5, 2014

What a great activity!!thanks for sharing it! Your website is so useful.

Claudine M

May 5, 2016

Thank you Claudio! Wonderful activity.

Alexandra

Jul 16, 2016

I loved your activity. Thanks

Claudio Azevedo

Jul 22, 2016

Thanks, Alexandra.

Ariadne

Aug 29, 2017

Great activity! Thanks