Loading…
Teaching or studying this?
All lesson plans
Lesson planA245 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Could You Call a Taxi? can and could
Students learn to use can and could for ability and polite requests in a hotel, then write about a hotel stay.
Can ability · Hotel · Travel
Or download everything as a ZIP (2 PDFs)This lesson plan and its PDFs are free.
Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use can / can't / could / couldn't accurately
- Learn and use 14 words and phrases in 2 sets: Rooms and booking, At reception: arriving and leaving
- Read for detail: Our stay at the Sea View Hotel
- Writing task: A hotel stay
Stages · 45 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about hotel and share ideas with the class.
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 1
- 5 minLanguage focus: Go through the grammar notes together and check understanding.
- 15 minControlled practice: Ex. 2–4
- 5 minReading: Ex. 5
- 10 minWriting: Ex. 6
Printables
Click a page to preview it, download it or open it in a new tab.
Download all (ZIP, 2 PDFs)Grammar notes
can and could for ability
- Now: can / can't + verb — You can swim in the hotel pool. I can't find my room.
- In the past: could / couldn't + verb — When I was five, I could swim. We couldn't use the Wi-Fi yesterday.
- Not: I can to swim. / When I was young, I can run fast.
Asking for things
- Ask someone to do something: Can you…? / Could you…? — Could you call a taxi, please? (Could is more polite.)
- Ask for permission: Can I…? — Can I park my car here?
- Answer: Yes, of course. / Sorry, you can't. (Not: Yes, I could.)
Study tips
- Write three things you could do when you were a child and three things you can do now.
- At a hotel, practise polite requests: Could you…, please?
Glossary
- Rooms and booking6 items
- At reception: arriving and leaving8 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
At the hotel
Choose the correct word or phrase.
- a
I'm travelling alone, so I'd like a ___, please.
- b
My wife and I would like a ___ with a view of the sea.
- c
We arrived at three o'clock and went to reception to ___.
- d
On your last day, please ___ and give us your key before eleven o'clock.
- e
You can't stay in your room after 11 a.m. — that's the ___.
2
can, can't, could or couldn't?
Choose the correct word.
- a
I ___ swim when I was five, but now I swim every day.
- b
My grandmother is 90 and she ___ walk very far now.
- c
When I was a child, I ___ speak three languages. Now I only remember one.
- d
My son is only three, but he ___ swim already. He loves the pool.
- e
Yesterday the Wi-Fi didn't work, so we ___ send any emails.
- f
Is there a gym? — Yes, you ___ use it from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- g
She ___ play the piano when she was six. She was very good.
3
Asking at reception
Choose the correct words.
- a
Guest: "___ have a towel, please?"
- b
Guest: "___ call a taxi for me, please?"
- c
Guest: "Could you ___ me up at seven, please?"
- d
Guest: "Excuse me, ___ use the Wi-Fi in my room?"
- e
Guest: "Can you ___ me my room number, please?"
- f
Guest: "Could you carry my bag, please?" Receptionist: "___"
- g
Guest: "___ park my car here?" Receptionist: "Sorry, no. The car park is behind the hotel."
4
Find the mistake
One sentence has a mistake. Choose the correct sentence.
- a
Choose the correct sentence.
- b
Choose the correct sentence.
- c
Choose the correct sentence.
- d
Choose the correct sentence.
- e
Choose the correct sentence.
- f
Choose the correct sentence.
- g
Choose the correct sentence.
- h
Choose the correct sentence.
- i
Choose the correct sentence.
- j
Choose the correct sentence.
- k
Choose the correct sentence.
- l
Choose the correct sentence.
5
Read: Our stay at the Sea View Hotel
Read the text. Then choose the correct answer.
Last month my husband and I stayed at the Sea View Hotel for three nights. We booked a double room online. When we arrived, we could check in early, at twelve o'clock. Our room number was 304, on the third floor. On the first day the lift was out of order, so we couldn't use it. We had to carry our bags up the stairs! But the receptionist was very kind. "Can I help you?" she asked, and she carried one of our bags. From our room we could see the sea. At the hotel you can swim in the pool, and you can borrow bikes for free. There was only one problem: we couldn't use the Wi-Fi in our room, only in the café. Check-out time is eleven o'clock, but you can leave your bags at reception and go to the beach.
- a
When could they check in?
- b
Why couldn't they use the lift on the first day?
- c
What could they see from their room?
- d
Where could they use the Wi-Fi?
- e
What can guests do after check-out time?
6
Write: A hotel stay
Write about a hotel.
Write about a hotel stay — a real one or an imaginary one. (6–8 sentences) What kind of room did you have? What could you do there? What couldn't you do? Then write two questions you asked at reception. Use can, can't, could and couldn't. Word box: hotel · single room · double room · check in · check out · check-out time · book a room · make a reservation · room number · out of order Example: We stayed in a small hotel in Paris. We could walk to the museums, but we couldn't park our car. I asked, "Could you call a taxi, please?"
Suggested minimum: 40 words
0 words · aim for at least 40
Spotted a mistake in this lesson?· tell us the exercise and item
Revise with a game
This lesson's own words and questions. Play on your own, or in teams on the classroom screen.
- Step UpAnswer the lesson's questions to climb to the top.
- Pair UpMatch the lesson's words to their meanings against the clock.
- SnapA word and a meaning: do they go together? Answer fast.
- Quiz BoardTeams choose questions worth 100 to 500 points.
- Retro arcadeWord Invaders, Word Snake, Word Maze and Word Crossing: classic arcade games with the lesson's words.
Glossary
The 14 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in 2 sets.
Rooms and booking
- hotel
- a building where people pay to stay for a short time
- single room
- a room for one person
- double room
- a room for two people
- book a room
- to ask a hotel to keep a room for you
- make a reservation
- to ask a hotel or restaurant to keep a room or a table for you
- room number
- the number of your hotel room
At reception: arriving and leaving
- check in
- to arrive at a hotel or airport and give your name
- check out
- to pay and leave a hotel
- check-out time
- the time when you must leave your hotel room
- out of order
- not working, for example a lift or a machine
- reception
- the desk in a hotel where you arrive and ask for help
- receptionist
- a person who works at the reception desk
- lift
- a machine that carries people up and down in a building
- stay
- to live in a place for a short time, for example on holiday
How was this lesson plan?
One tap helps other teachers find the best lessons, and helps us improve them.