A2 Phobias

Possessive Adjectives + Pronouns

EXERCISE 1 GUESS THE MEANING OF THE PHOBIAS MENTIONED BELOW.

Nomophobia: ___________________
Globophobia: ___________________
Arithmophobia: ___________________
Eisoptrophobia: ___________________
Octophobia: ___________________

EXERCISE 2 MATCH THE PHOBIAS WITH THEIR DEFINITIONS.

1. Nomophobia a. fear of numbers

2. Arithmophobia b. fear of balloons

3. Octophobia c. fear of being without a mobile phone
4. Globophobia d. fear of mirrors

5. Eisoptrophobia e. fear of the number eight

DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WITH THE PHOBIAS MENTIONED ABOVE?

DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WITH ANOTHER UNUSUAL PHOBIA? WHAT IS IT?

EXERCISE 3 READ THE DIALOGUE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW.

Mark: Hey Anne! Have you seen my phone? I don't know where I left it...
Anne: No, I haven't. Besides, you don't need it now. Aren't you studying for your exam?
Mark: I know, but I hate being without it. I feel anxious when I don't have it next to me.
Anne: That's ridiculous. You're going to be more productive without its constant buzzing.
Mark: Mmm...maybe you're right. Why aren't you studying? Have you already studied for
our math exam?
Anne: No, not yet...The thought of looking at numbers and solving all those equations
makes me tired. Don't get me started on the number eight. I can't even look at it!
Mark: You're being dramatic! You can't be afraid of numbers! Some people have actual
problems. For example, my cousins can't even go to birthday parties as there are always
so many balloons and they can't stand the thought of one of them popping!
Anne: I don't think it's worse than mine. I can't avoid seeing numbers every day, but I see
balloons only occasionally. Have you heard about my aunt's fear?
Mark: No, what is hers?
Anne: She's terrified of seeing her own reflection! She removed all mirrors from her
house.
Mark: A house with no mirrors! How does she do her make-up?
Anne: She doesn't! Oh, look what I've found. Isn't that your phone on the sofa?
Mark: Yes, it is! I can finally breathe!
Page 1
 A2 Phobias
Possessive Adjectives + Pronouns
1. Who's got a fear of balloons? ____________________________________________________________

2. Who's got a fear of numbers? ___________________________________________________________

3. Who's got a fear of the number eight? __________________________________________________

4. Whose phobia is eisoptrophobia? _______________________________________________________
5. Whose phobia is nomophobia? __________________________________________________________

EXERCISE 4 READ THE DIALOGUE AGAIN AND UNDERLINE ANY POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
AND POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS.

EXERCISE 5 COMPLETE THE TABLE BELOW WITH THE MISSING SUBJECT PRONOUNS,
OBJECT PRONOUNS, POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES AND POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS.

Possessive Possessive
Subject pronouns Object pronouns
adjectives pronouns

I can paint. She likes ___. This is ___ dog. It's ___.

___ can paint. She likes you. This is ___ dog. It's ___.

___ can paint.. She likes ___. This is his dog. It's ___.

___ can paint. She likes ___. This is ___ dog. It's hers.

It can paint. She likes ___. This is ___ dog. It's ___.

___ can paint. She likes us. This is ___ dog. It's ___.

___ can paint. She likes ___. This is your dog. It's ___.

___ can paint. She likes ___. This is ___ dog. It's theirs.

EXERCISE 6 COMPLETE THE STATEMENTS BELOW WITH THE CORRECT TERMS.

1. We use ____________________ to talk about possessions. They are followed by a noun,

for example, This is my mobile phone.
2. We use ____________________ to talk about possessions, too. They are not followed by a
noun, for example, It's mine.
Page 2
 A2 Phobias
Possessive Adjectives + Pronouns
EXERCISE 7 CIRCLE THE CORRECT FORM.
1. That book is her / hers, not mine.
2. His / Ours car is parked outside.

3. Is this your / yours bag or hers?

4. My / Mine computer crashed, but his is still working.

5. She can't find her / hers keys; have you seen your / yours?
6. My phone died, so I borrowed her / hers to make a call.

EXERCISE 8 COMPLETE THE SENTENCES WTIH A SUBJECT PRONOUN, AN OBJECT

PRONOUN, A POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE, OR A POSSESSIVE PRONOUN.
1. The waiter brought us our food and asked if _____ needed anything else.

2. She bought a new dress. _____ is very elegant and expensive.

3. Our dog loves to play with _____ toys.
4. The doctor prescribed him some medicine for _____ cough.

5. We visited their house. It's bigger than _____.

6. His job is very demanding, but he enjoys _____.

EXERCISE 9 READ ABOUT THE THREE PHOBIAS. WHAT ARE THE PEOPLE AFRAID OF?

I suffer from coulrophobia, a fear of people who paint their faces white, wear brightly-
coloured wigs and have red noses. I avoid places like circuses as they are often over
there. I also don’t watch horror because they are always scary in those films.

Fear of ____________________.

My mum has aviophobia. She often feels anxious when she’s on the plane. Her fear
started from a traumatic experience. One time she was on a plane when she
experienced turbulence. Now she can’t even listen about plane crashes in the news.

Fear of ____________________.

My twin sisters have a fear of astraphobia. It started a few years ago when they saw
lightning hitting the neighbours’ house causing a loud noise. Their house burnt down.
Luckily, nothing happened to ours!

Fear of ____________________.

Page 3
 A2 Phobias
Possessive Adjectives + Pronouns

EXERCISE 10 WRITE A SHORT PARAGRAPH ABOUT YOUR PHOBIA OR SOMETHING YOU

ARE AFRAID OF.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

READ YOUR PARAGRAPH AND LET THE OTHERS GUESS YOUR PHOBIA / FEAR.

Page 4
 TOTAL TIME: ~45 mins

Teacher's notes
Exercise 1 and 2. Warm-up 7 mins
Read the names of the phobias and in pairs try to guess what they mean. Share the answers with the rest
of the group. Check the answers to exercise 1 by matching the phobias with their definitions.

Answers: 1C, 2A, 3E, 4B, 5D

Discuss if students know anyone with these phobias. If not, talk about people who have unusual phobias.
Exercise 3. Reading 5 mins
Read the dialogue. You can use this to practise pronunciation. Follow the reading part with questions
checking the understanding of the text. Students discuss who mentioned in the text has a phobia from
exercise 1.

Answers:
1. Mark's cousins.
2. Anne
3. Anne
4. Anne's aunt
5. Mark
Exercise 4. Grammar introduction 5 mins
Read the text again and underline any possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns. If this is the first
time hearing these terms, write some examples of each one on the board. Check the answers. You can
also point out the subject and object pronouns as they will be mentioned in the next part of the lesson.

Answers:
Mark: Hey Anne! Have you seen my phone? I don't know where I left it...
Anne: No, I haven't. Besides, you don't need it now. Aren't you studying for your exam?
Mark: I know, but I hate being without it. I feel anxious when I don't have it next to me.
Anne: That's ridiculous. You're going to be more productive without its constant buzzing.
Mark: Mmm...maybe you're right. Why aren't you studying? Have you already studied for our math exam?
Anne: No, not yet...The thought of looking at numbers and solving all those equations makes me tired. Don't get
me started on the number eight. I can't even look at it!
Mark: You're being dramatic! You can't be afraid of numbers! Some people have actual problems. For example,
my cousins can't even go to birthday parties as there are always so many balloons and they can't stand the
thought of one of them popping!
Anne: I don't think it's worse than mine. I can't avoid seeing numbers every day, but I see balloons only
occasionally. Have you heard about my aunt's fear?
Mark: No, what is hers?
Anne: She's terrified of seeing her own reflection! She removed all mirrors from her house.
Mark: A house with no mirrors! How does she do her make-up?
Anne: She doesn't! Oh, look what I've found. Isn't that your phone on the sofa?
Mark: Yes, it is! I can finally breathe.
Exercise 5. Grammar analysis 5 mins
As this lesson serves as a revision, students should be familiar with subject and object pronouns, and
possessive adjectives and pronouns. Give students a few minutes to fill in the gaps with the missing
words. Check and correct the answers.
 TOTAL TIME: ~45 mins

Teacher's notes
Subject pronouns Object pronouns Possessive adjectives Possessive pronouns

I can paint. She likes me. This is my dog. It's mine.

You can paint. She likes you. This is your dog. It's yours.

He can paint.. She likes him. This is his dog. It's his.

She can paint. She likes her. This is her dog. It's hers.

It can paint. She likes it. This is its dog. It's its.

We can paint. She likes us. This is our dog. It's ours.

You can paint. She likes you. This is your dog. It's yours.

They can paint. She likes them. This is their dog. It's theirs.

Exercise 6. Understanding grammar 3 mins

Students complete the two sentences with either possessive adjectives or possessive pronouns.

Answers:
1. possessive adjectives
2. possessive pronouns

Exercise 7 and 8. Examiner's notes analysis 7 mins

Practise new grammar forms by completing exercise 7 and exercise 8. In exercise 7, students circle the
correct form, either a possessive adjective or a possessive pronoun.

Answers:
Exercise 7: 1.hers, 2.His, 3.your, 4.My, 5.her/yours, 6.hers.
Exercise 8: 1.we, 2.It, 3.its, 4.his, 5.ours, 6.it
Exercise 9. Read and guess 5 mins
Read three descriptions of phobias. Guess what the people talking about their fears are afraid of.

Answers: 1.clowns, 2.flying, 3.thunder

Exercise 10. Write and guess 7 mins
Students write short descriptions of their phobias or phobias of someone they know. Share the answers
and guess each other's fears.
Error correction 3 mins
Provide students with short speaking feedback.