One yes, one no
Name the place you would genuinely like to go and the one you would not. One sentence of reason each.
One prediction before the twenty minutes.
1. You have to agree a real plan with somebody who wants something else. What will be hardest?
The constraints
What you are both working with
| Constraint | Detail |
|---|---|
| Budget | €180 each, everything included |
| Time | Leave after 6pm Friday, back by 8pm Sunday |
| Transport | Neither of you drives |
| One of you | Cannot walk far, and will not fly |
| The other | Has to be back for something at 9pm Sunday |
| Weather | Rain forecast Saturday afternoon |
A model exchange — how constraints get handled
A: What about Nazaré? It is on the coast and it is not expensive.
B: I like that idea. How are we getting there, though — is there a direct train?
A: There is a bus. It is about two and a half hours.
B: That works. To be honest, I would rather not do anything that needs a lot of walking on Saturday. Could we do the museum in the afternoon, when it is raining anyway?
A: Good idea. And we will need to be on the ten o'clock bus back on Sunday, because of your thing at nine.
B: Nine, yes. Shall I check the return times?
A: I will do it — I have the app open.
Work from the model.
1. B does not simply agree to Nazaré. What do they add?
2. B turns "cannot walk far" into a plan rather than a problem. How?
3. A says we will need to be on the ten o'clock bus. Why will?
4. How do they divide the last job?
Language for constraints
Handling a constraint
Six phrases. Each turns a problem into something the plan can absorb. Tap each for the rhythm.
A constraint is not a refusal. I cannot walk far stops the plan. I would rather not walk far — could we do the museum in the afternoon? moves it forward.
Same three-part shape as Lesson 2: softener, reason, alternative. A constraint is just a reason you did not choose.
Match each phrase to the job it does.
Turn problems into plans
Four constraints stated as refusals. Rewrite each so the plan can carry on.
1. I cannot walk far.
2. I will not fly.
3. That is too expensive.
4. I have to be back by nine.
One word per gap. Complete the negotiation.
— What Nazaré? — I like that idea. How are we there, though? — There is a bus. — That . To be honest, I rather not walk much on Saturday. we do the museum in the afternoon? — Good idea. We need to be on the ten o'clock bus back, though. — I check the times?
Twenty minutes, one plan
The longest speaking stretch of the unit.
Task card · Planning
The weekend trip, the €180, and all six constraints from Phase 02.
At the end there must be an actual plan: where, how, when, where you are staying, and who books what.
- Decide who has which constraint before you start. Do not both take the easy one.
- Every disagreement in three parts. Every constraint raised as a preference, with a way round it.
- Arrangements in the present continuous, intentions with going to, live decisions with will.
- Finish by dividing the jobs: Shall I…? and I will…
- Write the plan down at the end, in six lines. If you cannot, you have not finished.
Stop at ten minutes and answer. Then carry on.
1. Have you agreed where you are going?
2. Have both constraints been raised?
Read the plan back
Read your six-line plan out loud. Then check it against the six constraints, one at a time. Any constraint the plan breaks is a constraint somebody avoided raising.
Answer from the plan in front of you.
1. Does the plan meet all six constraints?
2. How many of your refusals had all three parts?
3. Which future form did you overuse?
Carry the log
One question.
1. What turns a constraint into something the plan can carry?
Before Lesson 6. Write down the two future-form errors you are most sure you made — from memory, without asking.
Lesson 6 compares your two with the log.