El pretérito indefinido card game

This is a very simple but effective way for your students to learn the conjugations of irregular verbs in the pretérito indefinido. The verbs included in this game are:

-estar, haber, hacer, poner, poder, querer, saber, tener, andar, venir
-decir, traducir, traer
-servir, pedir, divertirse, elegir, mentir, preferir, repetir, seguir, sentir
-ir/ser
-dar/ver
-leer, oir, caer, creer, construir, destruir, influir, huir

The game can be played with whichever group of verbs you are learning at the time.
The rules of the game are as follows:

1. Put the cards face up and match the Spanish verbs with the English verbs.
2. Put any cards that you are confident you already to know to one side. Using the remaining cards, turn them over face down and play pairs.
3. Now look at all of the Spanish verb cards. Categorise the verbs into groups according to their colour, discuss and review the conjugations of these verbs using your laminated sheets.
4. Using the Spanish cards only play the following game:

- All the cards should be facing downwards on the table. A student chooses a card and if they know the meaning of the card they can play their turn. If they do not know the meaning of card, they replace it on the table and miss their go.
- To play their turn, the student rolls the dice and conjugates the verb according to the number:

1 = yo, 2 = tú, 3 = él, 4 = nosotros, 5 = vosotros, 6 = ellos

- If the conjugation is correct (the other player can check the conjugation on the laminated cards), they keep the card and score 1 point.
- The player with the most cards and points at the end of the game wins.

If you want to mix the game up a little by adding an element of chance then you can also include some ¡Ay caramba! cards. If a student picks an ¡Ay caramba! card before they have won any verb cards, then the ¡Ay caramba! card simply gets put back into the game. However, if a student has already won some verb cards and they then select the ¡Ay caramba! card, they have to give up all of their verb cards and place them back in the game. Be sure to keep the ¡Ay caramba! card out of the game at this point because if they are not removed then the game will go on forever!