Teacher notes — Grammar for Korean Speakers
"Are you have a pen?" and why Korean students stack "do" and "have": verb-do confusion in questions
- Start by writing one wrong sentence on the board ("Are you have a pen?") and ask students if it sounds strange. Let them guess why before you explain.
- Use the sorting step (Team "do" vs Team "already has a helper") before any writing. Students who sort first make fewer mistakes in level 3 and 4.
- Walk around during level 2. The "is/are" choice (singular vs plural subject) trips students up more than the do/does choice.
- Keep a running list on the board of verbs students get wrong during the week and revisit it before a test.
- For a stronger class: add "has been" and "have been" as a bonus team ("already has two helpers") and ask students to notice that present perfect questions never take "do" either.