Do you ever find it hard to choose the right thing when you’re shopping? How can you talk about this in English? Learn some words and phrases for choosing what to buy, and practise your listening and pronunciation in this free English lesson from Oxford Online English. This lesson is for elementary learners.
Listen to the full audio here:
A: Oh, hi Jeff, looking for something new?
B: Oh, yeah, how’s it going? Yeah, I’m having a hard time choosing which one goes better with these shorts. Hey, I love yours! Where did you get that?
A: Right here. I bought it last week. They’ve got a new range in for summer.
B: Yeah, I know, I want them all, but I can only afford one. Maybe you can help me make a decision.
A: Alright, which ones you thinking of?
B: Well, either this blue one with the flowers on, or the purple one with the pink stripes.
A: Well. I wouldn’t go for either – not really my colours. They both seem a bit big for you actually.
B: Yeah, I can’t remember my chest size. Hey, do me a favour, look after my bag while I go to the fitting room.
A: OK!
Choosing in a Shop – exercise 1
Comprehension: understanding context
The two speakers are looking at items in a shop and one is trying to decide what to buy. Listen to the full dialogue and answer the questions.
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Question 1 of 5
1. Question
1. Where are the speakers?
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Question 2 of 5
2. Question
2. What does Jeff want to buy?
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Question 3 of 5
3. Question
3. What season are the clothes for?
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Question 4 of 5
4. Question
4. What does Jeff not know?
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Question 5 of 5
5. Question
5. What does Jeff go to do at the end?
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Choosing in a Shop – exercise 2
Vocabulary: phrases with common verbs
The speakers use the common verbs ‘have’, ‘go’, ‘make’ and ‘do’ but with other words around them that give very specific meaning. Do you know the phrases?
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Question 1 of 6
1. Question
1. Put the verb phrases in the order you hear them. The grammatical form that the speakers use is sometimes different from what you see here!
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go for (something)
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go well with (something)
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make a decision
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do (someone) a favour
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have a hard time
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Question 2 of 6
2. Question
Now listen to the verb phrases in the dialogue and decide what they mean.
2. ‘have a hard time’
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Question 3 of 6
3. Question
3. ‘go well with (something)’
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Question 4 of 6
4. Question
4. ‘make a decision’
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Question 5 of 6
5. Question
5. ‘go for (something)’
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Question 6 of 6
6. Question
6. ‘do (someone) a favour’
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Choosing in a Shop – exercise 3
Grammar: informal and formal questions
In informal speech, you can leave out words that are necessary in more formal speech or writing. Listen to some examples from the dialogue.
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Question 1 of 4
1. Question
1. “Looking for something new?”
Which is the best way to ask this question in a more polite, formal way?
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Question 2 of 4
2. Question
2. “Which ones you thinking of?”
Here, the grammar is not correct, strictly speaking. In informal speech, this is OK! But not in formal speech or writing. Which is correct?
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Question 3 of 4
3. Question
3. “Maybe you can help me make a decision.”
The speaker means this as a question because he is asking his friend to do something. What would be the most polite way to ask it?
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Question 4 of 4
4. Question
4. “Look after my bag …”
How could you make this question even more polite, when speaking to a stranger?
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Choosing in a Shop – exercise 4
Pronunciation: when sounds change!
When we put words in sentences, the sound at the start of one word can change the sound at the end of the word before it. This idea of sounds changing in fast speech is called ‘assimilation’.
Listen to some examples from this conversation.
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Question 1 of 5
1. Question
1. “Which one goes better with these shorts?”
The /z/ at the end of ‘these’ changes to /ʃ/ because the next word starts with /ʃ/. Which of these two words contains this sound?
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Question 2 of 5
2. Question
2. “They both seem a bit big for you actually.”
The /θ/ at the end of ‘both’ changes to /s/ because the next word starts with /s/. So, which word does ‘both’ rhyme with here?
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Question 3 of 5
3. Question
3. ‘this blue one with the flowers on’
The /n/ at the end of ‘one’ changes to /m/ because the next sound is made by the lips. So, ‘one’ rhymes with which of these words?
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Question 4 of 5
4. Question
4. “Which ones you thinking of?”
This is a bit different, because both sounds change! The /z/ at the end of ‘ones’ combines with the /j/ at the start of ‘you’ to make /ʒ/. This is the underlined sound in which word?
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Question 5 of 5
5. Question
5. “Where did you get that?”
In this example, the vowel in ‘did’ completely disappears. What’s the result?
Now, there’s only one /d/ sound in ‘did’, and this combines with the /j/ at the start of ‘you’ to make /ʤ/. Which word starts with this sound?
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