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A college that says yes: provided that, on condition that, assuming, otherwise

This B2 ESL lesson plan teaches provided that, providing and on condition that through Joliet Junior College in Illinois, which says it was America's first public community college.

Grammar
Provided (that), providing and on condition that for “only if,” then assuming and otherwise, with a present tense for the future: provided that you apply, not you will apply.
Topic
How six students began college inside a high school in 1901, as most sources count, with words such as credit, sophomore and prerequisite.
Activities
An explainer, an admissions office visit and a mother's voice memo, self-checking drills, a chat, a model talk and a wheel for presenting a school of the future.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: who gets a yes?

    • PictureUnlock
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock
    • Study the words: a college near homeVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: six students and a principal

    • Look at the picture: a high school from around 1900PictureUnlock
    • Read Harper's explainer on The Why DeskArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Match the paragraphs and the headingsMatchUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: should everyone start here?

    • Listen to Harper and Wilbert in a college admissions officeListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Reader's Rebuttal: Sybil's voice memoListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: provided that you show up

    • Study the scheme: provided that, otherwiseGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the present simple of the verbs in bracketsFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: the condition and the resultFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: what does it mean?QuizUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: a school that never closes

    • Choose the right replies: help Karen plan her talkChatTry it
    • Put the parts of Karen's talk in the correct orderDrag and dropUnlock
    • Sort the parts of Karen's talk into the correct columnsSort into columnsUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: your own talkChoose the optionUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answer: present a school of the futureSpin the wheelUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Sort the sentences into the correct columns: correct or wrong?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct order: new sentencesUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Sheldon's talkChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Harper answers SybilDrag and dropUnlock

35 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.

Vocabulary

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

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • credit
  • associate degree
  • sophomore
  • prerequisite
  • placement test
  • general education
  • working-class
  • within easy reach
  • stepping stone

Grammar: conditional linkers: provided that, on condition that, assuming, otherwise

If, unless and as long as aren't the only ways to set a condition. Provided that and on condition that mean “only if,” assuming supposes that something is true, and otherwise means “if not.” A college admissions office runs on such rules. Learners use a present tense in the condition and put otherwise after the sentence it looks back at.

provided that, on condition that, assuming, otherwise

You know if, unless and as long as. These linkers give a condition too, and otherwise means “if not”.

Four linkers, four meanings

Provided (that) and providing (that) mean “only if,” like as long as. On condition that is more formal, for a rule or a deal. Assuming (that) means “if we suppose this is true”: Assuming the test goes well, you'll take chemistry right away.

LinkerWhat it meansExample
provided (that) / providing (that)only if this happens (like as long as)You can start in January provided that you take the placement test.
on condition thatonly if: a rule or a deal (more formal)You can take a tassel on condition that you read the instructions.
assuming (that)if we suppose that this is trueAssuming the test goes well, you can take chemistry right away.
otherwiseif not: what happens if the sentence before doesn'tChoose your school early. Otherwise, some credits might not count.

A present tense, not will

The condition takes a present tense for a future event: Provided that she passes the test, she'll start in January. Leave will and would out of the condition: provided that you apply by December, not you will apply; on condition that you pass, not you would pass.

Every person: provided that + a present tense, not will

PersonThe condition (a present tense)The result
IProvided that I pass the test,I'll start in January.
youProvided that you pass the test,you'll start in January.
heProvided that he passes the test,he'll start in January.
sheProvided that she passes the test,she'll start in January.
it (the class)Provided that it has ten students,it'll run at night.
weProvided that we plan ahead,our credits will transfer.
theyProvided that they plan ahead,their credits will transfer.

Common mistakes

  • You can start in January provided that you will apply by December.

    You can start in January provided that you apply by December.

    after provided that: a present tense, not will

  • You can take Chemistry 2 on condition that you would pass Chemistry 1.

    You can take Chemistry 2 on condition that you pass Chemistry 1.

    a present tense for the future, not would

  • Assuming of the test goes well, you'll start in January.

    Assuming the test goes well, you'll start in January.

    assuming and providing + a clause: no of, no to

  • Otherwise you plan ahead, your credits will transfer.

    Plan ahead. Otherwise, some credits won't transfer.

    otherwise means “if not” and comes after the sentence it looks back at

First or second, with no to or of

The condition can come first, followed by a comma, or second: Your credits will transfer providing you plan ahead. That can be dropped after provided, providing and assuming, but most people keep it in on condition that. Never add to or of: not assuming of.

First or second, and nothing in between

The condition can come first (then a comma) or second: Provided that you plan ahead, your credits will transfer. Your credits will transfer provided that you plan ahead. You can drop “that” after provided, providing, assuming and on condition, but most people keep it in on condition that. Never add to or of: not “providing to you plan” or “assuming of the test goes well”.

Otherwise looks back

Otherwise means “if not.” It follows the sentence it refers to and introduces the result: Choose your school early. Otherwise, some credits might not count. It can't do the job of if: not Otherwise you plan ahead, your credits will transfer.

Otherwise is not if

Otherwise means “if not”. It looks back at the sentence before and starts a new sentence (or comes after a semicolon), then gives a result with will, might or would: Read the form first. Otherwise, you'll miss a box. My college has night classes. Otherwise, I'd still be dreaming about a degree. Never use it like if: not “Otherwise you plan ahead, your credits…”

Suppose, and conditions in a past story

To imagine a plan, start with Suppose or Supposing + a past form, then ask with would: Suppose you designed a school. Would it be open after dark? In a story about the past, the condition moves back: Michigan would give credit provided that Joliet certified the work.

Suppose / supposing: imagined plans

To imagine a plan, start with Suppose or Supposing, use a past form, then ask with would: Suppose you designed a school of the future. Would it be open after dark? Supposing every senior could try one semester here, would you still say no?

In a story about the past

When you tell the past, the condition moves back too: Michigan would give credit provided that Joliet certified the work. Graduates could study free on condition that they had finished high school.

At the admissions office

  • You can start in January provided that you take the placement test.
  • Your credits will transfer providing you plan ahead.
  • You can take a tassel on condition that you read the instructions.
  • Assuming the test goes well, you'll take chemistry right away.
  • Choose your school early. Otherwise, some credits might not count.
  • Suppose you designed a school. Would it be open after dark?

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

Try the provided that exercises

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

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 21 auto-checked exercises
  • 5 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • set a condition with provided that or providing: You can start in January provided that you take the placement test.
  • state a rule or a deal with on condition that: A night class runs on condition that ten students sign up.
  • keep a present tense in the condition for a future event: provided that you apply by December, not provided that you will apply
  • look back with otherwise and imagine with suppose: Choose your school early. Otherwise, some credits might not count.
  • present a school of the future with its conditions: Anyone can join at any age, provided that they've finished high school.

Lesson 3 is the third lesson of Learning reimagined, unit 1 of English B2.2 · Culture and Society. It builds on B1.1 lesson 32's unless and as long as, which also take a present tense for the future. Lesson 4 returns to mixed conditionals. A college that grew from a principal's deals with universities, each one conditional, gives provided that real work, as does the unit's task, a school of the future.

Students open boxes of questions about college and second chances, then learn twelve words, from qualify and certify to placement test and stepping stone, with pictures and audio. They read Harper's explainer on six students who began college inside a high school, then hear her argue with Wilbert, an admissions counselor, about who should start at a community college, and Sybil, a mother of two from Illinois, make the case for night classes; both are AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking drills, among them a table of conditions and results for every person. The speaking chapter builds a talk in steps: a chat with Karen, her talk to put in order, its conditions to sort, a template with gaps and a wheel for presenting.

All nine homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram and gaps with the lesson's words, then sentences to complete, right and wrong sentences to sort, word order, a quiz on correct sentences, Sheldon's talk with linkers to choose and Harper's answer to Sybil with words to drag in.

Grammar:
provided that, providing · on condition that · assuming that · otherwise · suppose, supposing · conditional linkers
Topic:
Joliet Junior College · community colleges · J. Stanley Brown · college credit and transfer · night classes · a school of the future · The Why Desk

Teaching tips

  • Rewrite a real school rule on the board, such as You can retake the test only if you ask by Friday. Students say it with provided that, on condition that and otherwise, then decide which sounds most official.
  • Ask who studied close to home before the explainer, and why. Students then read to find why many of Brown's students couldn't leave Joliet and what deals he made with universities.
  • Play the admissions dialogue twice: first to hear who says everyone should start at a community college, then to list every condition Wilbert sets, from the placement test to the tassel.
  • Run the school-of-the-future talks as a panel: each presenter gives two conditions with provided that or on condition that, and the class asks what happens otherwise. The presenter answers with Otherwise, …

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The whole course: English B2.2 · Culture and Society

32 more lessons for adults at B2 in American English, with the same Why Desk team in Pittsburgh. Each lesson answers one question about how Americans learn, work, travel and remember, from the law behind the 40-hour week to the oral histories of StoryCorps. Learners link ideas in formal writing, report what is said and believed, and pack more into a sentence with participle and relative clauses. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Learning reimagined

    adjective suffixes and negative prefixes, mixed conditionals, provided that and on condition that

    1. Lesson 1College for farmers' kids?Adjective suffixes and negative prefixes
    2. Lesson 2One cousin, one video, millions of learnersMixed conditionals: a past cause, a result now
    3. Lesson 3 · you're hereA college that says yesConditional linkers: provided that, on condition that, assuming, otherwise
    4. Lesson 4School in the woodsMixed conditionals: a present state, a past result

  2. Unit 2 Work-life balance

    be required to and be entitled to, present and perfect participle clauses, participle clauses after conjunctions

    1. Lesson 5Who decided a week is 40 hours?Formal rules: be required to, be entitled to, be exempt from
    2. Lesson 6A paid year off: rest or research?Present participle clauses for time and reason
    3. Lesson 7Was the coffee break born in Wisconsin?Perfect participle clauses: having done and having been done
    4. Lesson 8Why is the first Monday of September a day off?Participle phrases after conjunctions

  3. Unit 3 Turning points

    reduced relative clauses, preposition + which and whom, which for a whole clause, noun + preposition

    1. Lesson 9The keyboard that opened the officeReduced relative clauses: -ing and the past participle
    2. Lesson 10Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see EarthPreposition + which and whom
    3. Lesson 11A city of white palaces for six monthsSentence relative clauses: which for a whole clause
    4. Lesson 12The count that took eight years?Noun + preposition: a need for, a solution to, access to

  4. Unit 4 News and truth

    although, whereas and while, the impersonal passive, despite and however, is said to have

    1. Lesson 13A newspaper of their ownLinkers of contrast: although, even though, whereas and while
    2. Lesson 14Bat-people on the Moon?The impersonal passive: It is said that…
    3. Lesson 15Read like a fact-checkerLinkers of contrast: despite, in spite of, however and even so
    4. Lesson 16Did George Washington really chop down a cherry tree?Passive reporting verbs: is said to have done

  5. Unit 5 Travel that gives back

    so as to, in order to and so that, modifying comparatives, linkers of reason and result, verb + object + preposition + -ing

    1. Lesson 17Seven rules for the wild?Linkers of purpose: to, in order to, so as to, so that
    2. Lesson 18A lottery to see firefliesModifying comparatives and superlatives
    3. Lesson 19Sunrise with the turtlesLinkers of reason and result
    4. Lesson 20Volunteer on vacation?Verb + object + preposition + -ing

  6. Unit 6 Sport and society

    verb + noun collocations, what phrasal verb particles mean, a for-and-against essay, nouns from phrasal verbs

    1. Lesson 21The college team that changed disability sportVerb + noun collocations
    2. Lesson 22When women played pro baseballPhrasal verbs: what the particles mean
    3. Lesson 23Who needs a referee?The for and against essay: plan and linkers
    4. Lesson 24The comeback of Jim ThorpeNouns from phrasal verbs

  7. Unit 7 Buildings and heritage

    past participle clauses, quantifier + of which and of whom, report language, turn out and prove

    1. Lesson 25Homes built into the cliffsPast participle clauses with a passive meaning
    2. Lesson 26A house over a waterfallQuantifier + of which and of whom
    3. Lesson 27From factory to art museumReport language: headings, impersonal style, recommendations
    4. Lesson 28The towers the city tried to pull downTurn out and prove + to-infinitive or that clause

  8. Unit 8 Generations

    adverb + adjective collocations, three-part phrasal verbs, negative and echo questions, prepositional phrases

    1. Lesson 29Who decides where a generation ends?Adverb + adjective collocations
    2. Lesson 30Music students living in a retirement home?Three-part phrasal verbs
    3. Lesson 31Conversations kept for historyNegative questions and echo questions
    4. Lesson 32A day for grandparentsFixed prepositional phrases

Questions about this lesson

What does “provided that” mean?
Provided that means “only if,” much like as long as: You can start in January provided that you take the placement test. If the condition isn't met, the result doesn't happen. Providing (that) means the same, and that is often dropped. The B2 lesson A college that says yes on edio.ai teaches it through the deals that let Joliet's students earn credit at universities.
How do you use provided that in a sentence?
Follow it with a present tense, even for the future: Provided that she passes the test, she'll start in January. The condition can come first, with a comma, or second: Your credits will transfer provided that you plan ahead. In a story about the past, the verb moves back: Michigan would give credit provided that Joliet certified the work. The scheme in A college that says yes on edio.ai shows it for every person.
What's the difference between provided that and on condition that?
Both mean “only if,” but on condition that sounds more formal, so it suits rules and deals: You can take a tassel on condition that you read the instructions. Provided that and providing fit everyday talk as well: Your credits will transfer providing you plan ahead. Both take a present tense for the future. A college that says yes on edio.ai has a quiz on what each linker means.
Is it “provided that you will apply” or “provided that you apply”?
It's provided that you apply: the condition takes a present tense, not will, even when it's about the future. The same goes for providing and on condition that: on condition that you pass Chemistry 1, not you would pass. Never add to or of either: providing you plan ahead, not providing to you plan. The drills in A college that says yes on edio.ai test all three slips.
What does “otherwise” mean in a conditional?
Otherwise means “if not,” and it looks back at the sentence before: Choose your four-year school early. Otherwise, some credits might not count. It starts a new sentence or follows a semicolon, and it can't take the place of if. Sybil uses it in A college that says yes on edio.ai: My college has night classes. Otherwise, I'd still be dreaming about a degree.
What is Joliet Junior College?
Joliet Junior College is a public community college in Joliet, Illinois, that grew out of a high school. In the spring semester of 1901, six “postgraduate” students began a two-year college-level program inside Joliet Township High School. The college says it was the nation's first public community college, and its centennial history calls it the oldest. No charter marks the start, so some sources say 1902. Harper's explainer in A college that says yes on edio.ai tells the story.
Why did a high school in Joliet start a college?
Many students at Joliet's high school came from working-class families, and leaving home for college cost too much. J. Stanley Brown, who led the school, wanted them to keep studying and sometimes lent students his own money. He also made deals: in 1896, Michigan offered advanced credit provided that Joliet certified the students' extra work, and in 1901 Brown said the University of Illinois took recommended graduates as sophomores. A college that says yes on edio.ai explains how.
How do I teach provided that to B2 students?
Start from rules students already live by, at school, at work or in a library, and rewrite each with provided that, then on condition that and otherwise. Check the tense in every condition before moving on. A college that says yes on edio.ai moves from Harper's explainer and her admissions office visit to the scheme, five drills and a talk on a school of the future, built in steps.
What's a good game for practicing provided that?
Play Make a deal: one student asks for something (Can I borrow your bike?), and the partner agrees with a condition: Yes, provided that you bring it back by six. The lender can add on condition that… or warn Otherwise, … until both agree. For the class talk, the wheel in A college that says yes on edio.ai asks students to present a school with two conditions.
What's good homework for provided that and on condition that?
Good homework mixes right and wrong sentences to sort, since the slips are easy to miss: We'll start at noon provided that the room will be ready is wrong; Write it down. Otherwise, you'll forget is right. All nine homework tasks in A college that says yes on edio.ai check themselves, including Sheldon's talk on a school inside a public library.
How do you practice provided that one-to-one?
Negotiate a real plan together, such as a study schedule: the student sets terms with provided that and on condition that, and the teacher answers with Otherwise, … The chat in A college that says yes on edio.ai works without a partner: Karen is planning a talk on a college that's open day and night, and the student suggests its rules.
Are there interactive exercises for provided that?
Yes. This page plays three parts of A college that says yes, a B2 lesson on edio.ai, with no account: Harper's visit to Wilbert's admissions office, a gap-fill with the present simple after each linker and the chat that helps Karen plan her talk. Everything else needs an account.
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