English the American Way: A Fun ESL Guide to Language and Culture in the U.S. » Unit 9: Shop ’til You Drop!
Okay, raise your hand if you love shopping. What? No men? In the American stereotype, women love spending a day shopping at the mall, while men sit glumly on a bench, holding the bags. (And we thank them for that. :) ) A large mall is a shopper’s dream come true; there are specialty stores for everything! There are stores for kids and stores for kitchens; stores for makeup and stores for men; bookstores and shoe stores and toy stores and drugstores . . . well, you get the idea. Malls have at least one anchor department store. This is the place to head if you prefer shopping for everything in one store. These large stores carry everything from clothing to housewares. Want to smell like a million bucks? Stop at the perfume counter for a free sample of your favorite fragrance. And that’s the main advantage of a department store or big indoor shopping mall—you can shop for everything in one place. There are no worries about bad weather. Even your car can stay dry and warm in the mall parking garage! (Raise your hand if you’ve ever lost your car in a parking garage. “But I was so sure I parked right . . . here . . . ”)
Although the large, enclosed malls bring people from all over, the suburbs also have smaller, local malls. These strip malls usually have convenience shops where people can take care of their errands. The stores are lined up next to each other, and the front doors open onto an outdoor walkway. Strip malls usually have a small takeout restaurant, a dry cleaner, a bank branch, and a drugstore. Parking is right in front of the stores, so people can hop out quickly and run in for what they need. In bad weather this may not be fun, but it’s much quicker than parking in a large garage at the mall. And it’s easier to find your car!
LIA: Hey, look outside. Very bad weather . . . very good mall day!
ALAN: No! Not the mall! Anything but the mall!
LIA: Calm down. You won’t have to go into every store with me. I just want to do some window-shopping. Besides, the sporting goods store is having a great sale on sports equipment. You might find the tennis racket you’ve been looking for. Look at this ad from the paper: “Super sale! Many rackets to choose from!”
ALAN: Yeah. I really do need a new tennis racket. Okay, if I go, how much time will we have to spend there? I’d like to watch the game this afternoon.
LIA: We don’t have to stay very long. There are a few things I’d like to look at in the department store, so that will take less time than walking around the whole mall.
ALAN: Going to the sporting goods store is a great idea. Actually, if there aren’t too many stores you plan to visit, then I don’t mind going with you. In fact, maybe we could stop at a big box store on the way home. I could use some garden supplies.
LIA: Sure! If we make a day of it, we could have lunch at the food court.
ALAN: I’d rather stop at the strip mall in town and get fried chicken takeout.
LIA: If you come with me to the mall, we can have anything you want for lunch!
| Tip 1 | Shopping malls have a customer service area where you can get information about the stores in the mall. They have strollers to rent and, at holiday times, offer gift wrapping of your purchases. You can also buy gift cards at customer service. |
Use many and how many for count nouns. Use much and how much for noncount nouns. See Unit 4 for explanation of count/noncount nouns.
Use few for count nouns; use less for noncount. Look at the examples from the dialogue.
Examples:
Recreational shopping at the mall is one thing, but basic grocery shopping is a fact of life. There are many choices when it comes to buying food. The largest and most convenient place to shop for food is the supermarket. At these huge stores, you can find plenty of choices for whatever item you need. Need peanut butter? You can find creamy or crunchy, reduced fat or reduced salt, natural style or processed, small jar or large, with jam or without. Each aisle offers great practice for developing your decision-making skills! And to help you decide, the store will often have a sampling station where you can taste (for free!) many of the special products they sell. This is usually done on a weekend when lots of people are in the store. “If you try it, maybe you’ll buy it!” It’s a great way to introduce you to new products, but remember they are just samples! The store expects customers to try only one. (Okay, maybe two . . . ) But if you do it right, you can visit every sampling station in the store, and you won’t need lunch when you get home!
Despite all the choices at a big supermarket, however, farmers’ markets are also very popular. As people become more and more conscious of where their food is coming from and how it’s grown, farmers’ markets offer an opportunity to buy directly from the farmers who are on the spot to answer any questions. Often the markets are set up in public squares in large and small cities, usually on weekends. At the market, local area farmers bring in their produce and arrange it on tables for sale. Home bakers will offer fresh-baked cakes and pies made with homegrown fruit. There are people selling homemade jams, too. Lots of vendors will offer samples of their goods. They may have small squares of bread and small pieces of cheese for you to try. There may be plates of cookies or samples of jams. The vendors hope that you’ll enjoy the sample so much that you’ll buy some to take home. And why not? Although baked goods and produce from the farmers’ market may cost more, they’re delicious and fresh from the farm!
LIA: Do you have any peaches today?
FARMER: Oh, boy! I have lots of peaches! The weather has been great for peaches this year. They got plenty of sun and a lot of rain when they needed it.
LIA: Ha! I guess that’s why there are so many peach pies for sale. They look delicious!
FARMER: Several people have mentioned that. My wife will appreciate the compliment. She baked them.
LIA: I’ll definitely take a couple of pies. I’m going to a neighbor’s barbecue this afternoon, and I want to bring something special for dessert.
FARMER: Well, I have some nice organic herbs, too. And the corn on the cob is really sweet this year. We can husk it here for you, if you like.
LIA: I’m so glad your vegetables are organic. I’ve been trying to be careful about the foods I feed my family. I’ve decided that I’ll buy only organically grown produce whenever I can.
FARMER: I’ve been farming organically for 10 years now. No pesticides. No artificial fertilizers. Just pure nature!
LIA: Great! I’ll take two peach pies, a dozen ears of corn, and some basil for pesto. I’m making myself hungry already!
| Tip 2 | Farmers’ markets are also good places to find crafts. People who make quilts, special soaps, or little toys often have a space at the market to sell their things. Fun! |
Everyone loves a bargain! There’s something exciting about buying what you need and want, but saving money while you buy is even more exciting! Businesses know this, and they use a lot of creative ways to attract customers who want to save money. Stores know that if they want to sell something to make room for newer stuff, they should have a sale. The older items are “on sale!” Department stores have one-day-only sales and doorbusters. Grocery stores put coupons in the local newspaper or online, or they send them through the mail. (This is junk mail we can use!) Coupons can save a lot of cash. For example, if a store has a certain item on sale, you get it at a reduced price. If you also have a coupon for that item, you get the sale price, plus the extra money off. Woo, hoo! Time for a vacation with all that extra moolah! But you need to read the coupons carefully. They usually have an expiration date, and they may only be good for certain sizes or flavors of a product. Some of these sales are so great that everyone wants to take advantage of the savings. When this happens, a store may run out of an item. Aaackkk!!! But it’s not bad news. Stores don’t want unhappy customers, so if something is sold out, they’ll offer a rain check.
Stores and food companies aren’t the only ones who want to attract customers with bargains. Lots of appliance and electronics manufacturers will offer rebates on big ticket items. With this plan, you pay the full price, but if you mail in lots of forms and receipts, you’ll get some money back. It’s nice to save the money, but sometimes rebates can be a hassle. You need to follow the instructions exactly and send in a special form or enter it online. If you lose a receipt, or if you send in the wrong number from the box, you won’t get your money back. But if you do follow all the directions, and you mail everything in by the deadline, the manufacturer will send you a check for the rebate amount. The upside of a rebate is that it’s always nice to get money in the mail with all of those bills, bills, bills!
LIA: Hey, how do you like my new shoes?
JAE: They’re awesome! Where did you get them?
LIA: I got them at Shoe City. They’re having a great sale. It’s BOGO.
JAE: Who’s Bogo?
LIA: Ha! BOGO isn’t a person! It’s a really cool sale. You buy one get one. In other words, if you buy one pair of shoes, you get one pair free!
JAE: Wow, that’s a steal! I think Shoe City is at the strip mall in town, and I have a 15% off coupon for the pizza store there.
LIA: Let’s go shopping!
JAE: And let’s eat!
| Tip 3 | Sometimes a group of sale items says “as marked.” This means that the discount has already been taken. Other times you will get the discount when you pay for the item at the register. Be sure to read the signs. |
| Tip 4 | The price on the ticket is not the exact final price. In most states, you’ll need to add sales tax to the total. Each state has a different rule on this: Delaware has no-tax shopping; New Jersey has no tax on clothing. See you in Delaware! |
Expressions of Quantity for Count Nouns
- A couple of peaches
- Several peaches
- A few peaches
Expressions of Quantity for Noncount nouns
- A little rice
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