Both, Either or Neither?

Intermediate (B1) 25 minutes
ESL Both, Either and Neither Activity preview for Intermediate B1 showing prompts and classroom survey

ESL Both, Either and Neither Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice

In this both, either and neither speaking activity, students ask and answer questions to learn about their classmates' preferences using the conjunctions...

ESL Both, Either and Neither Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Controlled and Freer Practice In this both, either and neither speaking activity, students ask and answer questions to learn about their classmates' preferences using the conjunctions 'both', 'either' and 'neither'. First, students complete 'Find someone who...' prompts with both, either or neither. Students then go around the class asking the questions to their classmates, who respond accordingly using 'both', 'either' or 'neither' when appropriate. If a classmate answers with the corresponding conjunction that's in the question, the student writes down their name and asks a follow-up question to gain more information, noting down the answer in the last column. If not, the student moves on to speak to someone else or asks a different question. Afterwards, students give feedback to the class on what they found out.
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Hypothetical Bets

Intermediate (B1) 30 minutes
ESL Expressing Preferences Game preview for Intermediate B1 showing Would you rather... activity

ESL Expressing Preferences Game - Speaking: Writing, Asking and Answering Questions, Guessing - Pair Work

In this free expressing preferences game, students write hypothetical 'Would you...?' questions for a partner and guess which choices they would make. First, in groups, students write 'Would you...

ESL Expressing Preferences Game - Speaking: Writing, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Guessing - Pair Work In this free expressing preferences game, students write hypothetical 'Would you...?' questions for a partner and guess which choices they would make. First, in groups, students write 'Would you rather / choose / prefer...?' questions to ask a partner from prompts. Next, students pair up with someone from the other group. Working alone, students guess and underline what they think their partner's choice would be for each question. Students then take turns asking their partner the questions and reasons for their answers. Students put a tick for each answer they guessed correctly. The student with the most correct guesses wins the game.
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Would you rather...?

Intermediate (B1) 25 minutes
ESL Would You Rather Board Game preview for Intermediate B1 showing discussion and racing to agree

ESL Would You Rather Board Game - Speaking: Discussions, Responding to Questions, Giving Reasons - Group and Pair Work

In this intriguing expressing preferences board game, students discuss 'Would you rather...?' questions with a partner and race to make choices they agree on...

ESL Would You Rather Board Game - Speaking: Guided Discussions, Responding to Questions, Giving Reasons - Group and Pair Work In this intriguing expressing preferences board game, students discuss 'Would you rather...?' questions with a partner and race to make choices they agree on along with a justified reason for each answer. In groups, students take turns turning over a card and reading the 'Would you rather...?' question to the group, e.g. 'Would you rather own your own boat or your own plane?' The students in both teams then express their preferences, discuss the question with their partner, and race to make a choice they agree on along with a justified reason for their answer. The first team to make a choice and come up with a grammatically correct response, justifying their answer rolls the dice and moves their counter along the board. If a team makes a grammar mistake or comes up with an unjustified reason, the other team can steal the win by creating a suitable response of their own. The first team to reach the finish wins the game.
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I'd opt to...

Upper-intermediate (B2) 30 minutes
ESL Expressing Preferences Activity preview for Upper-intermediate B2 showing binary choice and justifying preferences

ESL Expressing Preferences Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Binary Choice, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work

This useful expressing preferences activity helps students practice language to express preferences and justify decisions. First, students underline the...

ESL Expressing Preferences Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Binary Choice, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work This useful expressing preferences activity helps students practice language to express preferences and justify decisions. First, students underline the correct words to complete phrases for expressing preferences and justifying decisions. Next, students take turns reading each situation to a partner and asking 'Would you rather / choose / prefer...?' questions about the given choices, e.g. 'Would you rather take a trip to the beach, the city, or the countryside?' Their partner listens to each question and then uses the language from the worksheet to make a choice and justify it. The other student then circles their partner's answer and notes down their justification. This continues until students have received their partner's answers for all four situations. Afterwards, students report back to the class on their partners' choices and justifications.
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Mastering Preference Phrases

Upper-intermediate (B2) 30 minutes
ESL Expressing Preferences Worksheet preview for Upper-intermediate B2 showing error correction and dialogue practice

ESL Expressing Preferences Worksheet - Reading and Vocabulary Exercises: Error Correction - Speaking Activity: Delivering a Dialogue, Freer Practice - Group Work

In this comprehensive expressing preferences worksheet, students practice ten phrases to express preferences. First, students read a dialogue and identify...

ESL Expressing Preferences Worksheet - Reading and Vocabulary Exercises: Error Correction - Speaking Activity: Delivering a Dialogue, Freer Practice - Group Work In this comprehensive expressing preferences worksheet, students practice ten phrases to express preferences. First, students read a dialogue and identify ten phrases for expressing a preference. Students then identify and correct errors in sentences containing the phrases. Next, students complete sentences that use the preference phrases with words from a box. After that, in groups of three, students read a situation and write an expressing preferences dialogue that includes all ten phrases practiced in the worksheet. Finally, groups present their dialogues to the class.
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Make Your Choice!

Upper-intermediate (B2) 25 minutes
ESL Expressing Preferences Game preview for Upper-intermediate B2 showing option cards and preference phrases

ESL Expressing Preferences Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Forming Sentences, Freer Practice - Pair Work

In this fun expressing preferences game, students practice phrases to express a preference between two options. In pairs, students take turns picking up an option card that shows two choices...

ESL Expressing Preferences Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Forming Sentences from Prompts, Freer Practice - Pair Work In this fun expressing preferences game, students practice phrases to express a preference between two options. In pairs, students take turns picking up an option card that shows two choices while their partner picks up a phrase card. Their partner then reads the phrase in bold on their card, and the student tries to make a sentence expressing a preference between the two options using the phrase. For example, if the option card shows 'Texting or calling?' and the expression is 'I like...', they should say, 'I like texting more than calling.' Their partner then checks the sentence uses the correct structure by looking at their card. If it does, the student wins the option card. The student with the most option cards at the end of the game wins.
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Rank and Defend

Upper-intermediate (B2) 40 minutes
ESL Expressing Preferences Activity preview for Upper-intermediate B2 showing ranking, presenting, discussion, freer and communicative practice

ESL Expressing Preferences Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Ranking, Presenting, Discussion, Freer and Communicative Practice - Group Work

In this free expressing preferences activity, students rank everyday options by category, present and justify their top choices with target phrases, and respond...

ESL Expressing Preferences Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Ranking, Presenting, Discussion, Freer and Communicative Practice - Group Work In this free expressing preferences activity, students rank everyday options by category, present and justify their top choices with target phrases, and respond to questions or challenges from classmates. In groups, students take turns picking up a card, reading the category and items aloud, and placing the card face up on the table. Starting with the student who drew the card, students present their top three choices in turn, using at least two target phrases from a language support card and giving short reasons. After each turn, the other students ask one follow-up question or give a polite challenge. When all the students have had their turn, the group agrees on a shared top three list and writes it on the back of the card. The next student then picks up a category card, and so on. At the end of the activity, each group briefly presents and defends their shared top three list for one category, using at least two target phrases. After each presentation, the class votes on whether they agree with the list.
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Would Rather and Would Prefer

Upper-intermediate (B2) 25 minutes
ESL Would Rather and Would Prefer Board Game preview for Upper-intermediate B2 showing sentence reformulation and freer practice

ESL Would Rather and Would Prefer Board Game - Grammar: Reforming Sentences, Freer practice - Group Work

In this productive would rather and would prefer board game, students practice reforming sentences and questions with 'would rather' and 'would prefer'. One student begins by picking up a...

ESL Would Rather and Would Prefer Board Game - Grammar: Reforming Sentences, Freer practice - Group Work In this productive would rather and would prefer board game, students practice reforming sentences and questions with 'would rather' and 'would prefer'. One student begins by picking up a card and reading the sentence or question on the card to the first player along with a 'would rather' or 'would prefer' prompt, e.g. 'Do you want to take a break now or later? (would rather)' The player then tries to reformulate the sentence or question using 'would rather' or 'would prefer' as indicated, e.g. 'Would you rather take a break now or later?' If the player does this successfully, they roll the dice and move their counter along the board. If the prompt ends with because, the player completes the sentence with their own ideas. This process is repeated with the next player, and so on. The first player to reach the finish wins the game.
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Using Phrases for Expressing Preferences

Preference phrases in English give students the language they need to say which option, activity, or situation they like more than another, using expressions such as 'I'd rather,' 'I'd prefer,' or 'I like... more than...' Students who only know one or two of these expressions can get their meaning across, but they come across as repetitive and limited, while a broader set of phrases lets them say the same thing with more natural variation and a better match to the situation.

This page covers expressing preferences at B1 and B2 level, with eight activities including a mingle, a board game, and a ranking group discussion, with two available as free downloads.

When to Use Phrases for Expressing Preferences

Softening a Refusal: A speaker reaches for 'I'd rather not' or 'I'd prefer not to' when they want to decline a suggestion without sounding blunt or dismissive, as in 'I'd rather not meet on Fridays if we can avoid it.'

Choosing Between Alternatives: When someone offers two or more options, preference phrases let the listener respond clearly and naturally without simply saying yes or no, as in 'I'd choose the morning slot over the afternoon, if that works for everyone.'

Explaining Personal Reasoning: A writer or speaker uses preference phrases when they want to show that a choice comes from their own thinking rather than habit or default, as in 'I tend to prefer remote work because I concentrate better without interruptions.'

3-Step Framework for Teaching Preferences

1. Get Students Talking From the Start: Open with a mingle that gets students using 'both', 'either', and 'neither' to talk about their own preferences straight away. Students complete 'Find someone who...' prompts using those three words, then move around the class asking questions. When a classmate's answer matches the conjunction in the question, the student notes down their name and asks a follow-up question to find out more, recording the extra detail in a final column. Everyone stays on their feet and talking throughout.

2. Build Accuracy With the Key Phrases: Move to a board game that pushes students to swap between two key preference expressions accurately. A caller reads a sentence to a player along with a prompt, for example 'Do you want to take a break now or later? (would rather)', and the player must restate it using the right expression to roll the dice and move. The competitive format means students get plenty of repeated exposure to both expressions without the activity feeling like a drill.

3. Push Students to Defend Their Choices: Finish with a freer group activity where students rank everyday options by category, then present their top choices to the group using target preference phrases. After each student presents, the others ask one follow-up question or give a polite challenge, which means every student has to do more than just state a preference — they have to defend it too. Groups then agree on a shared top-three list and present it to the class for a final vote.

Common Mistakes with Expressing Preferences

Adding 'to' After 'Would Rather': Students often add 'to' after 'would rather' because they confuse it with 'would prefer to,' which does take the infinitive with 'to.' Wrong: 'I would rather to stay at home tonight.' Correct: 'I would rather stay at home tonight.'

Using 'Than' Instead of 'To' After 'Would Prefer': Students often write 'would prefer... than' when comparing two options, borrowing the pattern from comparative adjectives instead of using the correct preposition. Wrong: 'I would prefer staying at home than going out.' Correct: 'I would prefer staying at home to going out.'

Common Questions About Teaching Preferences

What is a fun game for practicing expressing preferences?

Make Your Choice! is a game that gets students using preference phrases from the start. One student picks up a phrase card and reads the expression in bold while their partner picks up an option card showing two choices, such as 'Texting or calling?', and uses that phrase to say which they prefer. Correct sentences win the option card.

What is a useful worksheet for teaching expressing preferences?

Mastering Preference Phrases is a worksheet that gives students ten expressions for stating a preference and puts all of them to immediate use. Groups of three read a situation and write a dialogue that includes all ten phrases, then perform it for the class. Students leave the lesson with a full set of phrases they have actually used.

What is an engaging activity for practicing expressing preferences?

The activity I'd opt to... builds from accuracy to fluency. Students first underline the correct words to complete a set of preference phrases, then put those phrases straight to use, taking turns reading a situation and asking 'Would you rather / choose / prefer...?' questions about the given choices while their partner makes a selection and justifies it.

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