35+ Grammatical Games to Engage Young Learners in Offline and Online Classes

Grammar may feel dry and “hard to digest” for young English learners. That is why grammatical games were created to make learning grammar more effective and enjoyable. Below are some engaging grammar activities for both offline and online classes. Let’s explore and put them into practice!

1. Interactive Grammatical Games on Digital Platforms

There are plenty of free grammatical games available online, which can make it hard to know where to begin. This section offers a quick look at some of the most popular interactive games, selected from reliable English learning platforms that teachers often turn to.

Most of the suggested games come with simple instructions and are easy to access, making them a great fit for quick grammar practice during class time. They help children build grammar skills in a fun and natural way, while giving teachers more space to focus on other key parts of the lesson.

Related article: 10 BEST Gamification and Engagement Tools for e-Learning: Enhancing focus and motivation

2. Physical Grammar Games for Kids: Using Cards, Boards, and Objects

2.1. Shoots for Points

Shoots for Points is a game in which correct answers give students a chance to take a fun shot, such as throwing a ball into a basket or trying to hit a target with a beanbag, and win extra points.

How to play:

• Prepare a set of grammar exercises. 
• Divide the class into two teams. Each takes turns answering the questions.
• If the answer is correct, the team earns points for the question, and gets an opportunity to shoot for bonus points.

Rules:

• Only correct answers have the opportunity to shoot.
• If the shot misses, the team keeps only the points from the correct answer.
• The team that collects the highest total score by the end of the game wins.

Classroom example: To practice subject-verb agreement, provide students with incomplete sentences. Once a student correctly completes a sentence, they earn a chance to shoot for additional points. 

2.2. Tic Tac Toe

Tic Tac Toe is a classic game that can be easily adapted for grammar lessons. Instead of the traditional Xs and Os, each square on the grid features a grammar-related challenge.

How to play: 

• Prepare a 3×3 grid. Each square contains a grammar-related challenge.
• Split the class into two teams, which take turns choosing a square.
• Each team gets one chance per turn to answer the question in their chosen square.

Rules:

• If the team answers correctly, they claim that square with their symbol; if not, the square stays open and play passes to the other team.
• The teams continue taking turns until one manages to get three squares in a row.

Classroom example: Use it for practicing irregular verbs. Each square can contain a verb that students must put into past tense.

2.3. Snakes and Ladders

Inspired by a classic board game, Snakes and Ladders as a grammar game follows a similar format to the original but integrates grammar practice throughout.

How to play: 

• Prepare a large game board featuring grammar tasks, snakes, and ladders on different spaces.
• Students take turns rolling a dice and moving their pieces according to the number rolled. 

Rules:

• If they land on a space with a grammar task, they must answer correctly to stay; otherwise, they go back. 
• Landing on a ladder allows students to climb up to a higher space. 
• Landing on a snake means they slide back down.

Classroom example: Spaces might say: “She … (go) to school yesterday.” If a student rolls a four and lands on a ladder, they climb up, then answer the question on the new space. A correct answer means they stay; a mistake sends them back to their original spot before rolling.

2.4. Football!

The game Football! turns answering grammar questions into a friendly team competition, using the idea of moving a ball across a football field to score goals.

How to play: 

• Divide the class into 2 teams. 
• Place a ball token in the middle of a “field” drawn on the board. 
• Ask a grammar question to one team. 

Rules:

• Each correct answer advances the ball toward the other team’s goal.
• An incorrect answer hands the ball over to the opposing team.
• The team that scores the most goals by the end of the game wins.

Classroom example: For comparison practice, ask, “Which is correct: ‘She is more taller than him’ or ‘She is taller than him’?” and let teams compete to get the ball to the goal.

2.5. Grammar Scavenger Hunt

In Grammar Scavenger Hunt, students look for slips of paper hidden around the classroom, each with a grammar task to complete.

How to play: 

• Before the lesson, prepare slips of paper with grammar-related tasks and hide them around the room. 
• Students work in small teams and race to find as many as they can.

Rules:

• Each team may only pick up one slip at a time and must return to their table to complete the assigned grammar task. 
• After completing the task correctly, the team can go search for another slip.
• The team with the most correctly completed tasks by the end of the game wins.

Classroom example: Hide the sentence “The cat chase the red ball.” around the room. When students find it, they must correct it to “The cat chases the red ball.”

2.6. Simon Says

Simon Says remains a go-to game in many English classrooms. The rules of Simon Says are incredibly simple: 

How to play: Teacher takes the role of Simon and gives students grammar-related commands.

Rules:

• If Simon gives a command starting with “Simon says,” students carry it out.
• If the command is given without “Simon says,” students should stay still. If students still follow it, they are out of the round.

Classroom example: Teacher shows cards with different sentences and says, “Simon says circle the commas.” Students quickly look at the cards and only circle the commas. If the teacher simply says “Circle the commas,” students must stay still.

2.7. Grammar Jeopardy

Grammar Jeopardy is a fun game inspired by a popular TV quiz show. In this activity, students choose questions with corresponding point values. 

How to play:

• Prepare a Jeopardy-style board with grammar-related categories.
• Under each category, add questions with different point values. The higher the points, the more difficult the question, and vice versa.
• Students take turns choosing a category and a point value, then answer the question that corresponds.

Rules:

• A correct answer earns the points for that question.
• If the answer is incorrect, another team or student can try to “steal” the points.
• The game continues until all questions are answered.
• The team or student with the highest score at the end wins the game.

Classroom example: Use Grammar Jeopardy to review verb tenses. Organize the board into “Past Simple,” and “Present Perfect.” Each question can require students to complete sentences, correct errors, or transform sentences into a different tense.

2.8. Grammar Bingo

Grammar Bingo follows the same basic rules as the traditional Bingo game. However, instead of using numbers, the bingo cards feature grammar-related items.

How to play:

• Each student receives a bingo card filled with grammar terms, examples, or sentences. 
• The teacher calls out definitions or asks questions related to the grammar topic.
• Students listen carefully and look for a matching item on their bingo card.

Rules:

• When they find a match, they mark the square.
• The first student to complete a line (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) calls out “Bingo!” and wins the round.

Classroom examples: Each card lists different verb tenses. Teacher read out loud “By next year, she … in Paris for a decade,” guiding students to find and mark “will have lived.”

3. Fun Activities for Specific Grammar Points

3.1. LEGO Sentences – Sentence Building

LEGO Sentences allows young learners to practice sentence structures by building sentences with LEGO bricks. To set up this game, teachers need to prepare LEGO bricks labeled with individual words or parts of speech. 

How to play: After receiving a set of LEGO bricks, students connect the bricks and form complete sentences.

Rules:

• Sentences must be grammatically correct.
• Building longer or more complex sentences, especially those that include adjectives and adverbs, earns additional points.
• Teachers can set specific challenges, for example, including two adjectives or starting with an adverb.

Classroom example: To practice conjunctions, students build two short sentences, then link them using a “coordinating conjunction” brick – “and”, “but”, or “so”.

Basically, LEGO itself already offers many benefits for children, such as developing logical thinking, concentration, and patience. Integrating LEGO into English grammar practice, thus, promotes comprehensive development in children and builds a strong foundation for future learning.

3.2. Four Corners – Parts of Speech Identifying

Four Corners works particularly well for quick practice of parts of speech. After introducing the definitions of each part of speech, teachers can help young learners reinforce their understanding by organizing Four Corners as follows:

How to play: 

• Label each corner of the room with each part of speech (noun, verb, adjective and adverb). 
• Call out a word and have students run to the corner that matches the word’s part of speech.

Rules: 

• If a student runs to the correct corner, they stay in the game and move on to the next round.
• If a student chooses the wrong corner, they must give an example sentence using the word correctly. After that, they are out of the game and become part of the audience.
• The game continues round by round, with students gradually eliminated.
• The last student (or last few students) remaining is the winner.

By combining physical movement with language learning, children can retain knowledge more quickly and effectively.

3.3. Contraction Surgery – Contractions

As the name suggests, Contraction Surgery is specifically designed for practicing contractions.

How to play: 

• Hand out slips of paper containing phrases such as “do not” or “she will.”
• Students carefully cut out letters, acting like they are doing a simple “surgery,” and tape the pieces back together to create the contraction, complete with an apostrophe where letters are removed (e.g. do not -> don’t, she will -> she’ll).

Rules:

• Students who make the most correct contractions within the time limit wins.
• Students with the most spelling or apostrophe mistakes lose.

Contraction Surgery is a great way to help students reinforce their understanding of how contractions are formed before moving to the next part of the lesson. 

3.4. “Cap”-ital Letters – Capitalization

“Cap”-ital Letters is a simple game that allows young learners to practice capitalization. With nothing more than bottle caps, teachers can turn what might be a boring worksheet exercise into an enjoyable learning activity.

How to play:

• Give students worksheets containing sentences written entirely in lowercase, and sets of bottle caps labeled “C”.
• Students read through the sentences, placing a cap on every word that requires a capital letter.
• Once everyone is finished, review the sentences together as a class. Discuss why each word needs a capital letter and address any mistakes.

Rather than emphasizing competition, “Cap”-ital Letters simply offers students a quick, fun way to reinforce their understanding of capitalization.

3.5. Perfect Pair Patrol – Subject-Verb Agreement

Perfect Pair Patrol is a quick matching game where students pair subject and verb cards to practice correct agreement. 

How to play: 

• Prepare two sets of cards: one with various subjects (e.g., the cat, my friends, she) and another with verbs in different forms (e.g., runs, play, goes). 
• Each student draws one card from each set and checks whether the subject and verb form a grammatically correct and meaningful pair. For example, “my friends eats” is incorrect, “while my friends eat” is both correct and logical; “the cat eats” works, but “the cat drives” may not.

Rules:

• If the pair does not meet both conditions, the student returns one card and draws another. 
• The process continues until all pairs are accurate in both grammar and meaning.
• To add excitement, set a countdown (e.g., two minutes) to see how many correct pairs students can make within the time limit, or challenge teams to be the fastest to complete a full set of accurate pairs.

Perfect Pair Patrol encourages active grammar practice while building students’ awareness of language use in real-world contexts.

3.6. Change Chairs – Clauses & Tenses

Change Chairs encourages spontaneous use of grammar structures in spoken form. To organize this game, arrange chairs in a circle, leaving out one chair so there is always one student standing. Then, explain the simple steps below:

How to play:

• One student stands in the center and says, “Change chairs if + a statement”, e.g., “Change chairs if you like ice cream.”
• Everyone who finds the statement true for themselves, including the center student, must quickly stand up and switch seats.

Rules:

• The student left without a chair takes the center position and leads the next round.
• The student with the fewest times in the center is considered the winner. 

The combination of listening and physical response helps young learners process meaning rapidly and use complete structures in a natural way. 

3.7. Two Truths and a Lie – Question Forms

In the “Two Truths and a Lie” game, each learner writes three short sentences – two true and one false – using the target grammar. The aim is to guess which one is the lie.

How to play:

• Each student writes three sentences, two facts about themselves (true) and one made-up statement (false), with the target grammar point.
• Students take turns sharing their three sentences.
• Peers ask up to three questions to gather clues and decide which statement is the lie, then make a guess. 
• The speaker reveals the lie after a round of questions.

Rules:

• All sentences, questions and answers must consistently follow the target grammar point.
• If the group guesses correctly, they earn one point; if not, the speaker receives the point. 
• The student or team with the most points at the end wins the game.

Two Truths and a Lie stimulates curiosity, motivating students to ask purposeful questions in order to identify the false statement. This process helps them use the target grammar in a natural and meaningful way.

3.8. Never Have I Ever – Present Perfect Tense

Never Have I Ever is a popular speaking game that helps young learners practice the present perfect structure. By repeating “Never have I ever + past participle”, students are exposed to the target grammar form multiple times in a natural context.

How to play:

• Students gather in a circle, each holding up five or ten fingers depending on the length of the game.
• Students, one by one, say a sentence beginning with “Never have I ever + something they have never done,” for example: “Never have I ever eaten sushi.”
• Any student who has done the action must put one finger down. 

Rules:

• The game may end after each student has spoken twice.
• At the end, the student with the most fingers still up is the winner.

Never Have I Ever requires no special materials and can be used in any classroom setting. With its focus on speaking fluency and real-life experiences, Never Have I Ever is especially useful for promoting spontaneous speech, building confidence, and reinforcing grammatical accuracy in a communicative context.

4. Ensuring Smooth Grammar Game Sessions

Grammatical games are a great way to bring energy into the classroom and keep learners engaged. However, without thoughtful planning, these activities can sometimes become a bit chaotic. A few common challenges include:

• Long setup times that take away from actual learning.
• Games shifting away from the main teaching goals.
• Increased noise levels and reduced concentration among students.
• Unequal participation, especially among shy or less confident learners.

To help grammar games run more smoothly and stay on track, a few simple strategies can make a big difference.

4.1. Effective Classroom Management During Games

There are 4 key tips for managing the classroom effectively during a game:

• Set clear rules from the start: Take a moment to discuss game rules with the class and agree on how everyone should behave while playing. 
• Give students small roles: Assigning mini tasks such as keeping score, watching the time, or helping explain the rules allows students to stay involved and focused. 
• Offer positive feedback: Praising effort and good behavior helps keep the atmosphere upbeat and encourages young learners to do their best.
• Use games that support behavior goals: “Good Behavior Game” combines learning and behavior support, helping students stay on task while working together.

When these strategies are in place, students understand what’s expected and feel more confident to take part. The result is a more focused, cooperative, and engaging learning space for everyone.

4.2. How to Manage Time and Stay on Schedule when Organizing a Game?

Keeping grammar games fun and focused often comes down to how well the time is managed. A few simple strategies can help things run efficiently:

• Create a detailed plan: Break a game into clear steps and set time limits for each part. Displaying this plan on the board helps students follow along and stay focused.
• Use timer tools: A simple timer tool can show how much time is left, keeping both teachers and students on track without constant reminders.
• Stay flexible: Adjust the pace when possible, as young learners may need different amounts of time depending on their level of participation and how they respond.
• Keep it short and dynamic: Short activities with high energy work best, especially for young learners who may lose focus during long tasks.

Even simple games can sometimes take longer than planned. A little preparation, thus, goes a long way in helping the lesson stay on track.

4.3. How to Evaluate a Game’s Effectiveness

Grammar games are designed to make learning more enjoyable while helping students understand and use grammar more confidently. The key question remains: How to tell if a game is actually helping students learn?

• Observe and take notes: Pay attention to how students interact during the game – Are they engaged, participating actively, and making progress? 
• Collect feedback: After each activity, ask students about their experience to gain deeper insight into what they enjoyed and how much they learned.
• Assess learning outcomes: Compare results before and after using a game to measure improvements in students’ grammar understanding.
• Check alignment with lesson objectives: A suitable grammar game should match the target grammar point and support the lesson’s learning objectives.

Evaluating a grammar game requires attention to the entire process, not just the final outcome. By paying attention to how students interact, respond, and perform throughout the activity, teachers can gather valuable insights into the game’s true educational impact.

5. FAQs about Grammatical Games 

Conclusion 

All the grammatical games suggested in this article are widely used in English classrooms. These games share a common feature: they have simple rules that allow learners to stay focused on the lesson objectives and absorb the grammar points more effectively. At the same time, they help teachers save valuable time and energy for other important tasks.

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