Learn the kinds of words and phrases you need to use in that most important of American places
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sadia: Hi, from New York. This is Sadia. |
| Keith: Hey, and I’m Keith. “The Most Important Place in America” |
| Sadia: In the last lesson, Lesson 8 - “Get What You Want Using English,” we explored the infinitive form of the verb, go... |
| Keith: And you learned how to ask about train and bus times and about when to use the conjunction, "or." |
| Sadia: In this lesson you will learn about shopping at a convenience store. |
| Keith: And this conversation takes place on a Thursday evening, in a convenience store. |
| Sadia: The conversation is between the main character, Zo, and the store cashier. |
| Keith: Alright, well let’s listen in to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Clerk #1: Good evening, sir! |
| Zo: Hello. [Places items on the counter] |
| Store clerk: Okay—so that’s 3 bottles of water, 1 bottle of orange juice, 1 can of soda, a sandwich, a box of crackers, and a pack of gum. Is that all? |
| Zo: What is that? |
| Clerk #1: Oh—that’s carrot cake. It's delicious! |
| Zo: Oh, yeah? One, please! |
| Clerk #1: That'll be $23. |
| Zo: Here's a fifty. |
| Clerk #1: All right. $27 is your change. Thank you. Come again! |
| Zo: Thank you. |
| Keith: One more time, slowly. |
| Clerk #1: Good evening, sir! |
| Zo: Hello. [Places items on the counter] |
| Store clerk: Okay—so that’s 3 bottles of water, 1 bottle of orange juice, 1 can of soda, a sandwich, a box of crackers, and a pack of gum. Is that all? |
| Zo: What is that? |
| Clerk #1: Oh—that’s carrot cake. It's delicious! |
| Zo: Oh, yeah? One, please! |
| Clerk #1: That'll be $23. |
| Zo: Here's a fifty. |
| Clerk #1: All right. $27 is your change. Thank you. Come again! |
| Zo: Thank you. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sadia: Okay. So Zo is shopping in a convenience store. I think it's probably safe to say that there are convenience stores in every, I don’t know, in every corner of the world, perhaps. |
| Keith: Yeah. Everywhere you go, there’s a convenience store. But Sadia, what is a convenience store? |
| Sadia: Well, a convenience store is so named because it’s very convenient. It’s easy to go in and buy, kind of, things that you need for every day. |
| Keith: You can buy toothbrushes. You can buy food. You can buy drinks. You can buy deodorant, soap, whatever you need, almost everything. They’re going to have it. They have books too sometimes. |
| Sadia: Yeah, yeah. Magazines, my personal, uh, addiction. |
| Keith: And I think maybe if we give a couple of global convenience stores, like 7-11. But I think 7-11 is big in America. I know know where else 7-11 is big. |
| Sadia: I read that Japan has the highest number of 7-11s. |
| Keith: More than America? That’s very, very interesting. |
| Sadia: Yeah. |
| Keith: You know, I’m sure that every country and every city has their own brand, or their own |
| convenience stores. |
| Sadia: Yeah, I’m sure they all kind of have their own flavor, their own feel. I mean, in, in, New York, it seems to me, I could be wrong, I’m a Jersey girl. But it seems to me that there are two main types of convenience stores. |
| Keith: Yeah, the first one is not really a convenience store. |
| Sadia: Yeah, that’s true. |
| Keith: If you’ve ever heard of places called CVS |
| Sadia: Mm-hm. |
| Keith: Or Duane-Reade, Rite-Aid. These places are actually pharmacies. Pharmacies are places where you get medicine, but they kind of turned into convenience stores now, right? |
| Sadia: That’s true. A lot of them, I mean, you can go in and buy food, which you wouldn’t expect to find like, canned soup, or gallons of milk in a pharmacy, but. |
| Keith: Exactly. |
| Sadia: You can. |
| Keith: Someone I know just came to America and she was so surprised by the pharmacies because it’s like a supermarket. I can go there and buy spices if I need for cooking. |
| Sadia: Mm-hm. |
| Keith: Anything she wanted she could find at the pharmacy. |
| Sadia: That’s the first type of convenience store you can find in New York City. The second type are like smaller, kind of, independently owned stores, right? |
| Keith: Yeah, really, really small stores, and sometimes they’re called "bodega". |
| Sadia: Ah, bodega. That’s a Spanish word but I can’t really remember what it means. |
| Keith: I.. Don’t look at me. I forgot my high school Spanish. I don’t remember what “bodega” means. But in English, when you say, “bodega,” that means a small store. That’s like a convenience store, you can buy food, you can buy laundry detergent, soap, toothbrushes, anything that you may need. It might not have everything, but almost everything. |
| Sadia: I would say so. I mean, they don’t have.. The pharmacies have this huge range of products. Now I think the bodegas, they don’t have as many things to choose from, but they do have your basics. |
| Keith: And definitely they serve their community, not really serving the city, but the close areas around the bodega. They’re kind of selling their things to their neighbors. Actually, being in New York, another kind of convenience store is the deli. Delis are usually just for food. You know, you get sandwiches, or you get pizza. Whatever kind of food that you might want. But sometimes the delis, they sell toothbrushes. They sell soap, whatever else you need. It’s kind of a convenience store. |
| Sadia: Right, so many different types of convenience stores here in New York, I think. |
| Keith: How about you, Sadia? You’re from New Jersey, right next to New York. What types of convenience stores are there in New Jersey? |
| Sadia: I’d say it’s probably about the same. There are the pharmacies, which have kind of become these huge convenience stores. And then there are also smaller convenience stores that are like bodegas but I feel like they’re not as cool. Because they’re a little, they’re a little, too put together. They’re too cute. |
| Keith: Too nice. |
| Sadia: Yeah, exactly, exactly. The bodega has character. |
| Keith: Well, what does that mean? That the bodega has character? |
| Sadia: Bodegas, and I, correct me if I’m wrong, Keith. But I think they are a little more rough around the edges, which means that the lighting might be a little darker. It’s not quite as clean as you know, the CVS or the Duane-Reade. |
| Keith: Yeah, it’s not like a perfect store, but it’s nice because, you know, you’re friends with the guy sometimes. |
| Sadia: Mm-hm. |
| Keith: You, hey, how are you doing? How’s your kids? And you become friends with them. That’s kind of the charm behind the bodegas I think. |
| Sadia: Yeah, I agree. |
| Keith: Well, what about you, listeners-- what are the convenience |
| stores like where you live? Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Keith: The first word we shall see is... |
| Sadia: bottle [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a glass or plastic container that has a narrow neck and |
| usually has no handle |
| Sadia: bottle [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: bottle [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| water [natural native speed] |
| Keith: clear liquid; rain, ocean, lake, stream; H2O |
| water [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| water [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: orange juice [natural native speed] |
| Keith: the juice of an orange |
| Sadia: orange juice [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: orange juice [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| soda [natural native speed] |
| Keith: soft drink, carbonated or bubbly drink |
| soda [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| soda [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: change [natural native speed] |
| Keith: money returned when a payment exceeds the amount |
| due |
| Sadia: change [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: change [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: cracker [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a dry, thin, crispy baked bread |
| Sadia: cracker [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: cracker [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Keith: Let’s take a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Sadia: OK, so the first phrase we’ll look at is, “Is that all?” |
| Keith: After Zo places the items he is buying on the |
| counter top, the cashier asks, "Is that all?" Why? |
| What's that mean? |
| Sadia: "Is that all?" is short for, "Is that all you're buying?" |
| Keith: Or even, "Are these the only items you’re |
| buying?" |
| Sadia: Mm-hm. What's the next phrase? |
| Keith: The next phrase is, "One, please!" |
| Sadia: So, Zo is interested in the food behind the counter. I think it’s carrot cake. He wants to buy a piece, so he says, "One, please!" |
| What’s THAT mean? |
| Keith: "One, please!" is short for, "I'd like to buy one, |
| please." What about "Here's a fifty?" What's that? |
| Sadia: Ah, so Zo hands the cashier a fifty-dollar bill, so he says, |
| "Here's a fifty." "A fifty" is short for a fifty-dollar bill. |
| Keith: Does that mean a 20 is short for a $20 bill? |
| Sadia: Exactly. A ten is a $10 bill. And a five is a $5 bill... |
| Keith: So we’re just shortening it. The next phrase is... "Here's your change." |
| Sadia: Zo's bill was $23. Zo gives the cashier a 50. When the cashier gives Zo the difference-- |
| the $27 dollar difference-- he says, "Here's your change." |
| Keith: So when you give too much money, the change is the money the cashier has to give you back. What about, "It's delicious!" |
| Sadia: When Zo inquires about the food behind the counter, the carrot cake the cashier tells Zo, "it's delicious!" |
| Keith: That’s a phrase used to express pleasure with food you are eating, or food that you've eaten in the past. |
| Sadia: If you’ve eaten a food and you know that it tastes really good, you can tell someone, “Oh, it’s delicious.” Finally we have.. |
| Keith: The last phrase is, "Thank you. Come again!" |
| Sadia: Very friendly cashier! So "Thank you. Come again!" is a parting phrase said |
| by shop owners and workers, and it means kind of what it sounds like it means. “Thank you. Come again!” means “Thank you for shopping here! Please visit again soon!” |
| Keith: "Thank you. Come again!" |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Keith: The focus points of this lesson are counters and |
| Sadia: The phrase, "What is that?" |
| Keith: Let's start with counters. What are counters? |
| Sadia: Counters are counting words. They’re words use to show |
| how many of something there are-- in this case, |
| how many things-- and what-- Zo is buying. |
| Keith: When Zo places the items he is buying on |
| the counter in the store, the cashier takes stock-- what that means is he |
| counts-- all of Zo purchases. |
| Sadia: He says, "Okay—so that’s 3 bottles of water, 1 bottle of orange juice, a can of soda, a sandwich, a box of crackers, and a pack of gum." Counting nouns, especially foods in English is, in a sense, kind of easy, if you know the container that a food or drink is packaged in, is put in, or if you know the shape a particular food is cooked or served in. You may already have an idea of how to count that food or drink. |
| Keith: So you can imagine-- the list of counters, or "counting words," is nearly endless. There’s a lot of counting words. |
| Sadia: So let's take a look at the first three that appear in the dialogue - 3 bottles of water, 1 bottle of orange juice, 1 can of soda. |
| Keith: OK, so Zo is buying water that has been put in a bottle. The package is a bottle. |
| The orange juice is also in a bottle. So, 3 BOTTLES of water and 1 BOTTLE of orange |
| juice. |
| Sadia: He's also buying a can of soda-- the soda has been put into a can. The package is a can. So that's one CAN of soda. |
| Keith: And of course, there are other ways to package water, juice, and soda. |
| Sadia: That's true. For example, water in three jugs would be 3 jugs of water. |
| Keith: And orange juice in two cartons are 2 cartons of orange juice. |
| Sadia: Or maybe soda in a one bottle is a bottle of soda. |
| Keith: So, as you can see, the counter, or "counting word," you use for an object can change depending on the type of package. |
| Sadia: Notice though, that the number one can always be signified with the particle "a"-- |
| Keith: Instead of 1 can of soda, you can just say “a can of soda”, 1 bottle of |
| water, you can say, a bottle of water-- |
| Sadia: 1 carton of orange juice, A carton of orange juice. Zo also buys a sandwich, a box of crackers, and a pack of gum. |
| Keith: A sandwich that’s one sandwich; A box of crackers, that’s one box of crackers. |
| Sadia: And A pack of gum is one pack of gum. What are some other food and drink counters? |
| Keith: Well, we’re here in New York, New York, and what’s famous? Pizza! So to say pizza, you say “slices of pizza.” |
| Sadia: Another counter, glasses of wine, maybe. |
| Keith: Oh, you like that one, don’t you? In gum, there’s a pack of gum, so there’s several gum pieces in there. How do you say “gum” then? |
| Sadia: Usually gum is in a stick shape. So you can say, “a stick of gum.” |
| Keith: Yeah, but sometimes it’s not in a stick anymore, I see. |
| Sadia: Yeah, so you could just say “piece”, I think. |
| Keith: A piece of gum. So you can see, the list goes on and on! So how do you decide which counter to use? |
| Sadia: Well, you should look at the packaging or the SHAPE of a food or drink. That should help you every time. |
| Keith: And maybe we can give the listeners a generic counter, meaning a counter that can be used for a lot of things. How about, a “piece” of “something. |
| Sadia: A piece of gum, a piece of pie. |
| Keith: I think piece is usually used for food, not drinks. |
| Sadia: That’s true. |
| Keith. The next is, "What Is That?" Zo sees a strange food behind the counter in the convenience store. He doesn't know what it is, so he asks the cashier - “What is that?” |
| Sadia: The word, "that" is a demonstrative. |
| Keith: Demonstratives are adjectives and pronouns that identify which object or person the speaker is talking about. |
| Sadia: And in this case, "that" is a demonstrative PRONOUN. So he asks, “What is that?” |
| Keith: Demonstratives agree in number (that means singular or plural) with the objects or people being identified and the demonstratives change depending on how far they are from the speaker. |
| Sadia: Sounds crazy. |
| Keith: Well, it’s not too crazy. Let’s take a look at how some of it works. The proper demonstrative to use depends on whether the thing it refers to is singular or plural, |
| AND it also depends on whether the thing is near to or far from the speaker. |
| Sadia: So what if something-- ONE THING-- singular, is close to me? |
| Keith: You would use THIS. |
| Sadia: This pen, maybe. And what if the ONE THING is far away from me? |
| Keith: You would use THAT. |
| Sadia: So THAT is what Zo uses-- because the food he's |
| pointing to BEHIND the counter, is far away from him. |
| Keith: EXACTLY. |
| Sadia: ONE thing that is close is THIS. |
| Keith: And ONE thing that is far is THAT. |
| Sadia: OK, let’s move on. What about TWO OR MORE THINGS that are close? So now, plural. |
| Keith: TWO OR MORE THINGS that are close |
| you use the word THESE. What about TWO OR MORE THINGS that are FAR? |
| Sadia: Two or more things that are far-- THOSE. The DEMONSTRATIVES are THIS and THAT for singular-- This pen or that pen. |
| Keith: And THESE and THOSE for plural. These pencils or those pencils. |
Outro |
| Keith: Thanks for listening. See you next time. |
| Sadia: Bye-bye. |
Comments
HideWhat are the convenience stores like where you live?
Hello!
Recently there are as many convenience stores as cafe in Korea. near my house, theree are more than three convenience stores. there is one next to my work and there is another one across from my work.
there are many kinds of things. we can charge our cellphone and transportation card, enjoy cup ramen, kimbob and lunchbox etc there. It is so convenient.
Hi Wataru!
Thank you for sharing about the convenience stores in Japan! 😊
Here are a few corrections and suggestions to help improve your writing:
1. **"around every day"** should be **"almost every day"** - This change clarifies that you go to the convenience store nearly every day, not around it.
2. **"gorocery stores"** should be **"grocery stores"** - This is a simple spelling correction.
3. **"Convienience"** should be **"Convenience"** - Another spelling correction.
Your message is clear and informative! Keep up the great work with your English practice.
Thank You
Team EnglishClass101.com
Hi team!
In my country(Japan), there are a lot of convenience stores. I go there around every day, and buy lunch like sandwich and coffee.
Convienience stores are very useful especially in rural areas because there aren't many gorocery stores.
Hello Ali,
It seems like you're practicing determiners and their usage in English. Great job! Your understanding of the use of 'this', 'that', 'these', and 'those' is generally correct.
However, I would like to suggest a few minor corrections:
1. These cats
a) Plural, more than one. (Correct)
b) Near, nearby. (I would suggest saying "Near or close to the speaker" to be more precise)
2. Those boxes
a) Plural, more than one. (Correct)
b) Far, Those boxes far from us. (Again, I would suggest saying "Far or not close to the speaker")
3. This bag
a) Singular, (Correct)
b) Near, (I would suggest saying "Near or close to the speaker")
4. That book
a) Singular (Correct)
b) Far, Far from us (I would suggest saying "Far or not close to the speaker")
Your understanding is nearly perfect, just remember that 'this' and 'these' are used for things that are close to the speaker, and 'that' and 'those' are used for things that are not close to the speaker.
Keep practicing! You're doing really well. 😄👍
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
1. These cats
a) Plural, more than one.
b) Near, nearby.
2. Those boxes
a) Plural, more than one.
b) Far, Those boxes far from us.
3. This bag
a) Singular,
b) Near,
4. That book
a) Singular
b) Far, Far from us
Hello again Nikita,
We're doing well, thank you. It's great to hear from you and it's even better to see you using English in your daily life.
Your message is quite clear, but I have a few suggestions to make it even better:
1. "In place, where I live I have 3 supermarkets and 4 drugstores." - This could be written as "In the place where I live, there are 3 supermarkets and 4 drugstores." This is to clarify that these places exist in your area, not that you own them.
2. "Some of them are working 24/7 and it so convenient." - You should say "Some of them are open 24/7 and it's so convenient." We use the word "open" instead of "working" for businesses. Also, don't forget the apostrophe in "it's" which is a contraction of "it is".
3. "I can go there any time and buy everything I want." - This sentence is good! Just remember to add a comma after "any time" for better flow in your sentence.
Your English is improving every day!
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Hello Nikita,
We're doing great and we're thrilled to know you're happy to be with us. 👍😄
Now, let's move on to your homework. It seems like you're practicing demonstrative pronouns. Here's how it should be:
1. PLURAL NEAR - These
2. PLURAL FAR - Those
3. SINGULAR NEAR - This
4. SINGULAR FAR - That
These words are used to point to specific things or people. For example, "this" is used for a person or thing near you. "That" is used for a person or thing far from you. "These" and "those" are simply the plural forms of "this" and "that."
Keep practicing, and you'll master these in no time!
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Hi team, how are you?😄
In place,where I live I have 3 supermarkets and 4 drugstores. 😉
Some of them are working 24/7 and it so convinient. 😁
I can go there any time and buy everything I want.😎
Hi team,how are you doing?😄
I am happy to be with you😁
My hometask S2L9
1. PLURAL NEAR
2. PLURAL FAR
3. SINGULAR NEAR
4. SINGULAR FAR
Hi Aung,
I'm glad to see your enthusiasm!
If you have any questions or need help with anything, feel free to ask.
I'm here to help you! 👍👍👍
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
👍👍👍
Hello Mukaram,
Thank you for reaching out and sharing your situation with us. We deeply appreciate your interest in our program and your desire to make it more accessible for others in similar situations.
We understand the difficulties that some people may face in accessing our services due to financial constraints or lack of certain payment methods. 😄😄😄
Please know that we are constantly exploring different ways to make our resources more accessible to everyone around the globe. Your suggestion about providing special offers for certain countries is definitely something we will consider.
In the meantime, we do offer a range of free resources on our website that can be accessed without any payment. We encourage you and others to make use of these resources.
Again, thank you for your valuable input. It's students like you who inspire us to continue improving and expanding our services.
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
I am living in Afghanistan, where most of the people love to study English from a source like EnglishClass101 but unfortunately they not only don't have access to credit card but also very poor to pay the amount which you have specified, being honest my nephew who is currently living in USA pay for me, that's why I am kindly requesting you to provide a kind of special offer for the countries like Afghanistan.
Thanks
Hello Fuat,
Thanks for taking the time to post and share. 👍
Please feel free to ask us any questions you have throughout your studies.
Sincerely,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
In my country there are many many convenience store. Do shopping is very easy and practical from those really. You can find almost everything that you need daily. But you can not find medicine in that convivence store. Medicine is sold only in the pharmacy.
Hello Radu,
Thank you for sharing! 👍
I hope you're enjoying your studies with us.
We have a great team of teachers here at EnglishClass101.com and we are happy to help you with your learning needs.
Feel free to ask us any questions that come up.
Sincerely,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
In my city are a lot of convenience stores, not corner stores because neither is on the corner. Some are small store with specific products like food, personal care items, and things for the house, things for everyday life.
We also use the word "BODEGA " for some stores.
Hello Erkan,
Thanks so much for sharing abit about life in your country!
We love hearing from our students, so please continue to post and share.
Regards,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
my countrys convenience stores are everyday open at 9am from 9 pm. there are many many convenience stores. example there are two convenience stores opposite my house. but in my countrys inflation is one hundred percent. price tags change everyday. therefore in my country they say " the account at home that does not fit in the convenience stores .
Hello Diego,
Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your new English language skills. 👍👍👍
Would you like to practice more? 😄
I suggest upgrading to ‘Premium Plus’ and get personal instructions from one of our English teachers through our ‘MyTeacher’ feature!
www.englishclass101.com/myteacher
Cheers,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com