An upper-level unit for a technical director: how to talk about plans that depend on conditions. Provided that, as long as, unless and on condition that turn a vague promise into a clear agreement, which is exactly what you need when supply is tight and partners are negotiating.

Level: B2 (upper intermediate) · Focus: Provided that, as long as, unless: resource scarcity, supply constraints and partnerships

What we covered

• Vocabulary for resources and partnerships: scarcity, bottleneck, lead time, strategic partner, exclusivity
• Future possible conditionals with parameters: provided that, as long as, unless, on condition that, in case
• A short landing deck to open the class and a separate vocabulary deck
• Negotiation games where every offer must include a condition

How it went in class

The learner already used “if” for everything, so the goal was range. Each time he made an offer in the negotiation game, he had to use a different condition word, and the game only ended when all five had appeared. Unless was the hardest; learners often add a negative (“unless we don’t…”), so we contrasted it directly with if not.

Free downloads

• Student worksheet (PDF)
• Main deck: Provided That We Secure the Supply (PowerPoint)
• Landing deck (PowerPoint)
• Vocabulary deck: Resources & Partnerships (PowerPoint)
• Grammar deck: Future Possible Conditionals (PowerPoint)

Free to print and use with your own learners. Please share a link to this page rather than the files themselves.

Want the rest of the course? This is unit 78% of my Business English course, part of the Advanced pack (units 76–90%). Student Edition packs start at $19 and the Teacher Edition (with every answer key) at $39. See the packs.

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