Learn how to specify particular features while shopping
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| INTRODUCTION |
| David: Rugging Up Against the Cold in the UK. David here. |
| Kellie: Hello. I'm Kellie. |
| David: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to shop for something in particular and how to specify particular features. The conversation takes place at a department store. |
| Kellie: The speakers are strangers. |
| David: So they’ll be using both formal and informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Katrina: I want a new coat for autumn. It's a little colder here than I expected. |
| Shop assistant: How about this check coat? |
| Katrina: Oh, I saw one on your website that I liked. Where is the M&S Collection section? |
| Shop assistant: Right this way, madam. |
| Katrina: On the website there was a plain black one. Do you have that? |
| Shop assistant: Certainly. This is a large size. |
| Katrina: Hmm, looks too big. I need a smaller size as I'm usually a medium. Oh, can I try this medium one on? |
| Shop assistant: Of course. The changing rooms are this way. |
| David: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Katrina: I want a new coat for autumn. It's a little colder here than I expected. |
| Shop assistant: How about this check coat? |
| Katrina: Oh, I saw one on your website that I liked. Where is the M&S Collection section? |
| Shop assistant: Right this way, madam. |
| Katrina: On the website there was a plain black one. Do you have that? |
| Shop assistant: Certainly. This is a large size. |
| Katrina: Hmm, looks too big. I need a smaller size as I'm usually a medium. Oh, can I try this medium one on? |
| Shop assistant: Of course. The changing rooms are this way. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| David: Katrina went shopping! |
| Kellie: I love shopping. It’s one of my favourite pastimes. |
| David: Is it popular in the UK? |
| Kellie: I think it’s popular everywhere! And the UK has many different places where you can go shopping. |
| David: Katrina was in a department store. |
| Kellie: Yeah, those are popular. There are different stores, or departments, but they are all part of the larger store. They might share staff or tills and aren’t divided by walls and doors from the other stores. |
| David: The places with individual stores that are divided are called shopping centres, right? |
| Kellie: Right. These are far larger than department stores and do have their own staff and counters. |
| David: How about internet shopping? Is that popular? |
| Kellie: Yes, it is and it’s just becoming more and more popular with every year. You can buy anything online. |
| David: Online grocery shopping is pretty popular, right? |
| Kellie: Yeah, you often see the home delivery lorries around. |
| David: So there are a lot of options if you want to go shopping, listeners! Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| David: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Kellie: autumn [natural native speed] |
| David: the season in between summer and winter, when trees lose their leaves and it begins to get colder |
| Kellie: autumn[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Kellie: autumn [natural native speed] |
| David: Next we have.. |
| Kellie: to expect [natural native speed] |
| David: to think is likely to happen |
| Kellie: to expect[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Kellie: to expect [natural native speed] |
| David: Next we have.. |
| Kellie: check [natural native speed] |
| David: a pattern made from squares |
| Kellie: check[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Kellie: check [natural native speed] |
| David: Next we have.. |
| Kellie: website [natural native speed] |
| David: address connected to the Internet with one or more webpages. |
| Kellie: website[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Kellie: website [natural native speed] |
| David: Next we have.. |
| Kellie: plain [natural native speed] |
| David: has no distinguishing marks or stand out points |
| Kellie: plain[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Kellie: plain [natural native speed] |
| David: Next we have.. |
| Kellie: certainly [natural native speed] |
| David: undoubtedly, definitely |
| Kellie: certainly[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Kellie: certainly [natural native speed] |
| David: And last.. |
| Kellie: to try [natural native speed] |
| David: to test the result of |
| Kellie: to try[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Kellie: to try [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| David: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Kellie: autumn |
| David: meaning "the season between summer and winter" |
| David: This is the season where it starts to get colder and the leaves begin to fall. |
| Kellie: Yeah, in the UK it’s typically between September and early December. |
| David: I’ve also heard this season called “fall”. |
| Kellie: Yeah, in some countries they call it “fall”. Other countries use both. |
| David: But in the UK it’s “autumn”. |
| Kellie: Yeah, you won’t hear it called fall much, if at all. |
| David: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Kellie: Sure. For example, you can say.. The leaves are starting to fall so it really is autumn now. |
| David: ..which means "The leaves are starting to fall so it really is the season where that happens now". Okay, what's the next word? |
| Kellie: changing room |
| David: meaning "a room or booth where we can change or try on clothes" |
| David: Changing comes from the verb “to change” |
| Kellie: Yeah, it means to become different. It’s the standard verb used for putting on different clothes. |
| David: So a changing room is... |
| Kellie: The room where we put on different clothes. It refers mainly to clothes stores and the little rooms or booths they provide where you can try on their goods. |
| David: Are they always called changing rooms? |
| Kellie: They can be called fitting rooms too. |
| David: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Kellie: Sure. For example, you can say.. Where are the changing rooms? |
| David: .. which means "Where are the rooms where I can try on these clothes?" Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| David: In this lesson, you'll learn how to specify particular features when shopping. |
| David: If we want to describe features, we need adjectives, right? |
| Kellie: Right. We’ve talked about these before but we’re going to level up a little now and talk about how to compare things using adjectives. |
| David: In the dialogue, Katrina said “I need a smaller size.” |
| Kellie: She also said that the UK was “colder than she expected”. Both of those sentences are examples of comparative adjectives. |
| David: They both had adjectives that ended in “-er” – “Smaller,” “colder.” |
| Kellie: That’s right. For short adjectives like those that are only one syllable, we just add “-e-r.” |
| David: For example, “taller,” “cuter,” and “bigger.” |
| Kellie: If it has two syllables and ends in “-y”, we drop the “-y” and add “-ier.” |
| David: For example, “Happier,” and “scarier.” |
| Kellie: If it’s two syllables without a “-y,” or three syllables or more then we don’t change the adjective. Instead, we add “more” or “less”. |
| David: As in, “More beautiful,” “less strange,” “more awake,” “less convenient.” |
| Kellie: There are a few irregular adjectives though. The comparative form of good is “better”, for example. |
| David: Ah, like “this coat fits better than that one.” |
| Kellie: Exactly. We can use these adjectives to describe what we want to buy. For example, “I want to buy a coat that is longer, thicker, and redder than this one.” |
| David: Let’s look at one more grammar point this lesson – the preposition “on”. |
| Kellie: We talked about prepositions of time in Lesson 5. “On” is a preposition of place. |
| David: It’s a pretty common one too. |
| Kellie: Yeah, we use it to talk about things that are attached or above something and touching it. |
| David: Such as “The book is on the table”. |
| Kellie: Right. In the dialogue, Katrina says “I saw one on your website.” She means that she was looking at the website of the store and saw a coat she liked. |
| David: We can use “on” with media, right? |
| Kellie: We can! For example, “He was on TV” or “I heard the new song on the radio”. |
Outro |
| David: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Kellie: Bye. |
7 Comments
HideHello! Imagine you are in a department store. What would you be looking for? Try describing it here!
Hello Wendy, Jorge and Yodit,
Thanks for taking the time to post and share. 👍
@Wendy - Thanks for sharing your English sentence practice! 👍
@Jorge - Thanks for the positive feedback.
@Yodit - Great job! Thanks for your practice sentences! 😄
Please feel free to ask us any questions you have throughout your studies.
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Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
If I'm in the department store. I would be looking a shirt.
Hello I'm looking a white shirt with large size could you please help to find it?can I try it on where is the fitting room?
Hello Lucio Reis,
Thank you so much for your positive message! 😇❤️️
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
We wish you good luck with your language studies.
Kind regards,
Levente
Team EnglishClass101.com
👍Excelente practices
if I were in a department store I would be looking for shoes.
I dont have a good shoes for my work because are wear out and it looks bad
I want comfortable shoes, dark color to use with all kind clothes, and with details in other color, I dont like plain
I would like cheapper and better brand than current one, and I would like wear it for one year at least.
I think I expect so much hahaha but I hope find it in department stores.
I liked a lot about how this dialogue was built and its methodology.
Thanks.