English lessons and practice games are intended for people aged 13 and over.
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Lesson 04 / Shopping
5 phrases · 12 minutes · Look, listen and try.
Find the item to buy, try it on and handle things after buying.
Match words to pictures →Play What is She/He doing? →
A randomly assigned, fixed male or female synthetic voice for each phrase or sentence · Slow playback at 0.7× preserves pitch.
I am looking for a small bag for work.
I am looking for a small bag for work.
Can you help me look for my receipt?
Can you help me look for my receipt?
Do not separate the phrase: “look for it”, do not use “look it for”.
Can I try on this blue jacket?
Can I try on this blue jacket?
These shoes look nice. Try them on.
These shoes look nice. Try them on.
“Try on” is used when trying on clothes or shoes to see if they fit or not.
Thanks for the loan. I will pay you back tomorrow.
Thanks for the loan. I will pay you back tomorrow.
She paid back the money she borrowed for the bag.
She paid back the money she borrowed for the bag.
This is a refund of borrowed money, not payment for goods at the counter.
Cambridge Dictionary · pay back
This shirt is too small. I will take it back.
This shirt is too small. I will take it back.
Can we take back these shoes with the receipt?
Can we take back these shoes with the receipt?
“Take back” here means bringing the item back to the place where it was purchased. The pronoun stands in the middle.
Cambridge Dictionary · take back
We have run out of milk. Let us buy some.
We have run out of milk. Let us buy some.
I do not want to run out of money before the weekend.
I do not want to run out of money before the weekend.
If the name of something has run out, you need “of”: “run out of milk”. Do not separate these three-word phrases.
The examples were written for this course. Usage was checked against Matt Errey’s book, pages 81, 132, 95, 127, 109. A2–B1 is the course’s intended level.
One step forward every day
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Sentences using suggestions are counted as needing more practice. Review schedule based on each phrase's meaning.
OBSERVE · UNDERSTAND · MATCH
Drag a wire from the dot beside a phrase to the dot beside its matching picture. You can also tap a phrase, then a picture. Drag again to change a pair before checking.
Read the picture descriptions for more context. Similar expressions are accepted when they fit the particular scene.
Vy looked around the store shelves for a bag.
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Vy is wearing the blue floral shirt with both arms in its sleeves and checking the fit in the mirror.
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Vy gave the money back to the friend who lent it to her to buy things.
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Vy gave the shirt with the label to the staff at the return counter.
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Vy looked at the empty milk carton on the table and prepared to buy more.
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Choose a phrase to begin.
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Read the conversation and find the expressions you have learned.
This jacket is too small. I need to take it back.
This jacket is too small. I need to take it back.
Did you try it on before buying it?
Did you try it on before buying it?
No. And I still need to pay you back for it.
No. And I still need to pay you back for it.
“Pay back” concerns borrowed money; “take back” concerns returning an item. Returning a purchase does not itself repay a loan.
Try answering before revealing the suggested answer. This practice is not scored.
The answers below are models. Other answers can also work if they preserve the facts, meaning and structure requested in the task.
Omar borrowed money for a lamp. The lamp is faulty, but the shop and his lender are different people.
Who receives the money when Omar pays it back?
The person who lent Omar the money.
The borrowed money goes back to Omar’s lender, not to the shop receiving the faulty lamp.
Replace “the lamp” with “it”: Take the lamp back.
Take it back.
Replacing the lamp with “it” changes “take the lamp back” to “take it back”, with the pronoun in the middle.
Write Omar’s message to the lender.
I will pay you back after I return the faulty lamp.
“Pay you back” identifies the lender; returning the lamp and repaying the loan are separate actions.
The usage comparisons are checked against the Cambridge Dictionary entries linked beside the compared expressions. The additional conversations and exercises are written for this course.
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