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Negotiating a Deal: first and second conditionals for offers and counter-offers

In this B2 Business English lesson plan, first and second conditionals for negotiating separate firm offers from ideas that promise nothing.

Grammar
The first conditional for firm offers (If you sign today, we'll include training.), the second for testing ideas (If we paid sooner, would you…?), plus unless and If I were you.
Topic
A two-year supply contract with a hotel group in Rotterdam, with words such as counter-offer, meet someone halfway, sticking point and strike a deal.
Activities
A negotiation plan, the talks to hear, self-checking drills, a client's follow-up chat, buyer and seller role-plays in boxes, then an email confirming the terms and three recorded offers.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: Everything Is Negotiable

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and discussSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the vocabulary: negotiatingVocabularyTry it
    • Match the phrases to the situationsMatchUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Reading: Jess's Game Plan

    • Read Jess's negotiation planReal-life documentTry it
    • True or false? Check Jess's planTrue or falseUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: the planQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Listening: Shall We Shake on It?

    • Listen to Jess and Lukas in RotterdamListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: the negotiationQuizUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: If You Sign Today…

    • Study the scheme: first and second conditionalsGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct option: a real offer or just an idea?Choose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use will or would in the main clauseFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: firm offers and tentative ideasFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: what does it mean?QuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Speaking: Your Move

    • Choose the best replyChatTry it
    • Open a box and role-playOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework: Put It in Writing

    • Choose the correct option: offers, ideas and adviceChoose the optionUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: negotiation phrases and their meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Write an email confirming the agreed termsWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record three conditional offersSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

21 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Negotiation vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • meet someone halfway
  • a sticking point
  • bottom line
  • walk away
  • a volume discount
  • lock in a price
  • strike a deal

Grammar: first and second conditionals in a negotiation

Across a negotiating table, the verb form tells the other side how serious an offer is. Learners keep the first conditional for offers they mean and the second for ideas they're only testing, then add unless, If I were you and the rules for the if-part.

First and second conditionals in a negotiation

A firm offer or just an idea? The verb forms tell the other side.

First conditional: an offer you mean

If + present simple, then will, can or may + verb: If you sign for two years, we'll include free training. The condition is real and likely, so only make an offer you're ready to keep.

If + present simplewill / can / may + verb

If you sign for two years, we'll include free training.

If Kade orders two tons a month, we can go down to €21.50.

Second conditional: an idea, not a promise

If + past simple, then would, could or might + verb: If we paid within 30 days, would you lower the price? The past form doesn't mean past time here; it makes the idea sound less committed, so it tests the water and promises nothing.

Second conditional: an idea, not a promise

If + past simplewould / could / might + verb

If we paid within 30 days, would you lower the price?

If you came down to €19, we'd sign today.

In a negotiation

The second conditional sounds less committed: "If we paid faster, would you lower the price?" tests an idea and promises nothing. When you're ready to promise, switch to the first conditional: "If you sign today, we'll include training."

Real or imaginary?

The second conditional also covers what isn't true now: If we had a bigger budget, we'd order more. (We don't.) In the main clause, will becomes would, can becomes could and may becomes might.

Real or hypothetical?

First: real and likely, and you mean it

  • If you agree to 45 days, we'll sign today.
  • If the market falls, we'll talk about it at the next review.
  • Unless the price is fixed for six months, Lukas won't sign.

Second: imaginary, unlikely, or just testing an idea

  • If we had a bigger budget, we'd order more. (We don't.)
  • If I were you, I'd take the two-year deal. (advice)
  • If we offered free training, would you accept €21? (no promise yet)

will or would, can or could, may or might

MeaningFirst conditionalSecond conditional
a sure resultwe will include trainingwe would include training
it's possible, we're able towe can lower the pricewe could lower the price
perhapsLukas may say yesLukas might say yes

Unless, If I were you, and the comma

Unless means if … not, so it takes no second not: Unless you order 2 tons a month, we can't offer €21. If I were you, I'd… gives advice. The if-part can come first, with a comma, or second, with none.

  • unless = if … not: Unless we meet in the middle, we'll be here all night. (= If we don't meet in the middle, …)
  • In the second conditional, can becomes could: If you could start next month, we'd sign today.
  • If I were you, I'd … gives advice. In formal English, use were for every person: if he were, if it were. Was is common in informal speech.
  • The if-part can come first (with a comma) or second (no comma): We'll include training if you sign today.

Typical mistakes

  • If the samples will arrive on Friday, I'll call you.

    If the samples arrive on Friday, I'll call you.

    No will in the if-part: use the present simple.

  • If we would sign for two years, would you lower the price?

    If we signed for two years, would you lower the price?

    No would in the if-part: use the past simple.

  • If you signed today, we'll include training.

    If you sign today, we'll include training.

    Don't mix the forms: present + will, past + would.

  • Unless you don't order 2 tons a month, we can't offer €21.

    Unless you order 2 tons a month, we can't offer €21.

    Unless already means if … not.

More lessons on this grammar: Zero and first conditional lessons and exercises · Second conditional lessons and exercises

Try the first and second conditionals exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

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What's in the lesson

  • 10 auto-checked exercises
  • 3 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 1 audio clip
  • 1 picture
  • 1 transcript

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • make a firm offer with the first conditional: If you sign for two years, we'll include free training.
  • test an idea without promising anything, with the second conditional: If we paid within 30 days, would you lower the price?
  • keep will and would out of the if-part, and use unless and If I were you: Unless we meet in the middle, we'll be here all night.
  • trade concessions to reach a deal, then confirm the agreed price, volume, contract length, payment and extras in an email

Lesson 8 closes the unit Meetings and figures in Business English B2 · A Year at Wrenfield: after scheduling, figures and a meeting comes a negotiation. It builds on the first conditional of English A2.2 lesson 15 and on lesson 5's rule of no will after when, which holds after if too; lesson 17 takes conditionals into the past with the third and mixed forms. With a price per kilo at stake, will or would decides whether the other side hears a promise.

The warm-up wheel asks how students feel about bargaining and bluffing, and ten word cards with pictures and audio run from an opening offer to strike a deal. Jess's negotiation plan sets out her opening position, her limits and what she can offer; the AI-voiced listening then follows the talks in Rotterdam, offer by counter-offer, until both sides shake on it.

Four checked exercises follow the scheme, among them a table that turns firm offers into tentative ideas. In the chat, students answer the client's follow-up questions by message, and boxes deal out buyer and seller role-plays over office desks, cleaning contracts and software licenses. For homework, a conditional drill and a memory game check themselves; an email confirming agreed terms and three recorded offers go to the teacher.

Grammar:
first conditional · second conditional · unless · If I were you
Topic:
negotiation · contracts · offers and counter-offers

Teaching tips

  • Pair the open-box cards: give the seller and the buyer of the 40 desks to two students, so they negotiate one deal from both sides and must agree terms or walk away.
  • Stop the listening at each offer and ask whether it's firm or a test: If you came down to nineteen, we'd sign today tests; if you agree to twenty-one, we'll train your staff for free commits.
  • Use Jess's plan as a template before a real negotiation: in-company learners fill in what they know, their opening position, their limits and what they can offer.
  • Ban will after if during the role-plays: anyone who says If you will sign… must make one small concession to the other side.

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The whole course: Business English B2 · A Year at Wrenfield

20 lessons at B2 in American English that follow a year at Wrenfield Coffee Roasters in Portland, Oregon, as founder Claire Morgan and her team win a Dutch hotel contract. Learners network, write emails, run meetings, negotiate, handle complaints and present figures, with one grammar point per lesson.See the course

  1. Unit 1 First contacts

    networking, a company story, a business lunch and emails: present tenses, the present perfect, question tags, indirect questions

    1. Lesson 1Making ContactsPresent simple and present continuous at work
    2. Lesson 2Our Story: From Cart to RoasteryPresent perfect and past simple for company history
    3. Lesson 3The Business LunchQuestion tags and short answers
    4. Lesson 4Emails That Get AnswersIndirect questions and polite requests

  2. Unit 2 Meetings and figures

    scheduling, sales figures, running a meeting and negotiating: future forms, trends, gerunds and infinitives, conditionals

    1. Lesson 5Setting Up MeetingsFuture forms for meetings and schedules
    2. Lesson 6The Monthly FiguresDescribing trends
    3. Lesson 7Running a MeetingGerunds and infinitives in meetings
    4. Lesson 8 · you're hereNegotiating a DealFirst and second conditionals in a negotiation

  3. Unit 3 Problems and growth

    a complaint, a late shipment, a launch and hiring: the present perfect continuous, the passive, comparatives, relative clauses

    1. Lesson 9Handling a ComplaintPresent perfect simple vs continuous
    2. Lesson 10The Late ShipmentThe passive in all tenses
    3. Lesson 11Launching a ProductComparatives and superlatives with modifiers
    4. Lesson 12Hiring the Right PersonDefining and non-defining relative clauses

  4. Unit 4 Reports, prices and feedback

    reporting back, explaining prices, expenses and feedback: reported speech, linking words, modals of obligation, past modals

    1. Lesson 13Reporting BackSay vs tell in reported speech
    2. Lesson 14Explaining PricesLinking words of contrast, cause and result
    3. Lesson 15Travel and Expenses: Can I Claim That?Modals of obligation, prohibition and permission
    4. Lesson 16Giving FeedbackShould have, could have and didn't need to

  5. Unit 5 Looking back and ahead

    what went wrong, other cultures, an agency and next year: the third and mixed conditionals, past deduction, the causative, the future perfect

    1. Lesson 17What Went WrongThird and mixed conditionals
    2. Lesson 18Working Across CulturesModals of deduction, present and past
    3. Lesson 19Working with an AgencyCausative have and get
    4. Lesson 20The Road AheadFuture continuous and future perfect

Questions about this lesson

What's the difference between the first and second conditional?
The first conditional is for real, likely situations; the second for imaginary or unlikely ones. First: if + present simple, will + verb (If you sign for two years, we'll include free training). Second: if + past simple, would + verb (If we had a bigger budget, we'd order more). In a negotiation, the second also tests an idea without promising: If we paid sooner, would you lower the price?
What are useful negotiation phrases in English?
Useful negotiation phrases tie every concession to something in return: If you sign for two years, I can go down to €21.50. To test an idea, ask What if we said twenty? To refuse politely, say Twenty is too low for us, honestly. To close, try Forty-five it is or Shall we shake on it? The B2 lesson Negotiating a Deal on edio.ai lets students hear all of these in one negotiation.
Is it "If I were you" or "If I was you"?
If I were you is the standard form for giving advice: If I were you, I'd take the two-year deal. In the second conditional, formal English uses were for every person (if he were, if it were), and was is common in informal speech. The other half of the sentence takes would + verb: If I were you, I'd ask for a discount.
Is it "if you will sign" or "if you sign"?
It's if you sign, with no will after if: If you sign today, we'll include training. The second conditional has the same rule for would: If we signed for two years…, not If we would sign… And don't mix the two patterns: If you signed today, we'll… is wrong. A trap reply in the chat of Negotiating a Deal, a B2 lesson on edio.ai, says If anything will come up.
What is a counter-offer?
A counter-offer is a different proposal made in reply to an offer: a seller asks €22.50 a kilo, and the buyer answers Still, my budget says nineteen. Each side then moves a little, often with a condition attached: If you sign for two years, I can go down to €21.50. In American English it's often written as one word, counteroffer, and the verb is counter: They countered with €20.
What does "meet someone halfway" mean?
To meet someone halfway is to accept a compromise between two positions: one side wants 60 days to pay, the other offers 30, and they settle on 45. Meet in the middle means the same: Unless we meet in the middle, we'll be here all night. It signals a concession while asking for one back. Negotiating a Deal, a B2 Business English lesson on edio.ai, settles its payment terms exactly this way.
What is a sticking point in a negotiation?
A sticking point is an issue that stops the two sides from agreeing, even when the rest is settled: The price is agreed, but delivery dates are still a sticking point. Conditionals help to move past one, either by testing an idea (What if we fixed the price for six months?) or by making a firm offer: If you accept 45 days, we'll sign today.
What does "strike a deal" mean?
To strike a deal is to reach an agreement, often after long talks: They struck a deal at €21 a kilo. The past form is struck. A handshake often marks the moment (Shall we shake on it?), and the opposite is to walk away, leaving with no deal. In the listening of Negotiating a Deal on edio.ai, students hear a deal struck, from the first price to the handshake.
How do I teach conditionals for negotiating to adults?
Give each conditional a job at the table: the first for offers you'll keep, the second for ideas you're testing. Then role-play with cards: a seller lowers a price only in return for something (If you…, we'll…), while a buyer tests ideas without promising (If we ordered…, would you…?). This lesson's open boxes hold such role-plays, from office desks to software licenses.
What's good homework for practicing conditionals in business English?
Good homework is an email that confirms the agreed terms and uses at least two conditionals: If you have any questions, I'll call you. If you could send the list of managers, we would plan the training. Listing price, volume, contract length, payment and extras keeps it exact. In Negotiating a Deal on edio.ai, a drill on offers, ideas and advice and a memory game check themselves; the email and three recorded offers go to the teacher.
Are there interactive exercises for first and second conditionals?
Yes: gap-fills that switch between will and would, and chats where the wrong form is a trap. Without an account, this page plays four parts of Negotiating a Deal, a B2 Business English lesson on edio.ai: Jess's negotiation plan, her talks with a hotel group's buyer in Rotterdam, a gap-fill on will or would in the main clause, and a chat answering the client's questions the next day. The other exercises are locked.
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