Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: Plans and Change
Explore plans and change with eight useful expressions, including put something off, call something off, play it by ear. Read the meanings and examples, then use the language in eight B2 discussion questions.
What’s in the worksheet?
- Eight expressions with meanings and example sentences
- Eight matching discussion questions
- One printable page
- Open-ended speaking practice
Develop language for postponing, cancelling and revising plans. Eight expressions include put something off, call something off, play it by ear and a change of heart.
Worksheet preview
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A simple way to teach it
Before the lesson
Use the single B2 page with meanings, examples and eight discussion questions. Responses are personal or hypothetical, not fixed-key answers.
- Contrast delaying an event with cancelling it. Compare keeping options open with deciding as a situation develops.
- Discuss the prompts about travel, motivation and shared schedules. Encourage learners to explain the circumstances behind their choices.
- Retell an imagined event plan using come up with, work out and go back to square one. Check that the expressions describe the intended changes.
Support and extension
Support with a simple postponed / cancelled / undecided chart. Extend by comparing when flexibility helps and when leaving decisions open causes problems.
Suggested approach. Adjust the pace and number of questions to suit your class.
