Shopping

Start with How much, then use is or are, and then name the item. This refers to one nearby item, these to several nearby items; that refers to one more distant item, and those to several more distant items.

In the pattern, “name of the item” is a noun, for example, cup or tickets. You do not have to use a demonstrative word: How much is the ticket? and How much is it? are also natural.

this/these for nearby items; that/those for more distant items. this/that – singular; these/those – plural.

Cost means “to have a price”. In the question How much does this skirt cost?, the auxiliary does forms a question about one item. For several items, we use do.

After does, the verb cost remains in its base form without -s. The order is: How much → does / do → item → cost. Do not combine is with cost in this type of question.

Choose one of the two patterns: How much is…? or How much does … cost? The first already contains is; in the second, does helps form the question. Do not copy the word order of another language word for word.

Check the number: this clock refers to one clock, so we use is; these clocks refers to several clocks, so we use are. The correct versions are given below; specific errors and corrections appear in a separate section.

I’d like = I would like. In this phrase, ’d stands for would. This is a common polite way to say what you want in everyday situations, not only in a formal shop.

After like, you can name an item or a quantity: the shirt, some coffee, two tickets. If you name an action next, you need to: I’d like to buy this. I’d like to have this one is also grammatical; the shorter version does not make the longer version incorrect.

In Can I have…?, can comes before I because this is the usual question word order. After can, use have without to and without the -ing ending.

Could I have…? is another common polite option. Both phrases can be used to ask for an item, a quantity, or a different size. The sentence I can have two? is possible as a surprised follow-up question, but for a new neutral request, learn Can I have two?

I’ll = I will. In a shop, I’ll take it means “I’ll take it”: the decision to buy has already been made. It replaces the item just mentioned.

One helps you avoid repeating the name of a single item: the black one. For more than one, you can say these two. After will, use take, without to and without -s.

Please often comes at the end of a request: Can I have this one, please? Other positions are also possible, for example Can I please have this one? The position affects emphasis, so do not turn one useful pattern into an absolute prohibition.

You do not need to go through all three phrases as required steps. One polite request or announcement of your choice may be enough.

I want this one means “I want this one.” It is grammatical, but direct. For a neutral request to an unfamiliar seller, I’d like this one is a useful choice. Do not confuse a different tone with incorrect sentence structure.

For a usual announcement of a decision in a shop, choose I’ll take it. I take it has other uses, including “as I understand it”; do not mechanically use this phrase instead of I’ll take it.

Do you have this in…? means “Is this available in… [a color / size]?” Do helps form the question, you refers to the person being addressed, have expresses possession, and this refers to the item being shown. With you, we use do, not does; in introduces the color or size.

When a size is used as the name of one option, it is natural to say in a small / a medium / a large. When small or medium labels a size, in small / in medium is also possible. Do not consider the absence of a an error in every such question.

This refers to an item you are holding or showing. If the item is grammatically plural (gloves, trainers, jeans), replace this with these: Do you have these trainers in brown?

Have you got…? is another way to say “Do you have…?”, especially common in conversational British English. Bigger means “larger,” smaller means “less large,” and size means “the measurement or option of an item.” In this phrase, we ask for a different size; the have got construction itself can also ask about a color.

bigger and smaller are the comparative forms of the short adjectives big and small: add -er, and before -er double the final consonant after a short vowel (big → bigger); small ends in two identical consonant letters, ll, so simply add -er (small → smaller).

Both constructions can ask whether an item is available and mean practically the same thing. Have got is slightly less formal and is heard more often in conversational British English; Do you have is equally natural in British and American English.

Do not mix the auxiliary verbs in one question: Do you have got... is incorrect because it combines two methods at once (do have and have got).

After in, there is usually either a color name (red, blue, green, black, white, brown, grey, yellow, pink), a size name used as a noun (a small, a medium, a large), or a numerical size (a size 40).

A size can also be expressed by an adjective before the item noun: a bigger jacket, a smaller ring — in this case, the article comes before the adjective, rather than separately before the word size.

The most common mistakes are omitting the preposition in before a color or size, forming the comparative with more instead of -er (more big instead of bigger), and mixing do have with have got in one question.

Distinguish an incorrect structure from an acceptable option. For example, in medium can name a size without a, whereas more big in an ordinary comparison should be replaced with bigger. The correct patterns are shown below; errors with explanations appear in a separate block.

In a real store, these constructions usually occur in a short dialogue: the customer asks about a color or size, and the salesperson answers and may offer an alternative.

The exercises for this rule gradually remove the prompts: from choosing a ready-made sentence to formulating a question independently in a situation, expressing an intention, and taking part in a dialogue.