Shops run on a small set of fixed sentences — the price, the size, the card machine, the receipt. Learn those and you can shop anywhere in English without preparing anything first.
1. Asking About a Price
Customer: Excuse me. How much is this jacket?
Clerk: Eighty dollars.
Customer: Is it on sale?
Clerk: Twenty percent off this week.
Customer: I'll think about it.
Clerk: Take your time.
2. Finding the Right Size
Customer: Do you have this in a medium?
Clerk: Let me check. We do.
Customer: Can I try it on?
Clerk: The fitting rooms are at the back.
Customer: It fits, but it's a bit long.
Clerk: We have a shorter one.
3. Looking for Something Specific
Customer: I'm looking for a black backpack.
Clerk: What size?
Customer: Medium, something like this.
Clerk: We have these two.
Customer: How much is the smaller one?
Clerk: Forty-five.
4. Comparing Two Things
Customer: What's the difference between these two?
Clerk: This one has a better camera.
Customer: And the price?
Clerk: The other one is a hundred less.
Customer: Which do people buy?
Clerk: The cheaper one, mostly.
5. At the Pharmacy
Customer: I've had a headache since yesterday.
Pharmacist: Have you taken anything for it?
Customer: Nothing yet.
Pharmacist: These are the mild ones. One every six hours.
Customer: With food?
Pharmacist: With food, and drink plenty of water.
6. Paying at the Till
Cashier: Did you find everything?
Customer: I did, thanks.
Cashier: That's sixty-two, then.
Customer: Can I pay by card?
Cashier: Tap it here.
Customer: Could I have a bag as well?
7. Taking Something Back
Customer: I'd like to return this shirt.
Clerk: Is anything wrong with it?
Customer: The size isn't right.
Clerk: Do you have the receipt?
Customer: Here it is.
Clerk: Then we can exchange it.
8. When They Do Not Have It
Customer: Do you have this in blue?
Clerk: Not in this shop, I'm afraid.
Customer: Can you order it?
Clerk: We can. It takes three days.
Customer: Could you call me when it comes in?
Clerk: Leave your number here.
Words to know
| on sale | sold at a lower price than usual Is it on sale? |
| try something on | to put clothes on in a shop to see if they fit Can I try it on? |
| fitting room | the small room where you try clothes on The fitting rooms are at the back. |
| every six hours | how often to take a medicine One every six hours. |
| tap | to pay by touching your card on the machine Tap it here. |
| receipt | the paper that shows you paid for something Do you have the receipt? |
| exchange | to swap something you bought for a different one Then we can exchange it. |
| come in | to arrive in a shop as new stock Could you call me when it comes in? |
Quick practice
Complete each sentence with an expression from the lessons.
1. A: Is it on ________?
B: Twenty percent off this week.
2. A: Do you have this in a medium?
B: Let me ________. We do.
3. A: I've ________ a headache since yesterday.
B: Have you taken anything for it?
4. A: Can I pay by card?
B: ________ it here.
5. A: Do you have the ________?
B: Here it is.
6. A: Can you order it?
B: We can. It ________ three days.
Show the answers
1. sale 2. check 3. had 4. Tap 5. receipt 6. takes
Common mistakes
Not: How much cost this jacket?
Say: How much is this jacket?
Either How much is it? or How much does it cost? — never the two mixed together.
Not: These trousers is too long.
Say: These trousers are too long.
Trousers, jeans, glasses and scissors are always plural in English.
Not: I want to return this shirt.
Say: I'd like to return this shirt.
I want sounds demanding to shop staff. I'd like is the everyday polite form.
Your turn
Imagine you are out shopping on a Saturday afternoon. Say these five things aloud, one after another.
- Ask the price of something and whether it is reduced this week.
- Ask for a different size and where you can try it on.
- Ask a pharmacist for something for a headache, and how often to take it.
- Pay by card and ask for a bag.
- Take something back and ask to exchange it for another size.
Quick review
Say one whole shop visit out loud, from the door to the street: ask for something, ask the price, ask to try it, pay, and ask for a bag. Under a minute is the target. Most real shopping is exactly this short.