Vocabulary · SHOPPING
Shopping: prices, receipts and returns
A useful shopping conversation can be very short. Learn eight words and phrases, listen to two accents, then use the language in a simple shop role-play.
Created by Denis M., British English teacher.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Listen and repeat
Each item has a British and an American button. Listen to the word and example, repeat them, then make your own sentence. Both tracks use the same eight items.
British English · Libby
Open or download british MP3American English · Amanda
Open or download american MP3Choose an accent on any word below.
Before you buy
Start with the price and the person paying. Notice which word describes the item and which describes your action.
cost
verb
If something costs a particular amount, that is the money you need to pay for it.
This jacket costs thirty pounds.
The jacket costs £30. / It cost £30 yesterday.
The item is the subject. The past form is cost, not costed when you mean its price.
Word + example. Listen, then repeat.
spend
verb
To use money to pay for something.
I spent twenty pounds on a bag.
spend money on something; spend, spent, spent
The person is the subject: I spent £20 on a bag. The bag cost £20.
Word + example. Listen, then repeat.
afford
verb
To have enough money to buy something.
I cannot afford these shoes.
can afford something / can afford to buy something
A thing can be cheap but still be more than you can afford. Afford describes your situation, not just the price.
Word + example. Listen, then repeat.
save up
phrasal verb
To keep money over a period of time so you can buy or do something later.
I am saving up for a new phone.
save up for something
Save up suggests building an amount over time. Save £5 on a purchase means pay £5 less.
Word + example. Listen, then repeat.
Speak now: Speak for 30 seconds. Imagine an item you want. Say its price and whether you can afford it. Finish with a plan using save up. Invent a price if you prefer.
Possible model response
The headphones cost forty pounds. I cannot afford them this week, so I am saving up for them.
Solo: say it again with a different item. Tutor: ask, 'How much would you like to spend?'
At the shop
Change, a receipt, a refund and an exchange solve different problems. Decide what you need before you ask.
change
uncountable noun, money
Money you receive back when you pay more than the price in cash.
Here is your change.
£2 in change / my change
A drink costs £3 and you pay with £5: you receive £2 in change. In this meaning, say some change, not a change.
Word + example. Listen, then repeat.
receipt
countable noun
A paper or electronic record showing that you paid and what you bought.
Could I have a receipt please?
ask for a receipt / keep the receipt
The p is silent: receipt sounds like ri-SEET. A receipt records payment; it is not the money returned to you.
Word + example. Listen, then repeat.
refund
countable noun
Money given back to you after you have paid for something.
Could I have a refund please?
ask for a refund / get a refund
Here refund is a noun, with stress on the first syllable: REE-fund. You are asking for your money back.
Word + example. Listen, then repeat.
exchange
verb
To give an item back and receive another one instead.
Can I exchange this shirt for a larger size?
exchange something for something else
You want another item, not your money back. In these role-plays, ask what is possible; the lesson does not promise a shop will accept a return.
Word + example. Listen, then repeat.
Speak now: Speak for 30 seconds. Imagine that a shirt is too small. Ask for a larger one, then say what you would ask if you wanted your money back instead.
Possible model response
Can I exchange this shirt for a larger size? If I wanted my money back, I would ask, 'Could I have a refund, please?'
Solo: repeat both requests without reading. Tutor: ask, 'Which request would you use if you liked the shirt but needed another size?'
Try it in context
Say each answer aloud before opening the explanation.
1. Complete: These shoes ___ £25. I ___ £25 on them yesterday.
Check answer 1
These shoes cost £25. I spent £25 on them yesterday.
Cost describes the price of the shoes. Spent describes what the buyer did; spend becomes spent in the past.
2. You pay £20 for an item priced at £18. Do you need £2 in change, a £2 receipt or a £2 refund? Explain your choice.
Check answer 2
£2 in change.
You are completing a cash payment and receiving the difference. A receipt records the purchase. A refund returns money already paid for a purchase.
3. Repair the request: Can I exchange this jacket with a smaller one?
Check answer 3
Can I exchange this jacket for a smaller one?
Use exchange an item for another item. For introduces the replacement you want.
Solo: make one new sentence with cost and one with spend. Tutor: ask the learner to describe the same purchase both ways.
Check and use your learning
Mastery quiz · 8 questions
Shopping role-play · 45 seconds
Shop role-play, 45 seconds: yesterday you spent £30 on a shirt. It is too small, but you still like it. Explain the problem, ask for a larger size and say you have the receipt. Then practise an alternative request for your money back.
I spent… on… / Can I exchange… for…? / Could I have…?
Possible model response
Hello. I spent thirty pounds on this shirt yesterday, but it is too small. Can I exchange it for a larger size? I have the receipt. Alternative: Could I have a refund, please?
Solo: record the customer, then play the assistant and ask, 'Would you like another size or your money back?' Tutor: ask the same question and request a clear answer.
Make the words yours
Tomorrow, describe one real or imaginary purchase. Use cost, spend and one word from the second group.
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