Going Shopping in English - Spoken English for Travel

Hi, I’m Marie.

Welcome to Oxford Online English!

In this lesson, you can learn useful language for going shopping in English.

You’ll see how to ask for things you want, how to talk about prices and discounts, how

to arrange delivery, and how to take something back to a shop.

Before we start, don’t forget to visit our website: Oxford Online English dot com.

Do you need to improve your English?

We have lots of resources for you: free video lessons, quizzes, free listening lessons,

and more!

We also have many professional teachers who offer online classes; you can improve your

spoken English, learn about English grammar, or prepare for IELTS with one of our teachers.

But now, let’s see how you can use English when you go shopping.

Hello, do you need any help?

Yes, I’ve found this blue jacket, but I can only find L and XL sizes.

Do you have it in a medium?

I’m afraid we’re sold out, but we do have the same style in brown.

It’s just over here.

Ah…

Yes, that’s nice, too, but I really like the blue.

Will you be getting any more in?

Unfortunately not.

It’s the end of the season, so we’re getting some new styles in from next week.

The ones you see here are the last we have in stock.

If you want, you could check our website; it might be possible to order it online.

Thanks, but I need something for a party this weekend, plus I don’t like to buy clothes

without trying them on first.

Sure, I understand.

Would you like to try the brown one on?

Yes, sure.

Where do I go?

The changing rooms are just over there.

In the dialogue, you heard some useful language related to buying clothing.

If you can’t find what you need in a shop, what could you say?

In the dialogue, you heard, ‘Do you have it in a medium?’

You could use this question in other ways.

For example: ‘Do you have this in a small?’

‘Do you have this top in green?’

You could also use ‘I’m looking for…’ to say what you want.

For example: ‘I’m looking for a formal dress to wear to a wedding.’

Or: ‘I’m looking for some running shoes.’

Next, look at three phrases from the dialogue.

Could you explain what they mean?

‘Sold out’ means that they’ve sold everything, so this product isn’t available any more.

For example, if you say that ‘Tickets for the concert have sold out’, you mean that

all the tickets have been sold, and you can’t buy tickets now.

‘Get in’ is a phrasal verb which can mean ‘have a product delivered’.

It’s generally used to talk about shops and products which they sell.

For example, a shop assistant might say, ‘We’re getting more sizes in next Monday.’

That means that new products will be delivered next Monday, and you’ll be able to find

a wider range of sizes.

‘In stock’ means available, so you can buy the thing.

The opposite is ‘out of stock’.

If a shop assistant says ‘We’re out of stock at the moment’, he or she is telling

you that the product isn’t available.

Next, let’s see how you can talk about prices, deals and discounts when shopping.

Excuse me?

Yes?

I’m interested in buying these chairs, but I can’t see a price tag.

Can you tell me how much they are?

Sure, let me check…

] Forty-nine ninety-nine each, or one hundred and eighty-five ninety-nine for the set of

four.

That seems strange.

I saw an advertisement that said they’re buy one get one free.

Ah!

That’s a different product.

I know the ones you mean; they’re just over here.

Right!

That’s what I was looking for.

So, how much are these?

One is seventy-nine ninety-nine, or two nine nine ninety-nine for a set of four.

Of course, with the buy one get one offer, you can buy two for seventy-nine ninety-nine,

or four for… what would that be?

One sixty.

Perfect!

I’ll take the set of four.

What do I do?

Is there a catalogue number?

Yes, just write down the number which is here, or take a picture with your phone.

Pay at the cash register, then go to the collection point to get your products.

I almost forgot: I have a loyalty card.

Does that mean I get a 5% discount?

Normally, yes, but your loyalty discount can’t be used with other offers like this.

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Anyway, thanks for your help!

If you want to know how much something costs, you can ask a simple question: ‘How much

is…?’ or ‘How much are…?’

For example: ‘How much are these shoes?’

‘How much is this tablet?’

You could also ask in a slightly more formal way, as in: ‘Can you tell me how much … are?’

or ‘Can you tell me how much … is?’

For example: ‘Can you tell me how much these trousers are?’

‘Can you tell me how much this electric toothbrush is?’

In spoken English, people sometimes don’t read full numbers, especially numbers between

one hundred and one thousand.

Instead, they break the number into parts.

So, instead of ‘four hundred (and) forty-nine’, you might hear ‘four-four-nine’.

This doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s not unusual, either.

For numbers above one thousand, the number is often broken into two parts.

So, instead of ‘one thousand two hundred (and) seventy-five’, you might hear ‘twelve

seventy-five’, or even ‘twelve seven five’.

In the dialogue, the shop assistant said that a set of four chairs would cost two nine nine

ninety-nine.

Two nine nine ninety-nine.

What does this mean?

Can you write down the number?

Let’s do some more practice with this quickly.

You’re going to hear five prices, which might use the conversational style you just

saw.

After you hear each price, pause the video and write down the number.

You’ll see the answers at the end.

Ready?

Let’s start!

Three-two-five fifty.

Fifteen sixty-nine.

Ten ninety-nine.

Eight eight eight thirty.

Two four nine nine.

How was that?

Difficult?

If so, don’t worry!

Rewind the video and listen once more.

You’ll see the answers in a second.

How did you do?

Could you hear the prices correctly?

Understanding numbers, especially when people read the numbers in this conversational way,

can really help you when you’re shopping in an English-speaking country.

Next, let’s look at another common task when you’re shopping: arranging delivery.

Yes, can I help?

Well…

I’ve just bought this TV…

Yes?

And…

It’s much bigger than I expected.

I’m not sure it’ll fit in my car.

Do you offer a delivery service?

Yes, of course!

I’m surprised they didn’t mention it to you when you paid.

That’s great!

So, what do I do?

Can I take your receipt, please?

Of course; here you are.

Let me see…

The earliest we could deliver it would be next Wednesday.

Does that work for you?

I’m at work during the week.

Do you deliver at weekends?

We can deliver on Saturdays, but there’s a four-pound charge.

That’s fine.

So, next Saturday, the 29th?

That works, but what time will it be?

We deliver between ten AM and four PM.

You can’t give me a more specific time than that?

I’m afraid not.

All of our delivery slots are six hours.

I guess I’ll have to take it, then.

OK, so you just need to pay the weekend delivery charge, and then we can set everything up

for you.

Can I pay by card?

Of course.

Of course, it’s more common nowadays to order things online and have them delivered

to your home.

But maybe you want to see your new TV screen in action, try out your new sofa, or check

that your new table will match your living room.

In this case, you might need to arrange a delivery in the shop.

To do this, you could ask: ‘Can I have this delivered?’

‘Do you offer a delivery service?’

‘Can you deliver this to my house?’

Quick quiz: you heard one of these three questions in the dialogue.

Which one?

You heard the second one.

However, they all have the same meaning.

You can use any of them!

You might also need to ask more specific questions about the delivery, like: ‘Do you deliver

at weekends?’

‘What time will it be?’

‘Do you have any slots available next Friday?’

‘Does weekend delivery cost extra?’

What does that word ‘slot’ mean?

A ‘slot’ is a time period when something can happen.

Often, a shop or company will give you a delivery slot, for example from nine in the morning

to two in the afternoon.

You know your delivery will arrive sometime in that window, but you don’t know exactly

when.

Now, you can ask about availability, ask about prices, and arrange a delivery if you need

it.

But, what if you have a problem with something you bought in a shop?

Hello, what can I do for you?

Hi, yes, I bought these jeans last week, and I’d like to return them.

Do you have your receipt?

Yes, here you are.

Was anything wrong with the jeans?

No, no problem, they’re just the wrong size.

They’re too small.

Would you like to exchange them for a larger size?

I can check if we have them in stock.

No, thank you.

I decided that I don’t like the style so much, either.

Is it possible to get a refund?

Of course.

Do you have the card you paid with?

Can’t I get cash?

I’m sorry, but we can only issue a refund to the card you paid with.

Alternatively, we can offer you gift vouchers for the same amount.

Fine, put it on the card, then.

No problem.

At the start of the dialogue, you heard: ‘I bought these jeans last week, and I’d like

to return them.’

‘Return’ could mean different things.

Generally, you can *replace* something, meaning you get another of the same thing.

For example, if you buy a new phone, and it doesn’t work when you take it out of the

box, you might ask to replace it—you get a new version of the same phone.

You could also ask to *exchange* the product you bought, meaning you give back the one

you bought, and take a different one, instead.

Maybe you bought some clothes, but then you decided they don’t look as good as you hoped,

and you want to take something different.

Finally, you can ask for a refund, and get your money back.

When you take something back to a shop, you might hear questions like: ‘Do you have

your receipt?’

‘Was anything wrong with …?’ ‘Would you like to exchange it for something

else?’

Let’s do a quick practice.

Look at six answers, which belong with these three questions.

Can you match the answers to the questions?

Pause the video and think about your answers.

Ready?

Let’s look!

Remember that you can always go back and rewatch the dialogues or any section of this video

if you need more practice with these words and phrases.

Here’s a question for you: what do you like or dislike most about going shopping?

Have you ever had a problem with something you bought in a shop?

What happened?

Share your experiences in the comments, and practise your written English!

Thanks for watching!

See you next time!