Count on Me!

Pre-intermediate (A2) 25 minutes
ESL Making Promises and Offers Game preview for Pre-intermediate A2. Students respond to statements by making promises or offers using will, won't, or Shall I...?

ESL Making Promises and Offers Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Forming Sentences, Communicative Practice

In this free making promises and offers game, students race to respond to statements by making promises with 'will' or 'won't' or offers with 'will' or 'Shall I...?' In groups, students take turns picking up a card...

ESL Making Promises and Offers Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Forming Sentences from Prompts, Communicative Practice In this free making promises and offers game, students race to respond to statements by making promises with 'will' or 'won't' or offers with 'will' or 'Shall I...?' In groups, students take turns picking up a card and reading the statement on the card to the group, e.g. 'I need to go to the airport.' The other students listen and then race to respond with a promise to do something with 'will' or 'won't' or offers with 'will' or 'Shall I...?' The first student to make an appropriate promise or offer wins and keeps the card, e.g. 'Shall I call you a taxi?' The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. Afterwards, students repeat the game, but this time, each student responds with a funny or imaginative response, and the reader gives the card to the student who gave the funniest or most imaginative promise or offer, e.g. 'I'll take you there in my Ferrari.'

Helpful Dominoes

Pre-intermediate (A2) 20 minutes
ESL Making Offers Game preview for Pre-intermediate A2. Students play dominoes matching statements to offers of help using will.

ESL Making Offers Game - Vocabulary: Matching - Group Work

In this enjoyable making offers game, students play dominoes by matching statements to offers of help with will and vice versa. The first player puts a domino down either before or after the domino on the table, making sure the statement or question...

ESL Making Offers Game - Vocabulary: Matching - Group Work In this enjoyable making offers game, students play dominoes by matching statements to offers of help with 'will' and vice versa. The first player puts a domino down either before or after the domino on the table, making sure the statement or question matches with an appropriate offer. The other players then take turns matching their dominoes in the same way by putting them down at either end of the domino chain. The first player to get rid of all their dominoes wins the game.

Offer it up

Pre-intermediate (A2) 25 minutes
ESL Will and Shall Game preview for Pre-intermediate A2. Students guess missing words in offers using will or shall.

ESL Will and Shall Game - Vocabulary: Guessing - Pair Work

In this engaging making offers game, students guess missing words in sentences and questions that make offers with 'will' or 'shall'. In pairs, students take turns guessing missing words in offers and reading the complete sentence or question to...

ESL Will and Shall Game - Vocabulary: Guessing - Pair Work In this engaging making offers game, students guess missing words in sentences and questions that make offers with 'will' or 'shall'. In pairs, students take turns guessing missing words in offers and reading the complete sentence or question to their partner, who tells them if they are right or wrong. The missing words in each offer are 'will' or 'shall' and a verb. Students get three chances to guess the missing words and must say the exact sentence their partner has on their worksheet to win. If a student guesses correctly the first time, they score three points. On the second try, they score two points, and so on. When a student correctly guesses the missing words, they write them on their worksheet. The student with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.

Offers and Promises

Pre-intermediate (A2) 25 minutes
ESL Offers and Promises Activity preview for Pre-intermediate A2. Students match and form sentences using offers and promises with will, won't, or shall.

ESL Offers and Promises Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Matching, Forming Sentences, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work

In this productive making offers and promises activity, students respond to statements by making offers with 'will' or 'shall' or promises with 'will' or 'won't'. In pairs...

ESL Offers and Promises Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Matching, Forming Sentences from Prompts, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work In this productive making offers and promises activity, students respond to statements by making offers with 'will' or 'shall' or promises with 'will' or 'won't'. In pairs, Student A starts by reading the first statement to their partner, who looks at words in a box on their worksheet and replies by making an offer or promise, adding any necessary pronouns or other words to make the response complete. If students see a question mark next to a suitable word in the box, they reply using 'Shall I...?' If there is no question mark, then students reply with 'I'll...' or 'I won't...' as appropriate. If Student B's offer or promise is the same as what's written on Student A's worksheet, they write the offer or promise down. If not, Student B tries again until they get it right. Student A then reads the next statement, and so on, until all the offers and promises have been made correctly. Afterwards, students swap roles and repeat the activity.

Would you like...?

Pre-intermediate (A2) 25 minutes
ESL Would You Like Game preview for Pre-intermediate A2. Students practice making offers with Would you like...?, Would you like to...?, or Would you like me to...?

ESL Would You Like Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Forming Questions, Freer Practice - Group Work

In this rewarding making offers game, students practice making offers in various situations using different forms of 'Would you like...?' In pairs, students take turns turning over two cards. If one card...

ESL Would You Like Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Forming Questions from Prompts, Freer Practice - Group Work In this rewarding making offers game, students practice making offers in various situations using different forms of 'Would you like...?' In pairs, students take turns turning over two cards. If one card shows a situation and the other contains an offer that matches the situation, the student makes an offer with 'Would you like...?', 'Would you like to...?' or 'Would you like me to...?', depending on the context. Their partner listens and decides whether the offer is both grammatically correct and appropriate. If it is, the student keeps the cards and has another turn. If not, the student turns the cards back over, keeping them in the same place, and play passes to the other student. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. Afterwards, pairs sort the situation and offer cards into groups based on the different 'Would you like...?' structures.

On the Spot

Intermediate (B1) 25 minutes
ESL Offers and Promises Game preview for Intermediate B1. Students race to make offers or promises for different situations, using will, won't, or shall.

ESL Offers and Promises Game - Speaking: Forming Sentences and Questions, Communicative Practice - Group Work

In this fun making offers and promises game, students race against one another to make offers or promises for certain situations. In groups, students take turns picking up a card, reading the situation on the...

ESL Offers and Promises Game - Speaking: Forming Sentences and Questions from Prompts, Communicative Practice - Group Work In this fun making offers and promises game, students race against one another to make offers or promises for certain situations. In groups, students take turns picking up a card, reading the situation on the card and telling the group to make an offer or promise. The other students listen and race to come up with a suitable offer with 'will' or 'shall' or a promise with 'will' or 'won't' for the situation. The first student to make an appropriate offer or promise to the reader wins and keeps the card. If the reader thinks an offer or promise given by a student is inappropriate or grammatically incorrect, they are out of the round, and the other students race to respond. The student with the most cards at the end of the game is the winner.

Using Offers and Promises Language

Offers and promises in English both use 'will', but they work in different communicative situations: an offer responds to someone else's need ('Shall I carry that for you?'), while a promise commits the speaker to a future action ('I'll call you tomorrow, I promise'). Learners who treat 'will' as a simple future marker often miss these distinctions and produce responses that are grammatically correct but communicatively wrong, for example reaching for a promise structure when the situation calls for an offer.

This page covers making offers and promises at A2 and B1 levels, with six resources including games, a dominoes matching activity, and a structured pair activity, plus one free download.

This table maps the key structures and typical phrases used when making offers and promises in everyday English.

FunctionStructureExample Phrase
Offering to do something for someone 'Shall I' + verb 'Shall I open the window?'
Offering to do something for someone 'I'll' + verb 'I'll help you with that.'
Offering something to someone 'Would you like' + noun 'Would you like a cup of tea?'
Offering to do something for someone 'Would you like me to' + verb 'Would you like me to call a taxi?'
Offering to do something with someone 'Would you like to' + verb 'Would you like to join us for lunch?'
Making a positive promise 'I'll' + verb 'I'll finish it before the deadline.'
Making a negative promise 'I won't' + verb 'I won't tell anyone, I promise.'
Accepting an offer 'Yes, please' / 'That would be great' 'Yes, please. That would be really helpful.'
Declining an offer 'No, thank you' 'No, thank you. I can manage.'

When to Use Offers and Promises Language

Responding to Someone in Difficulty: When someone mentions a problem or need in conversation, an offer is the natural response in English rather than a statement of intention, as in 'Shall I give you a hand with that?' rather than 'I will help you.'

Committing to a Social Agreement: When confirming plans or reassuring someone after a disagreement, a promise with 'will' or 'won't' signals a firm personal commitment rather than a simple statement of fact, as in 'I won't be late this time, I promise.'

Offering Something in a Service Context: When working in a customer-facing role or hosting a guest, 'Would you like...?' is the standard English structure for making polite offers, since it invites a yes or no response without pressure, as in 'Would you like me to bring you another one?'

3-Step Framework for Teaching Offers and Promises

1. Show the Cue System: Before students can produce offers and promises spontaneously, they need to understand what triggers each structure. A pair activity where students read statements and form responses using words from a box, with a question mark in the box signalling 'Shall I...?' and no question mark signalling 'I'll...' or 'I won't...', makes the decision logic visible and gives learners a clear rule to work from.

2. Consolidate Through Matching: Once learners know the structures, a dominoes game that requires them to match statements to appropriate offers of help builds fluency with the statement-to-offer connection before any freer production begins. Students place tiles at either end of a growing domino chain, so every turn involves reading the whole context before committing to a match.

3. Race to Respond: With the structures in place, a race game pushes students to produce offers and promises under communicative pressure. After the first round, the game shifts gear: students compete to give the funniest or most imaginative response to each situation, with the reader awarding the card to whichever student produces the best one, for example 'I'll take you there in my Ferrari.'

Common Mistakes with Making Offers and Promises

Making an Offer Without Giving the Other Person a Choice: Students often announce an offer as a statement rather than framing it as a question, which can sound presumptuous in English because it does not give the other person a chance to accept or decline. Wrong: 'I'll carry your bags.' Correct: 'Would you like me to carry your bags?'

Treating 'Would you like...?' as a Preference Question: Students often respond to 'Would you like...?' as a question about general preferences rather than a present offer, producing an answer about liking rather than accepting or declining. Wrong: 'Yes, I like coffee.' Correct: 'Yes, please.'

Common Questions About Teaching Offers and Promises Language

What is a fun game for practicing offers and promises?

The game Count on Me! has two rounds. In the first, students race to respond to statements with a correct offer or promise using 'will', 'won't', or 'Shall I...?' In the second, they compete to give the funniest response, for example 'I'll take you there in my Ferrari', and the reader awards the card to the winner.

What is an engaging activity for practicing 'Would you like' offers?

In the activity Would you like...?, students take turns turning over two cards. When a situation card matches an offer card, they must produce the correct form of 'Would you like...?', 'Would you like to...?', or 'Would you like me to...?' Their partner judges whether the offer is grammatically correct and appropriate before they can keep the cards.

What is a useful game for practicing offers with 'will' and 'shall'?

Accuracy is built into the game Offer it up through a points system: students guess the missing 'will' or 'shall' plus verb in offer sentences and must say the exact sentence on their partner's worksheet to score. A correct first guess earns three points, a second-try guess earns two.

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