Oh! (Present Perfect with Exclamations)

Students write present perfect sentences explaining what has just happened to produce given exclamations, then classmates guess which exclamation was intended.

Procedure

1. Display a list of exclamations on the board (see list below) and make sure everyone understands them.
2. Ask students to choose one and say what they think has just happened to make the speaker say it. Model: "Oh!" — She has had a surprise / He has just remembered something.
3. Students write present perfect sentences for as many exclamations as they can (about 10 minutes), in any order.
4. A student reads out one sentence without revealing the exclamation.
5. The rest of the class guesses which exclamation was intended.

Exclamations List

Oh! / Wow! / Oh good! / That's funny! / Congratulations! / Cool! / Yes, please! / What? / Stop it! / Ouch! / Great! / What a shame! / I'm sorry! / Oh no! / Yes!!! / Yes? / Hallo! / Never mind! / Thank you! / Welcome! / (sigh) / No, thank you! / Rubbish! / Thank goodness! / Touch wood! / Well? / Unbelievable! / Bad luck! / Cheers! / Goodbye!

Tips

• Students inevitably create funny combinations (e.g., I've just got married intended for Congratulations! but someone suggests What a shame!) — embrace the humour.
• To simplify, use only the first 20 exclamations.
• Adaptable to other structures: going to (I'm going to get married next week!), past simple, etc.
• Invite students to compare English exclamations with equivalents in their own language.